Experimental study of children's psychological readiness for schooling
Organization and methods of experimental research
Testing a child is necessary for at least the following reasons:
Firstly, to determine how well his level of development corresponds to the norms that are typical for children of this age.
Thus, we can understand that these models contain affective and cognitive components, usually unconscious, forming generalized and usually stable mental representations of the self, others and the world; in this sense, help the child regulate, interpret and predict behavior, thoughts and feelings in interactive situations. Dynamic internal models created from relationships with attachment figures are the result of interaction experiences that become increasingly complex but also generalizable.
According to Bowlby, the quality of these models is directly related to how sensitive attachment figures are to children's needs in terms of comfort, protection, care and support when exploring the environment, as well as their availability and ability to perceive and respond to these needs on a conditional basis.
Secondly, diagnostics are needed in order to find out the individual characteristics of the development of abilities. Some of them may be well developed, and some not so much. The child has certain underdeveloped intellectual abilities may cause serious difficulties in subsequent schooling. With the help of tests, these “weak points” can be identified in advance, and appropriate adjustments can be made to intellectual training
This characteristic is based on its motivational origin, on the orientation of organisms to goals, to physical stimuli and to the existence of rules: play is not motivated by instincts or movements or factors external to behavior, but rather by internally motivated behavior; play is spontaneous in the sense that its goals are self-imposed and not imposed by others; in contrast to search behavior, the purpose of which is to reduce uncertainty and obtain information about a certain object in a game situation that is the subject of a known object, the question arises of what can be done with it; the game consists of a set of symbolic, and not just sensorimotor actions, that is, the general meanings of objects can be dispensed with, and the child can take on new meanings for a given object; the game is free, in the sense that there are no rules defined a priori; and finally, play requires the child to actively participate in a particular activity.
Thirdly, tests can be useful in assessing the effectiveness of the tools and methods that you use for the mental development of your child.
And finally, fourthly, children need to be introduced to various tests so that they are thus prepared for the testing tests that will await them both when entering school and at various stages of education in the future. Familiarity with typical test tasks will help them avoid unnecessary emotional stress or confusion during such tests, called the “surprise effect,” and feel more confident and comfortable.
In its interactive form, that is, in interaction with peers, play is understood as a very complex and multidimensional phenomenon that includes several structural and social components. According to several theoretical and empirical studies, interactive play is considered to be a context of immediate consequences for children's social competence. Interactive play is seen both as a reflection of social competence and as a direct facilitator of skills that promote more positive relationships with peers.
Knowledge of these tests will allow them to equalize the chances with those who, for one reason or another, already have test experience.
There are three main areas in which children develop psychologically - cognitive processes, personality and interpersonal relationships. All of them must be assessed if the task is to determine the level psychological development child, there are special techniques for everyone.
That is, even if the question of the causal relationship between play with peers and children's social competence remains open, there is an implied connection between the quality of children's play and the quality of their relationships with children. steam. Finally, skills associated with interactive play may serve as a foundation for and contribute to other important skills later in development, such as school adjustment in childhood and adolescence, and the ability to share emotions between friends and into adolescence.
Communication quality and interactive game quality. Several studies have analyzed and concluded positive relationships between the quality of children's bonds with their primary caregivers and their social competence. However, although children's play with peers can be understood as a component of their social competence, the two constructs are not equivalent, and it is important to examine both constructs specifically.
The following materials and methods were selected and prepared for the research.
Diagnostic methods intellectual readiness to school
1) General orientation of children in the world around them and their stock of everyday knowledge
The general orientation of children just entering school in the world around them and the assessment of the stock of everyday knowledge they have is made based on answers to the following questions:
To our knowledge, although some earlier studies have suggested possible links between attachment type and early symbolic functioning, to date there have been six studies on the quality of children's attachments to parents and the way children play. The results of these studies have demonstrated the existence of a positive relationship between constructs, suggesting that individual differences in the quality of early relationships influence the emergence of early symbolic processes.
Belsky, Garduk, and Hrncir conducted a study in which they analyzed the relationship between the quality of children's bonds with their mothers and fathers and children's levels of free and structured play. The results showed that children rated as secure in terms of attachment, explored their environment more thoroughly, and used their cognitive skills better in play than children classified as insecure.
1. What is your name?
(Using your last name instead of your first name is not a mistake.)
2. How old are you?
3. What are your parents' names?
(Using diminutive names is not considered an error.)
