According to Lev S. Vygotsky (1896-1934), the highest levels of abstract thinking and self-regulation in preschool development are established in "pretend play using object substitutions." An extensive research literature supports Vygotsky's empirical model of the internalization of self-guiding speech (social speech > private speech…

The analysis of the nature of youth extremism has shown that there is a connection between the extremist tendency ["ekstremal'nost'"] that is an essential property of young people, on the one hand, and extremist manifestations that come about in that community under certain conditions. These conditions include external ones (the…

Describes Tolstoy's experimental school program as a forerunner of modern, open-education programs. In a radical departure from conventional, nineteenth century Russian educational practice, Tolstoy stressed individualized, independent learning with meaningful instructional materials. In his non-coercive classroom, self-discipline was founded on…