Formation of a healthy lifestyle in the preschool education system

RESEARCH ARTICLE Formation of a healthy lifestyle in the preschool education system Alexander V. Zhidkov PhD Info communication technologies and communication systems Ulyanovsk State University Russia Email: ; Doi Serial                  Keywords Person, child, culture, lifestyle, education, upbringing. Abstract

Pre-school education is the primary stage of socialization of the individual. It provides the beginning (forms the basis) of the all-round development of the child in accordance with his/her inclinations, inclinations, abilities, individual psychology, physical characteristics, interests and needs. Unfortunately, in the system of pre-school education in terms of the formation of values of environmentally safe development and health, there are a number of problems and contradictions that require prompt resolution and eradication. On the other hand, the existing system in Ukraine needs significant modernization, taking into account the needs and challenges delegated by globalization processes, as well as the experience of this work accumulated in the leading countries of the world. Let us dwell on this in more detail.

At the legislative level of Ukraine, preschool education is recognized as the primary element of the general structure of education in the state. At the same time, this level of education is not defined as mandatory and is provided to the child at the request of the parents. Thus, in fact, the issue of state guarantees of preschool education is removed, its role in the system of continuous education is questioned, and preconditions are created for the unequal preparation of children for school.

The main processes of preschool education development are regulated by the legislation of Ukraine, in particular, the main provisions of the International Convention of the United Nations on the Rights of the Child, the Laws of Ukraine "On Education", "On Preschool Education", "On Child Protection", the Charter of the preschool institution, and other state regulatory acts in the field of preschool education. Taking into account today's realities, a state standard of preschool education has been created - the Basic Component of Preschool Education in Ukraine. According to the State National Program "Education. Ukraine in the 21st Century", preschool education should cover a comprehensive study of the problems of family and public education in modern social conditions; establishment of age standards for physical, mental and spiritual development of children; creation of optimal scientific and methodological conditions for the activities of preschool institutions of various types; updating the content, forms and methods of education and development of children.

State policy in this area is focused on the compulsory nature of preschool education, the humanization of the pedagogical process, the creation of favorable conditions for the development of children, ensuring the unity of work of parents, preschool institutions, and the public in their upbringing, updating the content of training of teaching staff, and improving the conditions for financing preschool education and management.

Based on the objectives of state policy, the All-Ukrainian Association of Preschool Education Workers was created in 2011, which in the last year alone are considered the most important events: recognition of the prestige of preschool education; approval of the State Targeted Social Program for the Development of Preschool Education for the Period up to 2017; restoration of preschool space; holding the III All-Ukrainian Congress of Education Workers; holding the Forum of Ministers of Education of European Countries "School of the XXI Century: Kyiv Initiatives"; creation of the All-Ukrainian public organization "Association of Preschool Education Workers"; holding business meetings at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; participation in the Days of Education and Science of Ukraine in the Russian Federation; the Ministry launched and held for the first time the All-Ukrainian Festival "Lullaby Song"; the first All-Ukrainian Internet meetings of parents of future first-graders [1].

Discussion

The issues of preschool education development today are of concern to teachers and psychologists and require further study and improvement. In this context, scientific research in the field of preschool pedagogy is also being developed. Due to the openness of society, comparative pedagogical research is being updated, the purpose of which is to study foreign pedagogical theory and practice of preschool education.

Based on the fact that preschool education is mainly based on play activities, a number of scientists, educators and psychologists are moving towards creating works for the full development of children's intelligence. These are L. A. Venger , A. L. Usova, V. M. Avanesova, S. M. Boguslavskaya, O. M. Dyachenko, N. E. Veraksa , E. O. Smirnova, A. K. Bondarenko, M. Ya. Mikhalenko, N. A. Korotkova and others.

Important developments on the issues of forming the foundations of environmental culture in preschool children belong to such scientists as M. I. Bauer, M. I. Kurik , N. V. Lysenko, Z. P. Plokhy , T. S. Naumenko.