4. What is the name of the city where you live?
5. What is the name of the street where you live?
6. What is your house and apartment number?
Slade's longitudinal study sought to explore the relationship between children's quality of communication and the development of symbolic play. The author concluded that differences between secure and insecure groups of children are not due to differences in their cognitive ability, but rather to how cognitive competencies interact with social skills. In another longitudinal study, Howes demonstrated that children became more secure with caregivers and more engaged in challenging play with peers as they were in child care programs longer.
7. What animals do you know? Which ones are wild and which ones are domesticated?
(The correct answer is one that names at least two wild and at least two domestic animals.)
8. At what time of year do leaves appear and at what time of year do leaves fall from trees?
9. What is the name of that time of day when you wake up, give both and get ready for bed?
Likewise, their caregivers also become more sensitive over time. In addition, the findings suggest that there is a direct relationship between child attachment security and social competence behavior, as well as an indirect relationship between caregiver sensitivity and child peer behavior.
Mines and Russell examined the relationship between communication security and children's symbolic play. To this end, they analyzed children's responses to specific suggestions from the experimenter in terms of their success or failure to respond and incorporate what was suggested. Results showed that at the single-play level, there were no differences between secure and insecure children in their ability to play pretend. However, children with a secure attachment were more able to use the experimenter's suggestions and incorporate them into their play sequences, resulting in higher levels of educational play.
10. Name the items of clothing and cutlery that you use.
(The correct answer is one that lists at least three items of clothing and at least three different cutlery items.)
For the correct answer to each of the proposed questions, the child receives 1 point. The maximum number of points that one child can receive using this method for correct answers to all questions is 10.
According to the authors, one explanatory hypothesis for these findings is maternal sensitivity, suggesting that maternal protective attachment is responsible for establishing the child's tendency to use others as helpful sources of information and guidance.
Finally, multiple regression analyzes led us to conclude that network connections were, overall, a better predictor of children's ability to play in the school environment than connections alone. More recently, Kugmas examined associations between children's connections and three different variables: cognitive and social play, children's contact with peers and the teacher during a free play session, and individual child characteristics. The results of this study showed that the more often children expressed some form of security in their relationship with the teacher, the more time they spent in cooperative play and the more interaction they had with the teacher.
The child is given 30 seconds to answer each question. Failure to respond within this time is classified as an error and is scored 0 points.
A child who has answered all the questions correctly is considered to be completely psychologically ready for school (according to this method), i.e. In the end I got 10 points. During the time allotted for answering, the child can be asked additional questions that make it easier, but do not suggest the correct answer.
It was also found that the more contact with children and their teachers during free play, the more sociable they were, they expressed more positive emotions, and they were more open to the experience. We can therefore conclude that there is a relative paucity of empirical research that addresses the quality of child attachment, particularly in relation to bonding with parents and how children playfully interact with peers in the school context. Additionally, we are not aware of any research that has analyzed children's attachment beliefs and their social play abilities.
2) Test to assess verbal logical thinking
The child answers the questions:
1. Which animal is larger - a horse or a dog?
2. In the morning people have breakfast. And in the evening?
3. It’s light outside during the day, but at night?
4. The sky is blue, and the grass?
5. Cherries, pears, plums, apples... - what are they?
6. Why do they lower the barrier when a train is coming?
In this sense main goal of this study - to test the relationship between the quality of children's attachment beliefs and various types of children's social play preschool age. We propose that children with more secure ties may be better able to interact with peers in play contexts than children with less secure ties.
Fifty-five children, 29 women, aged 4 to 5 years, took part in the study. All families were informed about the purpose of the study and signed informed consent. Tools: description, application and quotation. Job completion task. It is used between the ages of 3 and 6 years and consists of an interview lasting about 30 minutes during which stories from six different stories are presented through a family of small dolls, being the first neutral story, so not quoted.
7. What are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Khabarovsk?
8. What time is it now? (The child is shown a watch and asked to tell the time.)
9. A small cow is a calf. A little dog and a little sheep - is it?..
Which dog is more like a cat or a chicken?
11. Why do cars need brakes?
12. How are a hammer and an ax similar to each other?
The interviewer and the child sat face to face at a table. The interviewer began by introducing each family member to the child, asking him to name each of the children as well as the neighbor, and explained the following to the child: Let's tell some stories about our family. Each beginning of the story ended with the following request from the experimenter: “Show me and tell me what is happening now.” To begin each subsequent story, the experimenter said to the child, “How do you think your story might end?” Or “Did anything else happen in this story or can we move on to the next one?” All interviews were administered and filmed by previously trained investigators who were blinded to any information about the participants.
