KINETIC SCHOOL DRAWING AS A MENTAL HEALTH METHOD SUPPORTING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

In a person’s life of great importance is the presence of another human, a colleague. A social relation, a community is not “just” a necessity and precondition, it is a kind of essence of human being. The presence of companions plays a significant role in the schoolchildren’s life. Thus, the circumstances of forming groups, the roles played in social forms, experience, memories of friendly relationships are of utmost significance. A traditional sociometric analysis and building a relationship network enables us to clearly see the relationship between children and how they treat each other. A kinetic school drawing allows us to see how a child feels himself in the school environment; it gives valuable supplementary information for an instructor on the pedagogue and school perception, as well as on the attitude to authority and the requirementsю Specialized literature testifies to the fact that kinetic school drawing can be perfectly applied in practice. The presented interpretation areas make it clear that kinetic school drawing can be used as a supplement of sociometric survey in case if the whole class is drawing, because the children tag their friends on paper by names. Kinetic school drawing instruction requires the pedagogue’s figure to be depicted, therefore one can gain information on how the children regard the instructor or the teacher, what their views are on education and educational methods, and last but not least how they treat other children. It reveals not only the relations among peers, but also presents a perfect feedback on the pedagogue’s everyday work. The routine traditional teaching can in numerous cases make the teaching-learning process unsophisticated. Kinetic school drawing, in terms of creating a pleasant atmosphere at school for the mental health development, offers new perspectives on school mental health not only for school psychologists but also for educators, especially class teachers. It is also the responsibility of the educator to help and support the development of a given community, taking into account the specifics of the age group. The mental health method, which supports community development based on kinetic school drawings, is an innovative initiation, its application in pedagogical work is unprecedented. The aim of this article is to present the possibilities of mental hygiene inherent in kinetic school drawings.