Periodization of children's psychological development, play and teacher training: possible dialogues

Abstract

This article aims to present studies on the regularities and non-regularities of the child’s psychic development, in addition to the relation with playing as one of the activities that go through psychological development. To achieve this goal, we conducted a survey of researches, articles and books that address the periodization of ages proposed by Vigotski and collaborators in the Historical-Cultural Theory, especially Leontiev and Elkonin. We understand that children are educated and humanized through the appropriation of culture; therefore, playing is an appropriation and being in the world, it constitutes one of the activities that enhance child development and, consequently, it must be taken as one of the main axes for the constitution of relationships, reflections and social practice with target audience. In general terms, we can say that issues related to playing mobilize us to rethink teacher training, since teachers need to consider playing and the periodization of children’s psychological development in the organization of pedagogical work, with the aim of overcoming visions and simplistic attitudes. It is expected that initial and continuing teacher training will provide theoretical, didactic and methodological subsidies for education professionals to understand the importance of adults in presenting the world to the child and in the organization and planning of situations that enable to understand it and experience it in different ways and possibilities.