13. What do a squirrel and a cat have in common?
14. What is the difference between a nail and a screw?
15. What is football, high jumping, tennis, swimming?
16. What types of transport do you know?
17. What is the difference between an old man and a young man?
18. Why do people play sports?
19. Why is it considered bad if someone doesn’t want to work?
At a later stage, interviews were selectively selected and quoted by three researchers, as well as those who had previously trained, were unfamiliar with the data collection situation and were unaware of any information relating to the children. The citation also takes into account the type of resolution given to the problem caused by each story. It consists of 32 items that describe a child's specific behavior in the context of play activities with other children during play or free game. For example: paragraph 6 “Shares with other children”; item 11 “He is ignored by others”; point 14 “Destroy the things of others.”
20. Why is it necessary to put stamps on the envelope?
Correct answers:
1. More horse.
2. In the evening they have dinner.
4. Green.
5. Fruits.
6. To avoid a collision between a train and a car.
7. Cities.
8. Correct answer in hours and minutes. (A quarter to seven, five minutes to eight, etc.)
9. Puppy, lamb.
10. Like a cat, since they have 4 legs, fur, a tail, claws (it is enough to name at least one similarity).
Items are rated on a 4-point response scale ranging from 1, never happens, to 4, always. Three dimensions can be identified related to the game's characteristics: Disruption, Disconnection, and Peer Interaction. The disruption factor consists of items related to aggressive and antisocial humorous behavior, such as initial arguments and arguments, passing things on to others, and verbal and physical aggression.
Finally, the positive interaction factor evaluates strengths playfulness and playfulness, focusing on behaviors such as sharing ideas, leading, helping other children, and encouraging others to engage in play. The authors confirmed that all items in the instrument had standardized weights equal to or greater than 5, indicating that all factors had face validity. On the other hand, composite reliability was also found to be high, with all values being higher than those obtained by Cronbach's alpha.
Any answer indicating the need to reduce the speed of the car is considered correct.
These are tools.
These are animals that can climb trees, have paws, a tail, fur, etc.
The nail is smooth, and the screw is threaded; the nail is hammered in and the screw is screwed in.
Types of sports.
At a minimum, the child must name three types of transport (bus, tram, metro, plane, etc.).
At least three significant features: “ old man he walks slowly, with a stick, he has a lot of wrinkles, he gets sick often, etc.”
To be healthy, strong, beautiful, etc.
There will be no money to buy food and clothing, pay for rent, etc.
This is how they pay for sending a letter.
When analyzing the answers that a child gives, those that are reasonable enough and correspond to the meaning of the question posed are considered correct. A high level of development of verbal and logical thinking - if the child answered 15 - 16 questions correctly.
(according to D.B. Elkonin)
The ability to act strictly according to instructions is tested.
Invite your child to place a pencil (pen) on a point and, without lifting it from the sheet, draw an image, performing all actions under dictation.
Dictation 1. Mock test (not graded).
One cell up, one to the right, one cell down, one to the right, one up, one to the right, one down, one to the right, one up, one to the right, one down, one to the right... Now continue drawing further in the same way.
Dictation 2. Place a pencil on a dot, start drawing: one cell up, two cells to the right, one up, one to the right, one down, two to the right, one down, one to the right, one up, two to the right, one up, one to the right.. Then continue drawing yourself.
Dictation 3. Place the pencil on the dot. Start drawing: three cells up, one to the right, two down, one to the right, two up, one to the right, three down, one to the right, two up, one to the right, two down, one to the right, three up... then continue on your own.
1. Good level: error-free dictation in two versions and independent continuation of the pattern (at least one figure).
2. Average level: 1-2 errors.
3. Low level: three or more errors.
4) Color perception
The child is asked to color the rainbow and name its colors.
Depending on the answer, it is estimated as a percentage:
1 color – 14%
2 colors – 28% (low)
3 colors – 43%
4 colors – 57% ( intermediate level)
5 colors – 71%
6 colors – 86%
7 colors – 100% (high level)
5) Concentration
The child is asked to look at the pictures depicting “confusion” and name the objects depicted on the sheet. The number of named items is estimated. The maximum possible number of points scored by a child is 6.
