Dramatic Moments in the Everyday Life of Young Children: A Cultural–Historical Study of Children’s Learning to Self-Regulate in Kitezh Community, Russia

The study presents an in-depth investigation of one focus family—mother, father, one biological child and twins (adopted children)—within an experimental Kitezh Children’s Community in Russia. In drawing upon cultural–historical concepts of everyday crises, perezhivanie and the social situation of development, this study examined how two focus children self-regulated during ‘dramatic’ moments of their interactions with others as they participate in their family practice, school and the community. The concept of dramatic moments was used as an analytical tool to gain insight into the children’s intentions and motive development to explore how the children learn to self-regulate. The thesis offers the Kitezh model, which opens a new perspective for understanding conditions that contribute to development of self-regulation from a cultural–historical perspective