The psychological and pedagogical foundations for the formation of primary ecological concepts in preschoolers are the ideas of leading scientists S. L. Rubinstein, L. S. Vygotsky, A. V. Zaporozhets, N. N. Poddyakov , V. V. Davydov.

In general, I would like to note that the view of modern pedagogical science is directed, first of all, at the question:

• >    optimization of the fundamentals of scientific and methodological support for the pedagogical process in kindergarten;

• >    a personality-oriented approach to education;

• >    development of spirituality in a child as a dominant principle in the personality structure, work with gifted children;

• >    research into the pedagogical conditions for the full physical and mental development of a child in preschool years. The problems of compensatory education and training of children with developmental disabilities require solutions.

Therefore, today, great importance in preschool education should be given to all the best that has been developed during this period. Along with this, the improvement of scientific and methodological support, the use of developments and qualitatively new authorial pedagogical programs taking into account the significant traditions and achievements of domestic pedagogy will allow directing the exit of the preschool education process to a qualitatively new level based on equality, rationality, benefit, preservation and development of traditional spiritual and cultural values. Also important is the process of personality-oriented education, in which each child will feel unique, protected, will feel emotional comfort and desire for further development.

The first years of a child's life are the most favorable for the formation of prerequisites for worldview, world perception, cognitive and educational activities, and therefore the most optimal age for attending preschool children's institutions is considered to be the age from 3 to 6 years. The child's constant acquisition of new knowledge and skills should not be chaotic, but meaningful: the formation of worldview attitudes and values of future generations of Ukrainians. Therefore, the orientation of preschool education on the fundamental principles of humanism and democracy, the ecological component in the approach to the formation of new content of the entire educational process will contribute to its gradual integration into the pan-European educational space.

Also, perhaps the most important is the full physical, emotional and psychological development of young Ukrainian citizens, which should be carried out in combination with the main elements of training, upbringing, self-education and self-development, the formation of a solid foundation for further acquisition of basic knowledge, skills and abilities. Particular attention should be given to both the technological component aimed at acquiring the basic social skills necessary in future activities, and the moral component, which will allow a meaningful and responsible attitude to nature, culture, history, the surrounding society, their own actions, to actualize and compare personal needs, desires and intentions with the requirements of public ethics, morality and spiritual development of society.

In turn, today specialists in various branches of modern science associate the problems of the spiritual progress of humanity with the teachings of Academician Vladimir Vernadsky on the noosphere as a "measure of humanity's ideas about justice." According to him, the future of humanity is connected with the integration of socio-cultural and natural-scientific thinking, which is a prerequisite for the formation of a common planetary, cosmic thinking, the awareness that an indispensable condition for the survival and progress of humanity is the embodiment of the ideal of a person who is characterized by spirituality, awareness of his responsibility, and the desire for perfection.

According to G. Vaschenko : "Love for nature should be cultivated from early childhood. Children who cannot yet walk should be taken out into the fresh air more often so that they can see their native sky, trees, flowers, and various animals. All this remains in the child's soul, illuminated by a feeling of joy, and will lay the foundation for love for native nature" [2].

In continuation of this, - wrote V. A. Sukhomlinsky, - "... the school of the future must make the most complete use for the harmonious development of man of everything that nature gives and that man can do to ensure that nature serves him. For this reason alone, we must protect and replenish the natural resources that exist" [3].

In turn, as N. N. Kamshilov notes : “It is necessary that a child, starting from an early age, gets used to evaluating his actions not only by their immediate effect, but also to bear responsibility for their consequences, i.e. to evaluate the present in light of the future. Only with such education of the younger generation ... the future of humanity will be in safe hands” [4].

Thus, the problem of establishing an eco-friendly lifestyle as the leading life value of children today worries everyone - scientists, teachers, the public. What and how to teach children in order to form in them, at a level accessible to them, a modern scientific picture of the world, an idea of the place of man in this world, about the peculiarities of relationships in this world? [14, 56].

