Children’s play during wartime in Ukraine from the preschool teacher’s perspective

Abstract

The article analyzes the results of a study that reveals characteristics of preschool children play activities in the conditions of the war in Ukraine, which were collected in two regions of the country significantly different in the scope of military operations carried out, life activities of the population (in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and territories under Ukrainian control), as well as peculiarities of preschool education itself. The objectives of the research were: to find and highlight changes in the content, types and organizational forms of play activities of preschool children in the conditions of war based on the results of observations by preschool teachers; to identify the level of awareness of preschool teachers regarding play resources as an effective tool for psychosocial support of children in war conditions; to determine the need for preschool teachers to develop their skills in facilitating children's play activities in war conditions for the introduction of appropriate measures in the system of postgraduate pedagogical education; to approve a set of diagnostic tools for further research. The results of the research proved that: 1) the war in Ukraine significantly changed a nature of play activities of preschool children compared to the pre-war period, which is reflected in: the dominance of various plots of military actions in the content of a play, while children play new roles (of a positive nature – military, rescuers, firefighters, volunteers, doctors, construction workers, etc.), conditioned by the new military reality; children's active use of toy weapons and toy substitutes for modern weapons; increased time, spent on computer games, including war-themed games; reduced time, spent on play in general and free play in particular; refusal of children from noisy, active games in favor of quiet, quiet play alone; growing need of children for greater attention of adults during the play; emotional excitement of children, dominance of negative emotions in the play; increased weight of creative activities in children's daily routine, including play. The specified changes are found both in play activities of boys and girls of preschool age; 2) preschool teachers are aware of the importance of play for supporting the child's well-being in wartime conditions. They consider the level of their own knowledge and skills to support play activities of preschoolers to be insufficient, and so understand the urgent need for their additional training In-service Teacher Training institutions in the area of play facilitation