At the present time there is more and more actualized the search for a value foundation for upbringing and education of coming generation and for a substantive filling of it which has a paramount importance for preparation of children for worthy and successful life under the conditions of competitive society becoming more and more complicated. It is a common knowledge that the activity of children in their life, their successfulness, a completeness of their vital interests, satisfaction with the results of their doings are in many aspects depending thereon what value priorities shall be laid down in the basis of education content for the preschool-age children and how they shall be taken into account in the programs of their development which are to be elaborated.
Methodology and research methods
For the revelation purposes concerning the value priorities for a preschool education this work contains an axiological analysis of the upbringing content for the preschool-age children. As a basis it has been taken the well-known program which is used in the preschool educational institutions and has been elaborated by a team of authors under the scientific editorship of M.A. Vasilyeva, V.V. Gerbova, T.S. Komarova [3].
This program is directed at an all-round development of psychical and physical qualities of children in the age range from the birth and up to 7 years by taking into account peculiarities of their age-related and individual development. The axiological analysis of upbringing priorities of the program conducted by us shows that in its main content it is directed at the following:
– upbringing of the sense of involvement in the life of a preschool institution, native city or settlement and the entire country [3, p. 84]; careful attitude towards nature through a teaching for an aesthetic perception of it [3, p. 85]; explanation about the importance of a peaceful coexistence with all nations of the world, respect for their cultures, traditions and customs [3, p. 195];
– encouragement of an active participation of the preschool-age children in artistic-creative activities on their own free will [3, p. 209]; performance of the role of host / hostess in playing activities [3, p. 140]; stimulation of desire to get without any assistance the knowledge about the outside world, to be engaged in a self-education [3, p. 222];
– formation of moral ideas concerning good and bad deeds [3, p. 85], and among them on the basis of examples of literary characters [3, p. 90]; mastering of table manners [3, p. 89]; teaching to cultivate careful attitude towards animate beings [3, p. 90];
– training of children to keep proper hours of day regimen [3, p. 41]; observance of playing rules [3, pp.42, 138], rules of the road [3, p. 84], order in a group [3, p. 89]; teaching to correctly build the phrases, pronounce words, use grammatical forms [3, p. 44];
– development of moral properties (honesty, benevolence, responsiveness, empathy, and so on) [3, p. 221];
– adoption of moral positions through the teaching to live in unity, including through joint playing activities [3, p. 89]; formation of interest to read books [3, p. 90]; development of curiosity [3, p. 118]; upbringing on the way of benevolent character interrelations between the children, development of ability to take into account the interests of comrades [3, p. 139], and the interests of their relatives [3, p. 194]; formation of the skill to substantiate their aesthetic choice, to assess aesthetically the environment [3, p. 209]; stimulation of the development of the aesthetic taste and the ability to understand pieces of art [3, p. 221];
– formation of a positive attitude towards the labor of adults [3, pp.76, 84]; development of interest concerning occupations of parents [3, p. 194];
– acquisition of knowledge through the adoption of elders’ experience, for instance, through the observance how the elders are looking after the plants and animals in a pet s’ corner [3, p. 85].
Results of research and their discussion
In the framework of analysis concerning the main directions of the preschool-age children upbringing which have been traditionally taken into account in the process of the upbringing activities in the preschool educational institutions we are finding a confirmation for a correctness of our point of view about the appropriateness of systematization of main upbringing priorities according to the following value groups: the values of freedom and independence; the values of life, which are manifested in a harmony and security; the values of development of positive qualities of a person; the values manifesting the common laws and rules of a person’s behavior; the values of particular actions as ways of behavior of human being in specific life situations; stand in life as a value category; the values of occupational activity and professional competence of a specialist; translation of a vital and occupational experience as a value [4]. The validity of our allocation of these value groups is confirmed by other researchers: [1], [2], [5].
As can be seen from the above, the value groups singled out by us can be considered as elements of the value system of a person which are manifesting themselves as a certain sequence of new formations subjectively actualized on the corresponding stages of an age-related development. Herewith, the personal value system does have a dynamic structure and is to be modernized in the process of an ontogenetical development of the human being. As the striking illustrations hereof it can be considered the revaluations of the values occurring once and again on the various age-related stages. It must be also stressed that in each of the value groups revealed by us there are reflected the values manifesting different upbringing directions and allowing to integrate the different directions of its content on an unified axiological basis which is equally meaningful for many stages of historical development of society and its culture.
So, the values of development of positive qualities of a person of a preschool-age child are expressed in the following: formation of the interest concerning the knowledge of objective world, abilities to research and construction activities, punctuality, politeness, discipline, skills to self-service; development of social abilities, skills to collective interaction with comrades; formation of patriotism as a love of Fatherland; upbringing on the way of a moral responsibility for realization of rights and duties of a team member, of a sense of conscience, justice, responsibility for own behavior; development of abilities to an aesthetic perception of natural phenomena, works of visual art and children’s literature; development of artistic abilities concerning various arts of creative activity; one’s own health promotion, development of main motional abilities (powers of endurance, flexibility, coordination of movements, rhythmics, and so on).
As the values of trust of a preschool-age child to the outside world, which are manifested in a harmony and security, we consider the following: understanding of interrelations of the human being, society and nature, their integrity and unity of development; elucidation by the preschool-age child of the importance of a careful attitude towards nature as a condition for a preservation of a proper environment status, necessity to look permanently after order and cleanness at home, in the streets, in a group of a preschool educational institution; love for nature of native shore; well-wishing and respectful interrelations in a team of children, careful and tactful attitude towards a friendship; skills of sanitary and hygienic culture.
