The polyphony of voices in cultural-historical approaches to play: special issue in honour of Elena Kravtsova and Elena Smirnova

ABSTRACT Current research and practice in early years pays special attention to education using play. However, the prospects for play application remain largely unclear. Starting from works of Lev Vygotsky and his followers (D.Elkonin, A.Leontiev) an activity-based approach to play was elaborated. The development of the cultural-historical theory of play was continued in the works of Elena Smirnova and Elena Kravtsova and others. Kravtsova proposed to consider play in the context of zone of proximal development. Play was considered as a tool for stimulating child interest and for solving educational problems. Smirnova studied the influence of toys on the development of play in preschool children. She emphasized the need to preserve children's initiative and spontaneity of play. Contemporary studies explore play in different contexts such as play in the presence of adults, its structure and creative potential, its possibilities to develop executive functions and practice play in a digital world. The results of these studies are presented in this issue and show the relevance of studying the problem of play and its role in education and child development, from a Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Perspective.