Comparative analysis of children's cognitive readiness for school. Why do hares wear white fur coats in winter? motive for getting a high grade

The first year of school is an extremely difficult, turning point period in a child’s life. His place in the system of social relations changes, his entire way of life changes, and his psycho-emotional stress increases. Carefree games are replaced by daily learning activities. They require intense mental work from the child, increased attention, concentrated work in lessons and a relatively motionless body position, maintaining the correct working posture. It is known thatfor a child of six or seven years old this so-called static load is very difficult. Lessons at school, as well as the passion of many first-graders for television programs, sometimes music and foreign language classes, lead to the fact that the child’s physical activity becomes half as much as it was before entering school. The need for movement remains great.

A child coming to school for the first time will be greeted by a new group of children and adults. He needs to establish contacts with peers and teachers, learn to fulfill the requirements of school discipline, new responsibilities associated with academic work, but not all children are ready for this. Some first-graders, even with a high level of intellectual development, find it difficult to bear the workload that schooling requires. Psychologists point out that for many first-graders, and especially six-year-olds, social adaptation is difficult, since a personality capable of obeying the school regime, mastering school norms of behavior, and recognizing school responsibilities has not yet been formed.
The year separating a six-year-old child from a seven-year-old is very important for mental development, because during this period the child develops voluntary regulation of his behavior, orientation towards social norms and requirements.
S. Harrison: “We are so carried away by educating our children that we have forgotten that the very essence of a child’s education is the creation of a happy life. After all, a happy life is what we sincerely wish for both our children and ourselves.”
As already mentioned, the initial period of education is quite difficult for all children entering school. In response to the new increased demands on the body of a first-grader in the first weeks and months of school, children may complain of fatigue, headaches, irritability, tearfulness, and sleep disturbances. Children's appetite and body weight decrease. There are also difficulties of a psychological nature, such as, for example, a feeling of fear, a negative attitude towards school, the teacher, and a misconception about one’s abilities and capabilities.
The changes described above in the body of a first-grader associated with the start of school are called by some foreign scientists “adaptation disease”, “school shock”, “school stress”.
The fact is that in the process of personality formation there are particularly important key points. They are almost inevitable for every child, are confined to certain age periods and are called age-related crises. The most important crisis changes occur in the age intervals from two to four, from seven to nine and from thirteen to sixteen years. During these periods, significant changes occur in the body: a rapid increase in growth, changes in the functioning of the cardiovascular, nervous, respiratory and other systems. This leads to the appearance of unusual internal sensations: increased fatigue, irritability, mood swings. At the same time, even practically healthy children begin to get sick and show excessive vulnerability. During these periods, significant changes in character occur (children begin to show stubbornness and disobedience), inadequate changes in self-esteem (“At home I am good. But at school I am bad,” or vice versa). A new, difficult period in a child’s life begins.
Entering school is a serious step from a carefree childhood to an age filled with a sense of responsibility. The period of adaptation to schooling helps to take this step.
Types of adaptation and its duration
The term “adaptation” is of Latin origin and means the adaptation of the structure and functions of the body, its organs and cells to environmental conditions.
The concept of adaptation is directly related to the concept of “child’s readiness for school” and includes three components: adaptationphysiological, psychological and social, or personal. All components are closely interrelated, deficiencies in the formation of any of them affect the success of learning, the well-being and health of a first-grader, his performance, ability to interact with the teacher, classmates and obey school rules. The success of mastering program knowledge and the level of development of mental functions necessary for further learning indicate the physiological, social or psychological readiness of the child.
A child’s psychological adaptation to school covers all aspects of the child’s psyche: personal-motivational, volitional, educational-cognitive. It is known that the success of school education is determined, on the one hand, by the individual characteristics of students, and on the other, by the specifics of the educational material. The main difficulty of “subject” adaptation for a beginning school student is mastering the content of learning - literacy and mathematical concepts. At first glance, this is not so. The content of education in the first grade and in the preparatory school group largely coincides. In fact, the knowledge that schoolchildren receive in lessons at the beginning of their education is mostly acquired in kindergarten. At the same time, it is known that the first half of the year at school is the most difficult. The thing is that the acquisition of knowledge in school conditions is based on other mechanisms. This means that in the preschool period, knowledge is acquired for the most part involuntarily, classes are structured in an entertaining way, in activities familiar to children. In the process of schooling, the main thing is to teach children to understand the educational task. Achieving such a goal requires students to make certain efforts and develop a number of important educational qualities:
1. Personal and motivational attitude towards school and learning: the desire (or unwillingness) to accept the educational task, to carry out the teacher’s tasks, that is, to learn.
2. Acceptance of the educational task: understanding the tasks set by the teacher; desire to fulfill them; the desire to succeed or the desire to avoid failure.
3. Ideas about the content of the activity and methods of its implementation: the level of elementary knowledge and skills formed at the beginning of training.
4. Information attitude: ensures the perception, processing and storage of various information in the learning process.
5. Activity management: planning, monitoring and evaluating one’s own activities, as well as sensitivity to learning influences.
Consequently, even a high level of cognitive activity does not guarantee sufficient motivation for learning. It is necessary that there is a high general level of development of the child and that the leading personality qualities are developed.
During the period of a child’s adaptation to school, the most significant changes occur in his behavior. Usually,indicators of adaptation difficulties are changes in behavior such as excessive excitement and even aggressiveness or, conversely, lethargy, depression and a feeling of fear, reluctance to go to school. All changes in the child’s behavior reflect the characteristics of psychological adaptation to school.
According to the degree of adaptation, children can be divided into three groups.