6) Voluntary attention. Spatial perception, sensorimotor coordination ("House" method by N.I. Gutkina)
The child is asked to copy the drawing of the house. The accuracy of the image is assessed.
Absence of any detail of the drawing.
Enlarging individual details of a drawing by more than two times while maintaining the relatively correct size of the entire drawing.
Incorrectly depicted element of the picture.
incorrect arrangement of parts in the drawing space.
Deviation from straight lines by more than 30 degrees from the given direction.
Breaks between lines where they should be connected.
7) Imagination
The child is asked to complete six circles to create different objects. The diversity and originality of images is assessed.
10 points – the child came up with and drew something original, unusual, clearly indicating an extraordinary imagination, a rich imagination. The drawing makes a great impression on the viewer; its images and details are carefully worked out.
8-9 points – the child came up with and drew something quite original, imaginative, emotional and colorful, although the image is not completely new. The details of the picture are worked out well.
5-7 points - the child came up with and drew something that, in general, is not new, but carries obvious elements of creative imagination and leaves a certain emotional impression on the viewer. The details and images of the drawing are worked out moderately.
3-4 points - the child drew something very simple, unoriginal, and the drawing shows little imagination and the details are not very well worked out.
0-2 points - in the allotted time, the child was unable to come up with anything and drew only individual strokes and lines.
Conclusions about the level of development
10 points – very high.
8-9 points – high.
5-7 points – average.
3-4 points – low.
0-2 points – very low.
8) Test of “School maturity” (A. Kern)
The test consists of three tasks:
drawing a male figure from an idea,
imitation of written letters,
drawing a group of points.
The drawing of the man must be done according to the presentation.
When copying written words, the same conditions must be provided as when copying a group of points combined into a geometric figure. To do this, each child is given sheets of paper with examples of completing the second and third tasks.
All three tasks place demands on fine motor skills.
The School Maturity Test is often used to roughly assess the level of development.
The 1st task makes it possible to identify the relationship between visual activities and the development of the second signaling system, abstract thinking, an indicative assessment of general mental development.
The 2nd and 3rd tasks are related to the level of development of the child’s ability for certain behavior (he must show volitional effort, follow instructions in unattractive work within the required time), which is an important prerequisite for successful learning at school.
Appendix 5 provides examples of completing tasks.
Evaluation of the results obtained:
Compare your child’s assignments with the examples above and give marks.
Children who receive a total of 3-5 points are considered “school-mature”.
“Medium-mature” – 6-9 points.
“Immature” – 10 or more points.
Methods for diagnosing personal readiness for learning at school
9) The child’s attitude towards learning at school
The purpose of this technique is to determine the initial motivation for learning in children entering school, i.e. find out if they have an interest in learning.
The child’s attitude towards learning, along with other psychological signs of readiness to learn, forms the basis for the conclusion about whether the child is a Yut or not a Yut to study at school. Even if everything is fine with his cognitive processes and he knows how to interact with other children and adults in joint activities, a child cannot be said to be completely ready for school. The lack of desire to learn with two signs of psychological readiness - cognitive and communicative - allows a child to be admitted to school, provided that during the first few months of his stay at school, interest in learning will certainly appear. This refers to the desire to acquire new knowledge, useful skills and abilities related to mastering the school curriculum.
Practice has shown that in this method, as in the previous one concerning children of primary school age, one should not limit oneself only to assessments of 0 points and 1 point, since, firstly, there are also complex questions here, one of which the child may answer correctly and answer another incorrectly; secondly, the answers to the proposed questions may be partly correct and partly incorrect. For complex issues, to which the child did not answer completely, and questions that allow a partially correct answer, it is recommended to apply a score of 0.5 points. Taking into account the introduced intermediate score of 0.5 points, it should be considered that a child who, as a result of answering all questions, scored at least 8 points, is fully ready to study at school (based on the results of the examination using this technique). A child who scores from 5 to 8 points will be considered not quite ready for learning. Finally, a child whose total score is less than 5 is considered not ready for learning.