Familiarization with the basics of the ecological culture of the individual in the conditions of an educational institution is impossible without searching for and introducing new pedagogical technologies of education, providing for the improvement of the educational process by means of children's heuristics, the introduction of new cognitive and creative exemplary forms of active activity of children, a combination of preschool and family education of ideological value orientations.

The software and methodological support for the formation of the foundations of the individual's ecological culture in the conditions of a preschool institution is reflected in the programs: "Baby" (Scientific supervisor of the authors' collective Z. P. Plokhy ); "Child" (E. V. Belkina, N. M. Bibik , M. S. Vashulenko and others); "Ukrainian preschool education" (N. M. Miskiv and others) [5, p. 85].

Thus, the “Child” program allows educators to introduce the child to the world of native nature in a timely manner, to cultivate a love for it, to develop a cognitive interest in objects and phenomena of nature, and to lay the foundation for an ecological worldview.

Author's programs aimed at developing an ecological worldview and ecological culture of preschoolers can be conditionally divided into three main groups:

• >    programs with an ecological (bioecological) focus;

• >    programs with an aesthetic and ecological focus.

• >    programs with social and environmental focus.

The programs of the first group focus on issues of classical ecology (they introduce children to individual dependencies between living objects and the environment, ecosystems). These include the programs of G. Belenkaya, A. Boginich "Nature and Movement", S. Nikolaeva "Young Ecologist", N. Kondratieva "We", Zh. Vasyakina -Novikova "Web", A. Koroleva "Ecological Path", etc.

The programs of the second group pay attention to the aesthetic and moral education of children, and the issue of ecology itself acts as the basic foundation for the formation of the best aesthetic and moral feelings. Natural objects are considered from the standpoint of the "elements": earth, air, fire, water. The following programs can be attributed to this group of programs: V. Ashikova , S. Ashikova "Rainbow", I. Bulavina, M. Naidenskaya "The Planet is Our Home", T. Popova "The World Around Us", T. Koptseva "Nature and the Artist", etc.

The third group of programs is distinguished by the content of the context of socially oriented issues (social ecology, economics, human studies ). Examples of programs in this group include M. Veresov’s “We are earthlings”, T. Potapova’s “Kindergarten XX I ”, L. Klarina’s “Economics and ecology” [6].

Today, there are a number of programs that are designed to help kindergarten teachers on environmental issues, namely: the author's program of scientists from the M. P. Dragomanov National Pedagogical University "Nature and Movement", developed on the basis of the philosophy of the American program "s t ep by s t ep ». The next program that can be used in working with preschoolers is the program “Development”, developed by a research team led by L. Venger , the program of N. Kondratieva “We”, the program of S. Ashikova and V. Ashikov “Rainbow”, the program of T. Koptseva “Nature and the Artist”, the program of L. Klarina, the program of T. Potapova “Kindergarten”, the author’s thematic program “Young Ecologist”, developed by S. Nikolaeva, the ecological-psycho -pedagogical training “The World Around Us – and I Am Its Particle”, author D. Romanovskaya [7, pp. 18– 20].

Thus, it should be noted that familiarizing preschool children with the world of nature is the most important means of forming a harmonious, comprehensively developed personality, possessing knowledge and skills of ecologically appropriate behavior in nature. All of the above programs can be successfully used by teachers of preschool educational institutions and will help them in organizing interesting and maximally effective work with children.

To summarize the above, we note the need to modernize the content of preschool education in Ukraine, as such, which requires the definition of clear methodological foundations that take into account modern world and European trends in the development of preschool education and at the same time are based on national achievements, innovative approaches, and domestic culture.

