PL
The variability of the contexts of the social child’s development This article discusses three different educational microsystems in the child’s social development in the period of middle childhood and does so in the light of the theoretical premises of developmental psychology (Berk, 2002; Parten, 1932; Smith, 2000) and Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological psychology (1979). The empirical project was based on a natural experiment with three measurements: one ascertainment phase and two control phases. The techniques used included observation sheets (e.g. M. Przetacznikowa’s Child’s Behaviour Observation Scale), film recordings, participant observation records, and the author’s own techniques. The findings were collected over a period of two years from two groups of kindergarten children (45 in total) aged 3 to 6 (from three pedagogical systems: Montessorian, Waldorf and standard).The findings in the areas of social development covered by this dissertation indicate a remarkable growth in social involvement in play among the children from the standard group.To recapitulate, the research hypothesis that this work set out to verify has been confirmed. The analysis of the findings allows the conclusion that all three pedagogical microsystems stimulate a child’s social development