ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the elements of application of Lev Vygotsky's conception of preschool development related to the formation of play with social roles with orientation and narration in both Mexican and Australian early childhood contexts. According to Vygotskian conception, psychological development of children occurs within the frames of cultural activities. The psychological study of playing activity may provide an interesting opportunity to study content, structure and stages of playing activity. The organization and formation of playing activity is a powerful pedagogical and psychological method, in which preschool children may have an opportunity to use external symbolic means as elements of content to formalize roles and rules in plays. A. N. Leontiev claims that playing activity offers positive changes to a preschool child and represents the valuable basis for the psychological preparation for school. The chapter concludes that a methodological approach of historical and cultural conceptions of development may be applied to broaden qualitative understandings of preschool children around the world.