Speaking about the modernization of preschool education in general, we note that, first of all, the system of the network of children's preschool institutions has changed. Preschool institutions with humanitarian, mathematical, and aesthetic directions of work have appeared in it. These institutions are of interest to parents and are serious competitors to traditional preschool institutions. Children's preschool institutions of physical education and health, art and aesthetics, health education, developmental training, familiarization with the cultural traditions of the Ukrainian people, and others are also developing.

Modern preschool institutions are gradually moving away from old stereotypes. The content of the preschool institution's work includes children studying a foreign language, computer literacy, ethnography, choreography, sports exercises, etc., the network of groups with short-term stay of children, weekends, with a flexible work schedule is expanding.

Modernization of the content of preschool education should provide for the following:

• •    “... orientation of teachers towards the importance of taking into account the objective laws of physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual development of a child from birth to six (seven) years of life”;

• •    "... creation and implementation of innovative technologies for development, training and education of preschool children." It should be noted that in modern pedagogy the terms "innovation" and "innovative" mean a certain novelty concerning one or another aspect of the educational process. The end result (direct product) of creative search can be new technologies, original educational ideas, forms and methods of education, non-standard approaches to management.

At the same time, what is new in pedagogy is not only the author's ideas, approaches, technological methods that have not been used before, but also a set of elements or individual elements of the pedagogical process with progressive principles, which allows for the effective provision of development and self-development of the individual. Evidence of this is, in particular, the active appeal of teachers to the pedagogical heritage of the past -domestic and foreign.

Pedagogical innovations include achievements of individual teachers, creative groups, which represent a holistic system of work in a certain direction, mainly insufficiently covered in scientific and methodological literature. These systems are based on the ideas of famous teachers and on their own experience and intuition. The merit of their authors is that they collect, systematize, and generalize the necessary material bit by bit, put their findings and their understanding of the problem into it, and this gives grounds to speak about novelty, originality, and at the same time about the reality of approaches to the implementation of the tasks set.

At the present stage, there are also a number of problems in the development of the innovation process in preschool institutions, in particular, on software issues, the main ones of which are:

o combination of innovative programs with existing ones ;

o a very conflictual coexistence of representatives of different pedagogical approaches and concepts, an exacerbation of contradictions between them;

o discrepancy between the work of preschool institutions, which refuse to organize educational activities for children, and the expectations and demands of parents;

o the need for systematic and coordinated scientific and methodological support for the educational activities carried out;

o lack of a clear and understandable system for assessing the quality of program implementation and monitoring the status of their implementation;

o slow change in teaching staff.

In the process of preschool education, the child's approach to the analysis of objects and phenomena of reality changes radically, he develops a need to find hidden internal connections and patterns. The formation of a system of specific ideas, ordered by the gradualness of their acquisition, ensures an exit beyond the limits of direct perception. It is possible to carry out perceptual and intellectual actions with the help of schemes, models, the use of which presupposes practical activity. In this way, knowledge is systematized, which significantly expands the capabilities of preschoolers in comprehending hidden essential connections in a certain sphere of reality (15, 89).

Knowledge about the needs of a living organism is accessible to children, starting from a young age, since it can be clearly presented and included in the child's activities. The feasibility of preschoolers to master the system of knowledge about a living organism has been proven by the research of A. F. Terentyeva, N. M. Kondratyeva, T. A. Markova, I. A. Komarova , D. F. Petyaeva, as well as many years of the author's research. A child's awareness of the properties and needs of all living things contributes to an understanding of the intrinsic value of life, its vulnerability, and the inadmissibility of causing harm to it (21, 89).

A significant place in the content of ecological knowledge is acquired by knowledge of social ecology, which comprehensively illuminates the problems of the system "man - society - nature", helps to understand one's place in nature. Recently, man has been rightfully involved in the sphere of the subject field of ecology as an object of research. The modern ecological situation is a clear evidence that man cannot dissociate himself from nature and live only in a socio-cultural environment.