First group children adapt during the first two months of training. These children relatively quickly join the team, get used to school, and make new friends. They are almost always in a good mood, they are calm, friendly, conscientious and fulfill all the teacher’s demands without visible tension. Sometimes they still have difficulties either in contacts with children or in relationships with the teacher, since it is still difficult for them to fulfill all the requirements of the rules of behavior. But by the end of October, the difficulties of these children, as a rule, are overcome, the child is completely accustomed to the new status of a student, and to the new requirements, and to the new regime.
Second group children have a longer period of adaptation; the period of non-compliance of their behavior with the requirements of the school is prolonged. Children cannot accept a new situation of learning, communication with the teacher, children. Such schoolchildren can play in class, sort things out with a friend, they do not respond to the teacher’s comments or react with tears or resentment. As a rule, these children also experience difficulties in mastering the curriculum; only by the end of the first half of the year do these children’s reactions become adequate to the requirements of the school and teacher.
Third group - children whose socio-psychological adaptation is associated with significant difficulties. They exhibit negative forms of behavior, sharp manifestations of negative emotions, and have great difficulty in mastering educational programs. It is these children that teachers most often complain about: they “disturb” their work in the classroom.
Processphysiological adaptationA child’s transition to school can also be divided into several stages, each of which has its own characteristics and is characterized by varying degrees of tension in the body’s functional systems.
First stage physiological adaptation - indicative, when in response to the whole complex of new influences associated with the beginning of systematic learning, the body responds with a violent reaction and significant tension in almost all systems. This “physiological storm” lasts quite a long time (two to three weeks).
Second phase - an unstable adaptation, when the body searches and finds some optimal options, reactions to external influences.
At the first stage, there is no need to talk about any saving of the body’s resources. The body spends everything it has, and sometimes “borrows it.” Therefore, it is important for the teacher to remember what a high “price” the body of each child pays during this period. At the second stage, this “price” decreases. The storm begins to subside.
Third stage - a period of relatively stable adaptation, when the body finds the most suitable options for responding to the load, requiring less stress on all systems.
Whatever work a student does, be it mental work to assimilate new knowledge, the static load that the body experiences during a forced sitting position, or the psychological load from communicating in a large and diverse group, the body, or rather, each of its systems, must respond with its tension , with your work. Therefore, the more stress each system experiences, the more resources the body will use up. But the possibilities of a child’s body are far from limitless. Prolonged stress and associated fatigue and overwork can cost a child’s health.
The duration of all three phases of physiological adaptation is approximately five to six weeks, and the most difficult are the first and fourth weeks.
Personal or social adaptationis associated with the desire and ability of the child to accept a new role - a schoolchild and is achieved by a number of conditions.
1. Development in children of the ability to listen, respond to the actions of the teacher, plan their work, analyze the result obtained - that is, the skills and abilities necessary for successful learning in elementary school.
2. Developing the ability to establish contact with other children, build relationships with adults, be sociable and interesting to others - that is, skills that allow you to establish interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
3 Formation of the ability to correctly evaluate one’s actions and the actions of classmates, to use the simplest criteria for assessment and self-assessment (such criteria are the completeness of knowledge, its volume, depth; the ability to use knowledge in various situations, that is, practically, etc.) - that is, sustainable educational motivation against the background of the child’s positive self-image and low level of school anxiety.
An important indicator of a child’s satisfaction with his stay at school is his emotional state, which is closely related to the effectiveness of educational activities, affects the assimilation of school norms of behavior, the success of social contacts and, ultimately, the formation of the student’s internal position.
The first grade of school is one of the most difficult periods in a child's life. When entering school, a child is influenced by the class group, the personality of the teacher, a change in routine, an unusually long restriction of physical activity, and the emergence of new responsibilities.
Adapting to school, the child’s body mobilizes. But it should be borne in mind that the degree and pace of adaptation is individual for everyone.
The success of adaptation largely depends on whether children haveadequate self-esteem. We constantly compare ourselves with other people and, based on this comparison, we develop an opinion about ourselves, about our capabilities and abilities, our character traits and human qualities. This is how our self-esteem gradually develops. This process begins at an early age: it is in the family that the child first learns whether he is loved, accepted for who he is, whether success or failure accompanies him. In preschool age, the child develops a feeling of well-being or ill-being.
Undoubtedly, adequate self-esteem facilitates the process of adaptation to school, while overestimated or underestimated self-esteem, on the contrary, complicates it. However, even if the child has adequate self-esteem, adults should remember that a beginning student cannot yet cope with all the tasks on his own. To help a child overcomecrisis of seven years, To help adapt to school conditions, you need understanding and sensitive attitude of the teacher, attentiveness, great love and patience of parents, and, if necessary, consultations of professional psychologists.
The adaptation time for first-graders may vary. Typically, stable adaptation to school is achieved in the first half of the school year. However, it is not uncommon for this process to not be completed throughout the first year. Low performance remains, and poor academic performance is noted. Such children get tired quickly. By the end of the school year, they often experience deterioration in their health, which most often manifests itself as disorders of the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
One of the factors hindering the normal adaptation of a child, as we already know, is an insufficient level of school maturity. Partially, a child’s developmental delay may be due to his state of health. First-graders who have certain health problems, have suffered from severe infectious diseases, or suffered traumatic injuries during the last year before school find it more difficult to adapt to the demands of school. They skip classes more often, complaining of increased fatigue, headaches, and poor sleep. They often experience increased irritability and tearfulness, and by the end of the year their health deteriorates. However, one should not rush to conclusions: gradually, during the learning process, lagging functions improve, and the child catches up with his peers in development. But this takes months, and sometimes the entire first year of study. Therefore, the task of adults is to create conditions in which the described difficulties will not adversely affect the child’s academic performance, causing reluctance to learn.
Of course, it is best if the parents took care of the child’s health before school, thereby making it easier for him to adapt to the first year of school. In this case, the child copes with the difficulties of starting school faster and with less stress and can study better.