The values of freedom and independence are manifested in the following: need and ability of the preschool-age children to display initiative, cognitive and creative activity, originality in description and explanation of social realm phenomena; ability to arrange playing activities independently; responsible and diligent attitude towards learning, fulfillment of lessons, self-testing concerning observance of accuracy, completeness and exactness by their fulfillment; drive for a positive self-development; manifestation of a voluntary discipline and behavior culture; conscious attitude towards a civil duty; unity of words and deeds; ability to display independence.
To the values manifesting the common laws and rules of behavior of the preschool-age child are belonging the following ones: knowledge of rules of decorum and rules of community life; understanding of moral sense of a conscious discipline of human being, of responsibility and response to orders by the observance of rules of cultural behavior and communication, recognition of moral norms accepted in a family and society; understanding of the essence of friendship and unity of nations belonging to Russia, importance of humane interrelations in society; recognition of a moral and legal duty in relation to a natural environment, of responsibility for its status, of concern about its protection against destruction and pollution; need to be guided by the aesthetic principles in the framework of playing activities and everyday life, by the contacts with nature; harmonization of the inside and outside cultures; sanitary and hygienic knowledge; need for observance of the regimen and order of the day.
The values of particular actions as ways of behavior of the preschool-age child in specific life situations can be presented in the following way: faithful fulfillment of the child’s own duties and orders of teachers; desire to be honest, ability to admit own errors and to act in accordance with civil norms and requirements; respect for elders, love for parents and other members of the child’s family, and for a native nature; active participation in collective forms of cognitive activities, responsible and diligent attitude to a learning, careful attitude to textbooks and training facilities, to state, private and personal property, to nature, to representatives of animal and vegetable world; manifestation of readiness to socially useful activities; providing compliance with moral norms and collectivism principle, manifestation of initiative and independence, readiness to create the atmosphere of a genuine comradeship and friendship in a group; manifestation of a humane attitude to animals and plants; ability to display resoluteness and to overcome the difficulties with a due persistence; observance of the behavior norms in everyday life and in public places, norms of communication (politeness and modesty, attentiveness and courtesy, tactfulness and delicacy, and so on), culture of speech and appearance; reasonable compliance with fashion; active and regular participation in physical culture and health-improving events.
The stand in life of the preschool-age child as a value category is manifested in the following: his / her creative activity by a mastering of knowledge, ability on the basis of a well-reasoned position to manifest a personal attitude towards events to be observed; compliance with moral principles in playing and in everyday life, conviction in preference of a healthy way of living; active stand in life, conscious attitude towards a civil duty; observance of rules of community life, respect for authorities and persons preserving peace and order in society, understanding of a moral sense of combat and labor traditions of our people, respect for the person’s honor and dignity, drive to an ideal of a moral behavior and interrelations between people, well-wishing attitude towards people, understanding of necessity concerning respectful relations between boys and girls, irreconcilability concerning immorality, amoral acts, violations of norms and rules of behavior in society and in the open country; responsible attitude towards execution of his / her duties, unity of words and deeds, respect for working men creating material and spiritual values, condemnatory attitude towards violation of discipline, irresponsibility and negligence, parasitism, plunderer and waste of natural resources; condemnatory attitude towards superstitious beliefs and narrow-mindedness; careful attitude towards cultural artefacts and folk art memorials; drive to a healthy way of living, a critical attitude towards underestimation of importance of physical exercises, sport, tourism, violations of norms of personal and public hygiene, towards the acts destructing the natural environment.
As the values of occupational activity and professional competence to be adopted in a preschool-age we can consider the following ones: drive to knowledge, expansion of ideas concerning occupations, perfection of brain work culture; recognition of public value of education for a preparation of a child for life and labor in interest of society, human being and state; understanding of importance of material production for development of society and interdependence of occupations, understanding of moral sense of labor traditions; aesthetic perception of labor activities of specialists to be observed in various production fields, understanding of necessity to improve the abilities and skills of occupational activity; rendering support to a teacher on the basis of a proper behavior and obedience for a fulfillment of teacher’s occupational activities, observance of safety regulations as well as sanitary and hygiene standards.
Translation of a vital and occupational experience as a value is displayed in the understanding by the preschool-age children of the connection of science and practice under conditions of technological progress; their understanding of social role of learning activity for a preparation for life and labor; rendering of support concerning knowledge mastering; attentive attitude towards the experience of the elders.
Conclusion
As can be seen from the above we can state that the different upbringing directions do have united value content. For instance, in the group of values of development of positive qualities of a person there are present the content elements practically of all known directions: moral, aesthetic, physical, labor, ecological, patriotic upbringing, and so on. We can also predict an emergence of new upbringing directions which can be present in the future in connection with development of the society culture. It is quite difficult to predict the upbringing targets of a distant future but in the framework of the system of personal values offered in this study the future upbringing targets are presented implicitly. Such an approach makes it possible to present the unity of upbringing directions targeted at the development of an integral personality of a preschool-age child.
The article was prepared within the framework of the state task of the federal state budgetary institution “Institute for the Study of Childhood, Family and Education of the Russian Academy of Education” for 2018 (No. 27. 9397. 2017 / BC) “Modern paradigms and practices of spiritual and moral education of children in the general education system”.