THE ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION OF THE 5- TO 6- YEAR-OLD CHILDREN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COMPETENCE PARADIGM

Abstract

The elaboration presents conceptual and content aspects of an author’s model for educating ecological culture in introducing 5- to 6- year-old children into the natural world. The need for new interactive systems for environmental education in childhood is being defended. The vectors of pre-school ecological education and schooling are brought forth, they are addressed through the cognitive-information, personal, cultural and competence paradigms. The structure of the competence conceptual idea in pre-school ecological education is specified. In the context of the European educational priorities for early preparation and presentation of natural science competences, the basic principles that make up the model of “Molivko – I play and I know. Environmental studies” are brought out; it is designed to introduce 5- to 6-year-olds into the world of nature. They require cognitive and informational stimulation of personal experience in orientation in the natural world, empirically-active behavioural and communication regulation in the socio-environmental surroundings, model-situational systematization of ideas for maintaining a sustainable environment, reflexive-emotional attitude to the picture of the world of nature of the individual. Accordingly, the goal of the pedagogical interaction “child – nature”, which is referred to the initial stage of compulsory pre-school education, is set out. The integrative aspects of the author’s model related to game, socialization, knowledge, communication, safety, health, physical culture, labour and artistic creativity are set. The content accents of the model system, built up by adapting key concepts and skills related to bio-ecology, social and applied ecology, which in their unity guarantee the cognitive basis of the children’s ecological culture, are specified. Methodological ideas and solutions, laid down in the applied-educational provision of the author’s system are interpreted. Emphasis is placed on the inclusion of an accessible practice-transforming research activity, participation in modelling activities, children’s presentation and discussion with environmental content, collection, project activity. They are achieved through viewing, demonstration, multimedia presentations, talk, storytelling, reading of artistic works, didactic games, exercises, elementary experiments, modelling, staging, etudes, cases, etc. They are guaranteed by educational interaction, which presupposes the achievement of educational trends for key natural-science competences in the third age group, theoretically set and covered in applied-education field.