Diagnostics of the formation of the prerequisites for educational activities is aimed at determining the readiness of the future student for a new type of activity for him - educational. Unlike gaming, educational activities have a number of specific features. It assumes a focus on results, arbitrariness and commitment.

Most of the educational tasks faced by a first-grader are aimed at fulfilling a number of conditions, certain requirements, and focusing on rules and patterns. It is these skills that relate to the so-called prerequisites of educational activity, i.e. those that are not yet fully educational activities, but are necessary to begin to master it.

In this regard, at the age of 6-7 years, it is advisable to conduct a study of the above skills, on which the success of learning in the early stages of mastering knowledge and school requirements largely depends.

To diagnose the prerequisites for educational activities, a set of techniques is used, consisting of diagnosing the ability to focus on a system of requirements - the "Beads" technique, the ability to focus on a sample - the "House" technique, the ability to act according to the rule - the "Pattern" technique, the level of development of arbitrariness - the "Graphic" technique dictation", Pieron-Ruser's "Encoding" technique, Kern-Jerasik drawing tests, "Ladder" test (diagnostics of self-esteem), children's projective anxiety test, aggressiveness questionnaire.

Additionally, the following methods are given: “Drawing by dots” to determine the maturity of the ability to focus on a system of requirements, the “Mysterious Letter” method to study the level of cognitive activity of primary schoolchildren

"Beads" technique.

Purpose of the task: to identify the number of conditions that a child can maintain during the activity when perceiving the task by ear.

Organization of the task: the task is performed on separate sheets with a drawing of a curve representing a thread:

To work, each child must have at least six markers or pencils of different colors. The work consists of two parts: Part I (main) - completing the task (drawing beads), Part II - checking the work and, if necessary, redrawing the beads.

Instructions for Part I: “Children, each of you has a thread drawn on a piece of paper. On this thread you need to draw five round beads so that the thread passes through the middle of the beads. All beads should be of different colors, the middle bead should be blue. (Instructions are repeated twice). Start drawing."

Instructions for part II of the task (this part of the test begins after all the children have completed the first part): “Now I will tell you once again which beads you should have drawn, and you check your drawings to see if you did everything correctly. Whoever notices the mistake, Make a new drawing next to it. Listen carefully." (The test condition is repeated again at a slow pace, each condition being highlighted by voice.)

Assessment of task completion (for assessment, the teacher chooses the best of two possible options):

Level 1 - the task is completed correctly, all five conditions are taken into account: the position of the beads on the thread, the shape of the beads, their number, the use of five different colors, the fixed color of the middle bead.

Level 2 - 3-4 conditions are taken into account when completing the task.

Level 3 - 2 conditions are taken into account when completing the task.

