Previous studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between attending music classes regularly and the development of executive functions. This paper discusses the results of a pilot study dedicated to determining the difference in the level of development of the components of executive functions (inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory), between 5–6-year-old children taking extra music classes, and children who participated only in general music and dance education in kindergarten. A total of 94 senior preschoolers from Moscow kindergartens took part in the study. Children were selected into an “extra music lessons” group and a “general preschool music and dance lessons” group based on the results of a questionnaire on supplementary education, which was filled in by parents prior to the research starting. The respondents from the “extra music and dance lessons” group attended music classes in art schools at least two times a week, both in individual and group formats. The current study revealed that children attending regular extra music classes had a higher level of inhibitory control, audio–verbal working memory, cognitive flexibility, and general coordination of the development of all executive functions. The obtained results support the value of regular extra music classes at preschool age. Moreover, this pilot study allows us to articulate the recommendations for further research in this direction.

Bayanova L.F. (2013) Vygotsky’s Hamlet: the dialectic method and personality psychology.

This study investigated the relationships between executive functions of children aged 5–6 and the level of their cultural congruence, that reflects the extent to which behaviour of a child corresponds to a set of cultural rules, typical for this age in this culture. The main components of executive functions (working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control) were measured by the Russian versions of the NEPSY-II subtests and the DCCS test. For the cultural congruence assessment, the parent ‘Questionnaire for Studying Children’s Compliance with Rules in a Normative Situation’ was applied. There were 113 preschoolers from Kazan, Tatarstan Republic, Russia (57 boys and 56 girls, 66 months on the average) and 113 mothers (from 24 to 44-years-old, 36 years on the average) in the study. Three levels of cultural congruence were singled out – ‘high’, ‘medium’ and ‘low’. The results showed that children with a ‘high’ level of cultural congruence develop inhibitory control to a greater extent, while children with a ‘low’ level of compliance develop cognitive flexibility. A lowest level of executive functions was found in the group with the ‘medium’ level of cultural congruence.

The impact of cultural congruence on the creative thinking of primary school children.. Established in 2008, the Russian Psychological Society's Journal «Psychology in Russia: State of the Art» publishes original articles.

The article is devoted to the problem of bilingualism in preschool children living in bilingual and multilingual environments in Russia. The need to increase the effectiveness of the development of bilingualism and communicative competence in children in multicultural educational settings requires a system of integrated psychological and pedagogical support for the development of early bilingualism. The paper describes the main psychological conditions of bilingualism development and proposes an organizational model of expertise of the quality of bilingual educational environment in early childhood, revealing the essence of language development and learning through the identification of its structural and procedural characteristics. The model has practical significance for improving the quality of bilingual education as one of its tasks is the development of the child's personality. The empirical data was obtained in a study of eight bilingual preschool educational organizations of the Republic of Tatarstan, on a sample of 528 people (24 educators and 504 preschoolers).

Bayanova L. F., Tsivilskaya E. A., Bayramyan R. M., Chulyukin K. S. (2016). A cultural congruence test for primary school students. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 9(4), 94-105.. Established in 2008, the Russian Psychological Society's Journal «Psychology in Russia: State of the Art» publishes original articles.