The well-known specialist in environmental education A.N. Zakhlebny identifies four interrelated components of environmental knowledge: cognitive – the main ideas about the nature of the interaction between nature and society, about global environmental problems and ways to solve them; value – value orientations regarding the social and personal significance of nature; normative – the foundations of moral and legal norms of nature management, rules of conduct in the environment; activity-based – types and methods of activity aimed at developing practical environmental skills [8]. Let us dwell on them in more detail.

Cognitive knowledge is knowledge of facts, terms, generalized ideas, elementary concepts. They give children the opportunity to navigate the environment, understand the unity of nature, the interdependence of its objects and phenomena.

Evaluative knowledge characterizes the norms of attitude toward objects and phenomena, their significance for nature and man. This component of knowledge is important for the formation of a value attitude toward nature.

Normative knowledge is characterized by the fact that it helps to understand the rules of behavior in nature, diagnose reality, foresee the possible consequences of human actions in nature, and understand what the disruption of environmental processes leads to.

An important condition for the high efficiency of teaching students in general and preschoolers in particular (completeness, systemicity, awareness of knowledge) is compliance with certain principles of selecting environmental knowledge for assimilation by children. The most important of them are the principles of scientificity, accessibility, systemicity, encyclopedicity, integration, concentricity, orientation toward environmentally appropriate behavior, constructivism, and continuity.

Conclusion

The use of these principles by preschool workers will allow children to develop, along with high learning efficiency, the ability to more easily adapt terms, form a general strategy for cognitive activity, form knowledge about the elementary picture of the world, connect the acquired knowledge with various scientific fields, form a process of mutual understanding of nature in its interrelations, etc.

The principle of accessibility involves adapting scientific terms that are difficult for preschoolers to understand, explaining their content in a language accessible to children of this age with the use of game and fairy-tale characters, figurative comparisons, etc., the ability to illustrate scientific facts using objects from the immediate natural environment, and determining the appropriate volume of factual material (names, numbers, etc.).

The principle of systemicity is one of the most difficult to implement and most important in terms of significance for the formation of ecological concepts in children. The source of mental development is the content of knowledge, the child's assimilation of scientific (not empirical) concepts that require an appropriate form of training (L. S. Vygotsky).

The principle of encyclopedia is the acquisition by children of a certain volume and content of knowledge about nature, thanks to which they navigate the world of animals, plants, objects of inorganic nature, common natural phenomena. The presence of multidisciplinary knowledge can become the basis for the formation of an elementary picture of the world, and contribute to the successful acquisition of the content of the school curriculum.

The principle of integration is ensured by the very nature of ecological knowledge, combining in its content various scientific fields. Integration presupposes the greening of the teacher's activities and various types of the child's activities. The peculiarities of the organization of educational and upbringing work with preschoolers in kindergarten allow creating more optimal conditions for the implementation of this principle than in school.

The principle of concentricity follows from the specifics of the organization of preschool education, the holistic perception of the surrounding world by preschoolers. This principle is closely connected with the previous principles of encyclopedicity and integration and consists in the fact that children, starting with familiarization with the external properties of natural objects (younger preschoolers), gradually come to the knowledge of their internal essential connections with the environment in senior preschool age. Thus , a sufficient understanding of nature in its interrelations, variability, and development is formed.

The principle of orientation towards ecologically appropriate behavior consists of selecting the volume and content of knowledge about the immediate natural environment, which can be arbitrarily actualized in everyday interaction with the natural world (and not accumulated for the future) and helps to foresee the consequences of one’s own behavior in relation to its objects. This principle is aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of the knowledge acquired by children [9].

Thus, the effectiveness of preschool education depends on the joint actions of the family and preschool institutions, the environmental education of parents and educators, their desire to be environmentally conscious and pass this on to children [10, p. 113]. Children are brought up through conversations, play activities, reading fiction; myths, fairy tales; watching children's films and filmstrips, television and radio programs, children's competitions and festivals, etc., taking into account age-related needs and capabilities. Greater effectiveness is achieved through direct exposure to the natural environment.