Level 4 - no more than one condition was taken into account when completing the task
"House" technique.

The child is asked to draw the image of the house as accurately as possible. After finishing the work, offer to check if everything is correct. Can correct if it notices inaccuracies.

This technique allows you to identify the ability to focus on a sample and accurately copy it; the degree of development of voluntary attention, the formation of spatial perception.

Accurate reproduction is scored 0 points, 1 point is awarded for each mistake made.

The errors are:

a) an incorrectly depicted element; the right and left parts of the fence are assessed separately;
b) replacing one element with another;
c) absence of an element;
d) gaps between lines in places where they should be connected;
d) severe distortion of the pattern.

Methodology "Pattern".

The technique consists of three control dictations and one training one.
The children are told: “We will learn to draw a pattern. You have rows of triangles, squares and circles drawn on a piece of paper. We will connect triangles and squares to make a pattern. You must listen carefully and do what I say. We will have these three rules :

1. two triangles, two squares or a square with a triangle can only be connected through a circle;
2. the line of our pattern should go only forward;
3. Each new connection must be started from the figure where the line stopped, then the line will be continuous and there will be no gaps in the pattern.

Look on the piece of paper to see how you can connect triangles and squares."

Then the examiner says: “Now learn to connect yourself. Look at the bottom strip. Connect two squares, a square with a triangle, two triangles, a triangle with a square” (introductory - training - series).

The inspector monitors how each child completes the task, and, if necessary, corrects mistakes and explains to the child what he did wrong. Children make four connections as they learn.

The first episode follows. The examiner says: “Now we will draw without prompts. You must listen carefully and connect the figures that I will name, but do not forget that they can only be connected through a circle, that the line must be continuous and go forward all the time, i.e. That is, you must start each new connection from the figure on which the line ended. If you make a mistake, do not correct the mistake, but start from the next figure."

Dictation for the first episode:

"Connect a triangle with a square, a square with a triangle, two triangles, a triangle with a square, two squares, a square with a triangle, a triangle with a square, two squares, a square with a triangle, two triangles, two triangles, a triangle with a square."

You should dictate slowly, so that all children have time to draw the next connection. You cannot repeat the same thing twice, because... This may lead some children to draw unnecessary connections.

After the children have finished their work, the second series follows, and then the third. The series differ from each other only in the nature of the pattern reproduced under dictation. The rules for doing the work remain the same.

Dictation for the second series:

"Connect a square with a triangle, two triangles, a triangle with a square, two squares, two more squares, a square with a triangle, two triangles, a triangle with a square, a square with a triangle, a triangle with a square, two squares, a square with a triangle."

Dictation for the third series:

"Connect two squares, a square with a triangle, two triangles, a triangle with a square, two squares, a square with a triangle, a triangle with a square, a square with a triangle, two triangles, a triangle with a square, a square with a triangle, two triangles."

Children are not provided any assistance during the task. After finishing the work, the leaves are collected. The forms will be given out before the start of the examination. A sample pattern and 4 series of figures (a, b, c, d) have already been drawn on them. Each series is located one below the other and consists of three rows of small geometric figures (the size of the figures is 2x2 mm).

Evaluation of results.

Each correct connection counts for two points. The correct connections are those corresponding to the dictation. Penalty points (one at a time) are awarded:

1. for extra connections not provided for by the dictation (except for those at the end and at the beginning of the pattern, i.e. those preceding the dictation and following it);
2. for “gaps” - omissions of connection “zones” - between correct connections.

All other possible types of errors are not taken into account at all, because their presence automatically reduces the number of points awarded. The final number of points scored is calculated by the difference between the number of correctly scored points and the number of penalty points (the latter are subtracted from the former).

The maximum possible number of points in each series is 24 (0 penalty points). The maximum possible number of points for completing the entire task is 72.

Interpretation of the results obtained.

60-72 points is a fairly high level of ability to act according to the rule. Can simultaneously take into account several rules in work.

48-59 points - the ability to act according to the rule is not sufficiently developed. Can maintain orientation to only one rule when working.

36-47 points - low level of ability to act according to the rule. He constantly gets confused and breaks the rule, although he tries to follow it.

Less than 36 points - the ability to act according to the rule has not been developed.
Methodology "Graphic dictation".

This technique is used to determine the level of development of the child’s voluntary sphere, as well as to study capabilities in the field of perceptual and motor organization of space.

The material consists of 4 dictations, the first of which is training.

1. "We begin to draw the first pattern. Place the pencil at the highest point. Attention! Draw a line: one cell down. Do not lift the pencil from the paper, now one cell to the right. One cell up. One cell to the right. One cell down. One cell to the right "One cell up. One cell to the right. One cell down. Then continue to draw the same pattern yourself."

2. "Now place the pencil on the next point. Get ready! