In 2016, the scientific and pedagogical community from different countries is celebrating the 120th anniversary of the birth of L. S. Vygotsky, an outstanding humanist, the Russian scientist who made an enormous contribution to the development of the socialization of man in nature, culture and society.
The author emphasizes the increasing role of psychology in the life of modern society, entering into the social life in a variety of forms. Psychology is a truly «effective» science of studying a person. The most significant achievements of modern psychology are considered: the development of practical educational psychology, the creation of system activity approach to cognition, the occurrence of psychology in the world of cognitive science, psychology of emergencies, etc. Psychology has become a reality and its various areas are treated as «the architect» of mental and economic life throughout the world, including Russia, psychology turns into a efficient reconstructing science that can be observed not only in the construction program standards of modern education, but also in the programs of tolerance development in the society as a support of diversity standards.
Considerable attention is paid to the activities of the Department of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, as a center of psychological science with all its increasing diversity and development. On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Department of Psychology, A.G. Asmolov, whose life was closely connected with the educational and research center, examines successes and accomplishments of the Department, contribution to the world of psychology.
A.G. Asmolov lists the names of the most outstanding graduates of the Department who have achieved impressive results in various branches of psychology and are now in different parts of the Russian Federation and of the world working in the sphere of psychology. The Department is said to be a «trendsetter» in psychology. Such interesting areas as psychology of uncertainty, psychology of complexity, psychology of diversity, etc. are being developed. The ideas that emerge at the Department of psychology are becoming the ideas known in the whole world.
In this paper, we discuss the past, present and future of cultural activity approach as a methodology due to applying for the integration of humanities and natural sciences, psychotechnical and theoretical knowledge.
An attempt was taken to perceive another crisis of cultural activity psychology. The meaning of the historical crisis of cultural activity psychology is reflected in the future prospects of its development bridging the gap between classical and contemporary approaches. Reflection of the crisis of cultural activity psychology allows to allocate the following axioms: the need for dialogue with different variants of cultural activity movement in modern psychology; need for reflection of myths and dangers of canonizing certain thinkers; presumption of decency professionals, true school of Leo Vygotsky and understanding their motivation in the development of his ideas.
In addition to the axioms required for conducting an appropriate dialogue with the researchers of L.S. Vygotsky, there are risks that restrict the understanding and development of his space: the risk of the science-policy isolation, sectarian risk, risk of jubilee historicism, risk of reducing monism to monotheism. These axioms and risks are deemed as cognitive aspects of the situation, which are important for further development of the research program of cultural activity psychology.
Discussing cultural activity psychology as a methodology and a special intellectual movement allows to emphasize a number of meta-features of cultural activity psychology as ideology. On the level of particular scientific methodology it is possible to consider the relationship of cultural activity psychology with other sciences, in which the category of “activity” is the key one. Summing up, the communication referred to cultural activity approach to the social and cultural practices, which expressed methodological bases of social constructivism.
The role of education as a social institution in society is shown. The tasks of national education system at the present stage of rapid change in social consciousness are analyzed. The ways of modernization of national education with the aim of turning it into a resource to reduce social risks and social conflicts motivated by xenophobia, migrant-phobia, social aggression and intolerance are discussed. The necessity of introducing a system of education programs to ensure the development of tolerance, religious tolerance, civic patriotism and social identity among younger generation is shown.
The article discusses the theoretical and methodological framework of the Program development of educational actions as a universal educational psychological and educational component of the project of the federal state standard of general education for senior level - the doctrine of psychological age (Vygotsky, El'konin) and the concept of developmental education, created in the frame of activity approach (Leontiev, Galperin, El'konin, Davydov). The basic types of universal educational action are determined, their characteristics and criteria of formation for older adolescents are presented.
The importance of a new type of a younger generation, i.e. the generation of creative, intellectually developed, innovation minded young people in the context of global social intellectual development at the present stage is considered. Conditions for solving this problem are mentioned.
The article provides a brief excursion into the history of interethnic conflicts. The article describes the concepts of tolerance and xenophobia. Their role in the development of complex systems, and the human society in particular, is distinguished. The importance of building tolerance attitudes to provide a full harmonious human life, various social groups and mankind on the whole in a changing world is emphasized.
Interview with A.G. Asmolov (Professor of Psychology, Head of Personality Psychology Department of Moscow State Lomonosov University), devoted to the 110th anniversary of the birth of P.Y.Galperin
In his report, the author examines the science of psychology with an unusual perspective – as the science of variability, which generates variable concepts. He puts emphasis on the first underestimated works carried out on a par with the problems highlighted by Bernstein Severtsev, Leontiev, Rubinstein, Blonsky, Vernadsky, Bergson, Berg and others. The article highlights the main challenges of the historical and evolutionary approach of social constructivism: a selection considering the class of purposeful activity as a universal form of life existence, the allocation of the communicative discourse categories of activity, which is interpreted as the basis for the existence of biological, social and psychological systems. The concept of activity as a process of generating diversity at various levels of the system is disclosed. The works of such scholars as Gurevich, Batkin, Gergen, etc. that help to see how the evolutionary significance of diversity are mentioned. The higher one rises through evolution, the more divergent model programs of his/her behaviour are, and there appears a set of variable programs. The author shows that through the activity approach many phenomenological issues of culture are perceived, the development of cultural activity paradigm leads to the fact that psychology goes beyond the scope of a separate science, and serves as a unique paradigm of the future. Since the A.N. Leontiev veiwed psychology as a kind of workshop to support diversity, where the psychologist is as an expert in designing new worlds. The author concludes that the research of activities by which the development of diversity in this world of uncertainty is meant is incredibly important.