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Psychological-Educational Studies
2025. Vol. 17, no. 4, 5–22
doi:10.17759/psyedu.2025170401
ISSN: 2587-6139 (online)

Towards a portrait of a modern preschooler: features of value orientations

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. Studying the content of the portrait of a modern preschooler is extremely important for solving problems in psychological science and educational practice: clarifying knowledge about early childhood, substantiating new research—such as investigating the factors and mechanisms of child development; optimizing educational work based on the child's real psychological characteristics, etc. One of the important components of a child's portrait is the features of value orientations. These represent a significant component of worldview, reflecting the orientation of a person's interests and actions, attitude towards the surrounding world, and embodying children's experiences. They also perform a regulatory function. In the context of ongoing changes in Russian society—often interconnected with transformations and revaluation of values—this component of the portrait of a modern preschooler is of great interest. Objective. The study is devoted to determining the orientation and content of the value orientations of modern senior preschoolers, as well as identifying changes in the value sphere of children over the past four decades. Hypothesis. The value orientations of the modern preschooler have been transformed: along with the traditional age characteristics, new ones have appeared that can be correlated with changes in the socio-cultural environment. Methods and materials. The study involved 200 children (N = 200, 55,5% boys, 44,5% girls) aged 5–7 years: 5-year-olds – 39,0%; 6-year-olds – 32,0%; 7-year-olds – 29%. The sample is sufficiently uniform to represent this group of children. T.A. Repina's "Magic Flower" technique was used as a diagnostic tool. The data obtained were compared with the results of T.A. Repina's research conducted in the 1980s, as well as with a similar study conducted in 2014 by E.E. Klopotova. The data were analyzed according to two parameters: the orientation and content of children's desires. The results of the study indicate that among the value orientations of modern preschoolers, those determined by age characteristics prevail: on the one hand, childish egocentrism; on the other, the active process of socialization. This is manifested in the dominance of children's desires directed "at themselves" and "at other people." The predominance of desires related to play remains an age-related feature of value orientations. However, along with the value orientations characteristic of preschool age, there are those that reflect the influence of sociocultural changes in the developmental situation on the formation of a preschooler's personality: desires in areas such as health, pleasure, achievements, gadgets, etc. The analysis of the results suggests a significant impact of the modern socio-cultural and educational context on the formation of preschoolers' value orientations. There is an increase in the trends recorded in the 2014 study, in particular, a growing orientation of children towards their own needs and desires. There is also the emergence of new areas of importance for preschoolers: health, social and financial well-being, and the pursuit of personal achievements. Against this background, there is a decline in the importance of traditional values for preschool age, such as play and communication with peers. Conclusions. The results of the study enrich the understanding of modern senior preschoolers and make it possible to highlight the pragmatism and individualization of their value orientations in their overall portrait, along with playful and communicative ones. These changes reflect the general direction of the transformation of childhood in modern society and require attention in educational practice, taking into account the peculiarities of the psychological portrait of modern preschool children.

General Information

Keywords: senior preschool age, portrait of a modern preschooler, value orientations

Journal rubric: Developmental Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/psyedu.2025170401

Funding. The study was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation No. 073-00069-25-03 dated 04/24/2025 "Creating a psychological Portrait of modern children and adolescents and Determining the conditions of their well-being"

Acknowledgements. The authors express their gratitude to A.S. Radchikov for his assistance in the mathematical processing of the research data and for their subsequent placement in the RusPsyDATA repository of psychological research and instruments.

Supplemental data. The data set is available at: https://doi.org/10.48612/MSUPE/a7n2-6hm1-65e3

Received 23.10.2025

Revised 09.12.2025

Accepted

Published

For citation: Semya, G.V., Burlakova, I.A., Klopotova, E.E. (2025). Towards a portrait of a modern preschooler: features of value orientations. Psychological-Educational Studies, 17(4), 5–22. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/psyedu.2025170401

© Semya G.V., Burlakova I.A., Klopotova E.E., 2025

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Galina V. Semya, Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Professor of the Department of Developmental Psychology named after Professor L.F. Obukhova" Faculty of Educational Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Professor of the Department of Psychological Anthropology of the Institute of Childhood of the Moscow Pedagogical State University., Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9583-8698, e-mail: gvsemia@yandex.ru

Irina A. Burlakova, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Professor, Head of the Preschool Pedagogy and Psychology Chair, Department of Educational Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Preschool Education, Institute of Child Development, Health and Adaptation (Federal State Scientific Institution IRZAR), Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0313-7518, e-mail: iaburlakova@mail.ru

Ekaterina E. Klopotova, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Assistant Professor, Department of Preschool Pedagogy and Psychology, Faculty of Psychology of Education, Senior Researcher, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Contemporary Childhood, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Preschool Education, The Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Institute of child development, health and adaptation”, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1975-318X, e-mail: klopotovaee@mgppu.ru

Contribution of the authors

Galina V. Semya — ideas.

Irina A. Burlakova — control over the research; writing and design of the manuscript.

Ekaterina E. Klopotova — planning of the research; data collection and analysis; writing and design of the manuscript.

All authors participated in the discussion of the results and approved the final text of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics statement

Parental consent has been obtained for children to participate in the study.

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