To answer this method, the child is asked the following series of questions:
1. Do you want to go to school?
2. Why do you need to go to school?
3. What will you do at school? (Option: what do they usually do at school?)
4. What do you need to have in order to be ready to go to school?
5. What are lessons? What do they do on them?
6. How should you behave in class at school?
7. What are homework assignments?
8. Why do you need to do homework?
9. What will you do at home when you come home from school?
10. What new things will appear in your life when you start school?
A correct answer is considered to be one that sufficiently fully and accurately corresponds to the meaning of the question. In order to be considered ready for school, a child must give correct answers to the vast majority of questions asked of him. If the answer received is not complete enough or not entirely accurate, then the questioner should ask the child additional, leading questions and only if the child answers them, make a final conclusion about the level of readiness for learning. Before asking this or that question, it is imperative to make sure that the child correctly understood the question posed to him.
The maximum number of points that a child can receive using this method is 10. It is believed that he is practically psychologically ready to go to school if the correct answers are received to at least half of all questions asked.
10) Test “What am I?”
This technique is intended to determine the self-esteem of a preschool child. The experimenter, using the protocol presented below (Table 2), asks the child how he perceives himself and evaluates himself according to 10 different positive qualities personality. The assessments offered by the child to himself are entered by the experimenter in the appropriate columns of the protocol, and then converted into points.
Evaluation of results
Answers like “yes” are scored 1 point, answers like “no” are scored 0 points. Answers like “I don’t know” and “sometimes” are scored 0.5 points. A child’s self-esteem is determined by the total points he scores on all personality traits.
Conclusions about the level of development
10 points – very high.
8-9 points – high.
4-7 points – average.
2-3 points – low.
0-1 point – very low.
Topic: Analysis of methods for preparing children for school
Plan
Introduction
1. Orientation test school maturity Kerna–Jiraseka
2. Program by H. Breuer and M. Woiffen
3. Methods “Pattern” L.I. Tsehanskaya, “Graphic dictation” by D.B. Elkonina, “Drawing by points” by A.L. Wenger
4. Methodology for determining readiness for schooling M.N. Kostikova
5. Methodology for diagnosing psychological readiness for school education N.I. Gutkina
Literature
Introduction
Schooling is one of the most serious stages in a child’s life. Therefore, the concern that both adults and children show as they approach school is understandable. Some parents, educators, and even the children themselves perceive this moment as a kind of examination of the child for the entire preschool period of life. Such an assessment of the event is, perhaps, not without meaning, because in order to study at school, a child will need everything that he acquired during the period of preschool childhood. For many first-graders, it is not at all easy to fulfill school requirements; to do this, they need significant stress. Therefore, it is important to find out in advance, even before the start of school, how well the child’s mental abilities correspond to the requirements of the school. If there is such a correspondence, then the child is ready for schooling, i.e. he is ready to overcome the difficulties that arise in his studies. The different demands placed on the child’s psyche by training determine the structure of psychological readiness; Its main components are mental and personal readiness. Mental readiness presupposes sufficient maturity of cognitive processes (perception, memory, thinking, imagination, speech), possession of knowledge, skills and abilities according to the training and education program in kindergarten, formation of general intellectual skills. Personal readiness presupposes the maturity of the motives of educational activity, a developed cognitive attitude to the outside world, a certain level of self-awareness, communicative maturity as the formation of means, skills and desire to communicate, a sufficient level of emotional and volitional development of the child’s psyche. Currently, there are a large number of diagnostic programs that can, with a certain degree of convention, be divided into three groups: 1) programs that diagnose the levels of development of individual mental functions used in educational activities; 2) programs that diagnose the maturity of the prerequisites for mastering educational activities; 3) mixed programs that diagnose individual mental functions, and prerequisites for educational activities.
In my test, I want to analyze the methods of preparing children for school.
1. Program by H. Breuer and M. Woiffen
The first group includes, first of all, the Kern-Jirasek School Maturity Orientation Test. It is aimed at diagnosing visual perception, sensorimotor coordination, and the level of development of fine motor skills of the hand. Its classic version consists of three tasks. The first is drawing a male figure from memory; second - sketching written letters; the third is drawing a group of points. The technique is standardized; the result of each task is assessed on a 5-point system (1 is the highest score, 5 is the lowest score). The final grade is obtained by adding the grades of all three tasks. The development of children who ultimately received from 3 to 6 points is considered high, above average; from 7 to 11 as normal, average; from 12 to 15 below normal. J. Jirasek studied the connection between success in this test and school performance. It turned out that children who do well on the test tend to do well in school. But a poor test result does not mean that a child cannot study well. Therefore, I. Jirasek offers his own test to identify school maturity, but its indicators cannot be used as the basis for concluding about school immaturity (unpreparedness for school). This is partly due to the lack of information about the child's mental development that this test provides. So, he does not evaluate such important aspects mental development, as intellectual and speech development. For this reason, Jirasek later introduced a verbal part into the test, which allows assessing awareness, understanding, reasoning ability, and knowledge of certain social norms.
2. Methods “Pattern” L.I. Tsehanskaya, “Graphic dictation” by D.B. Elkonina, “Drawing by points” by A.L. Wenger
Another example of a functional approach to diagnosing school maturity is program H. Breuer and M. Woiffen(1986). It is entirely focused on assessing the speech development of children. This program consists of two methods: ‘Testing the ability to differentiate and “Brief method for testing the level of development of oral speech.” The first of these techniques diagnoses the development different types differentiation (visual, phonemic, speech motor, melodic and rhythmic), which are prerequisites for the development of oral and written speech. The second technique allows you to evaluate articulation, vocabulary, speech memory and speech understanding. The diagnostic program for speech development by H. Breuer and M. Woiffen is aimed at identifying those children who need correction of speech development. Therefore, it is carried out twice: the first time about a year before the child enters school, the second time shortly before admission. After the first diagnosis, children who need targeted developmental work are identified. The second diagnosis is intended to determine how successful the use of correctional and developmental programs was. The disadvantage of this program, like the Kern-Jirasek program, is its one-sided nature. Although speech function is extremely important for successful school learning, its diagnosis is still insufficient to predict the educational activity of a student. Diagnostic methods that determine the formation of psychological prerequisites for learning are based on the provisions formulated by D. B. Elkonin that in the transitional age (from preschool to primary school) one should evaluate the formation of new formations of the previous age stage (development play activity, visual-figurative thinking), and the appearance of symptoms characterizing the onset of a new transition period educational motivation, development of self-control, etc. The subject of diagnosis is no longer individual mental functions (perception, motor skills, speech), but individual elements educational activities.
Among the methods that diagnose the formation of the prerequisites for mastering educational activities, it should be noted “Pattern” by L.I. Tsekhanskaya (1988), “Graphic dictation” by D.B. Elkonina (1988), “Drawing by points” by A.L. Wenger (1981). All these methods are aimed at studying the child’s ability to consciously subordinate his actions to the rules that determine the method of action. This ability is the most important among educational skills and abilities. “Pattern” and “Graphic Dictation” also assess the ability to listen carefully to an adult’s instructions, and “Drawing by Dots” and “Graphic Dictation” evaluate the ability to focus on a visually perceived pattern. Material techniques "Pattern" serve as geometric figures arranged in three rows. The top row consists of triangles, the bottom row consists of squares, and the middle row consists of circles. The squares are located exactly under the triangles, the circles are in the space between them. The child is given the task of drawing a pattern, following the rule: connecting triangles and squares through circles. At the same time, he must listen to the experimenter’s verbal instructions, which determine which figures should be connected and in what order. Norms for the methodology are not specified.
Methodology "Graphic dictation" is carried out like this: the child is given notebook sheet in a cell on which three dots are placed on the left side, one below the other (the vertical distance between them is seven cells). From these points, the drawing of a pattern begins under the dictation of the experimenter, who tells how many cells and in what direction the line should be drawn. For this methodology, indicators of high, medium, and low levels of implementation are defined. In the “Drawing by Points” technique it is required to reproduce sample figures by connecting the “dots” marked on the sheet with lines, following a given rule (do not draw a line between two identical “dots”). The “dots” are crosses, circles and triangles, and the sample figures are an irregular triangle, a rhombus, an irregular trapezoid, a square and a four-pointed star. Norms for the method are not given. The three methods described above are very popular among psychologists, but they evaluate only one aspect of activity - its voluntariness. Therefore, the information obtained using these techniques must be supplemented by information obtained by other techniques. A group of psychologists led by A.L. Wenger prepared a diagnostic program, which, along with the methods “Graphic dictation” and “Sample and rule (drawing dots)” included methods diagnosing verbal and visual-figurative thinking, speech development, attitude towards school, awareness, development of movements (Children’s readiness for school: diagnosis of mental development and correction of its unfavorable options. M., 1989). In our opinion, the diagnostic program of A.L. Venger, E.A. Bugrimenko and others began to be distinguished by redundancy of information, oversaturation with various techniques, united by the idea of “learning a little about everything.” It seems that the principle of reasonable sufficiency, assessment of the most important factors that determine the future, has been violated. educational activities moments of mental development.
3. Methodology for determining readiness for schooling M.N. Kostikova
The basis methods for determining readiness for schooling M.N. Kostikova The idea is that the most prognostic examination of a child will be one that will provide information about the process of solving diagnostic tasks and about the types of assistance that are necessary for their successful implementation. Special attention At the same time, it turns to the analysis of the difficulties experienced by children (stopping in completing tasks, incorrect decisions, exceeding the average time indicator). If a child encounters difficulties, he is provided with individual assistance to the extent necessary for him to overcome the difficulties. M.N. Kostikova identifies five types of assistance: stimulating, emotional-regulating, guiding, organizing and teaching. Stimulating assistance consists of the influence of a psychologist aimed at activating the child’s own capabilities to overcome difficulties. Emotional-regulatory assistance is a psychologist’s evaluative judgments expressing approval or censure of the child’s actions. Guiding assistance consists of organizing the child’s mental activity in such a way that the experimenter directs his orientation in the task, but does not interfere with the decision process itself. With organizing help, the performing part of mental activity is carried out by the child, and planning and control is carried out by the psychologist. Educational assistance is provided in cases where all other types of assistance are ineffective and the child needs to be taught a new type of activity. The main disadvantage of the developed by M.N. The Kostik method is characterized by its labor-intensiveness, cumbersomeness, and lack of standardization, which complicates the experimental procedure and requires high professionalism and special training from the psychologist.
4. Methodology for diagnosing psychological readiness for school education N.I. Gutkina
It seems to us that the most successful in terms of practical use methodology for diagnosing psychological readiness for schooling N.I. Gutkina. Its advantages lie in the fact that, despite its compactness, it allows you to assess the most important components of psychological readiness. The selection of tasks included in this methodology is theoretically justified, as a result of which the characteristic of psychological readiness is distinguished by reasonable necessity and sufficiency. This diagnostic program consists of four parts that assess the motivational-need, intellectual, speech and voluntary spheres of children's development. To study the motivational-need sphere, an experimental conversation is used to identify the “inner position of the student” and a technique to determine the dominance of cognitive or play motives. The latter consists of the following. The child is invited into a room where ordinary, not very attractive toys are displayed on tables, and he is asked to look at them for a minute. Then the experimenter calls him over and invites him to listen to a fairy tale that is interesting for his age, which he has not heard before. At the most interesting point, the reading is interrupted, and the experimenter asks the subject what he wants more at the moment - to play with toys or to listen to the end of the fairy tale. Children with pronounced cognitive interests prefer to listen to a fairy tale, and children with gaming interests prefer to play with toys. To diagnose the intellectual sphere, the “Boots” technique is used, which makes it possible to study children’s learning ability, as well as the characteristics and level of development of generalization. The experimental task involves teaching the subject to digitally encode color pictures (horse, girl, stork) based on the presence or absence of one feature - boots on their feet. There are boots - the picture is indicated by “1” (one), no boots by “0” (zero). Color pictures are offered to the subject in the form of a table containing: 1) coding rules; 2) the stage of consolidating the rule; 3) so-called riddles that the subject must solve by coding. In addition to the table with color pictures, the experiment uses a white sheet of paper with images geometric shapes, representing two more mysteries. The experimenter analyzes the nature of the mistakes the child makes and has the right to ask him leading questions (to find out whether he can solve the problem with the help of an adult), as well as questions to clarify the nature of the generalizations (empirical or theoretical). The methodology does not have standard indicators; its results are subject to qualitative analysis. To assess the intellectual component of psychological readiness, another technique, “Sequence of Events,” is used. As experimental material, it uses three plot pictures presented to the subject in the wrong sequence. The child must understand the plot, build the correct sequence of events and compose a story from the pictures. You can complete this task if you have a sufficient level of logical thinking. In addition, this technique diagnoses the speech component of psychological readiness, since compiling a story from pictures allows you to assess whether the child is fluent in language, whether he has narrative speech, and what his vocabulary is. Speech development It is also characterized by the level of phonemic awareness (the ability to identify different sounds in a word by ear). Failure to distinguish phonemes leads to the child pronouncing and writing words incorrectly, which is why diagnosing phonemic hearing is so important. For this purpose, the “Sound Hide and Seek” technique is used. . The experimenter tells the child that all words consist of sounds that we pronounce; for example, he pronounces several vowel and consonant sounds. Then the child is asked to play “hide and seek” with sounds. The conditions of the game are as follows: each time they agree on what sound to look for, after which the experimenter calls various words to the subject, and he must say whether the sound being sought is in the word or not. It is proposed to look for the sounds “o”, “a”, “sh”, “s” in turn. If the subject did not make a single mistake, then the task is considered to have been completed well; if one mistake is made, the task is completed averagely; if there is more than one error, the task was completed poorly. To diagnose an arbitrary sphere N.I. Gutkina uses two methods - “House” and “Yes and No”. The “House” technique is a task of drawing a picture depicting a house, the individual parts of which are made up of elements capital letters. The task reveals the child’s ability to copy a sample, which depends on development voluntary attention, sensorimotor coordination and fine motor skills of the hand. Analysis of the mistakes made in the drawing allows us to evaluate the above mental characteristics. The “Yes and No” technique is used to study the ability to act according to the rule and is a modification of the well-known children’s game “Don’t say yes and no, don’t wear black and white.” As the game progresses, the child is asked questions that provoke “yes” and “no” answers, but pronouncing these words is considered a mistake. The task is considered completed at good level, if no mistakes were made; if one mistake is made, this is an average level, more than one mistake is a poor level of performance. Methodology N.I. Gutkina has been tested for validity and has good predictive indicators. Some inconvenience of this technique is determined by the absence of quantitative indicators and normative boundaries for many tasks. Based on this technique, N.I. Gutkina developed a system of correctional and developmental games that allows you to form psychological readiness children to school.
Conclusion
When writing test work and studying the literature, it was revealed that two approaches can be distinguished in addressing issues of school readiness: pedagogical and psychological. Proponents of the first approach determine readiness for school by the development of educational skills in preschoolers: counting, reading, writing, etc. This approach is focused only on selection and does not allow answering the question of what program to teach a preschooler. In addition, the approach does not resolve issues of the child’s actual and potential development, forecasting quality, pace, individual characteristics mastering knowledge, etc. The psychological approach is based on the assumption that readiness for school is determined by indicators of the general mental development of a preschooler. Within the framework of this approach, a wide range of different views on the dominant role of certain characteristics and factors of the psyche is observed. For example, it is widely believed that readiness for school is determined by the value of the child’s mental maturity indicator. At the same time, mental maturity is considered as a necessary degree of development of individual mental functions such as emotional, intellectual, social, etc. Approaches that are a combination of pedagogical and psychological approaches are also possible. So, for example, according to A. Anastasi, readiness to study at school “...essentially means mastering the skills, knowledge, abilities, motivation and other behavioral characteristics necessary for optimal mastery of the school curriculum.” Within the framework of this approach, skills and abilities that play an important role in teaching reading, numerical representation, and writing are diagnosed. Examples of diagnosable mental functions may include: the ability to make visual and auditory distinctions; sensorimotor control, listening comprehension; vocabulary quantitative concepts and general awareness. Concluding the discussion of diagnostic methods that determine readiness for schooling, we once again emphasize that their use will allow us to identify the characteristics of the child’s mental and mental development, and this is the first step towards creating conditions for optimizing the period of school adaptation of first-graders and preventing academic failure.
Literature
1. Diagnostics in kindergarten. Content and organization diagnostic work in a preschool educational institution. Methodical manual. Ed. 2nd. – Rostov n/d: “Phoenix”, 2004. – 288 p.
2. Methods of preparing children for school 9psychological tests, basic requirements, exercises) / comp. N.G. Kuvagnova, E.V. Nesterova. – Volgograd: Teacher, 2007. – 40 p.
3. Nikishina I.V. Diagnostic and methodological work in preschool educational institutions. – Volgograd: Teacher, 2007. – 156 p.
4. Basics of psychological diagnostics: Tutorial/ ed. K.M. Gurevich, M.K. Akimova. – M.: Publishing house URAO, 2003. – 392 p.
5. Raigorodsky D.Ya. Practical psychodiagnostics. Methods and tests. Study guide. – Samara: Publishing House “BAKHRAH – M”, 2005. – 672 p.
6. Stepanova N. Diagnosis of a child’s readiness for schooling // Preschool education. – 2008. - No. 11. – P. 43-46.
7. Shevandrin N.I. Psychodiagnostics, correction and personality development. – M.: Humanite. ed. VLADOS center, 1999. – 512 p.
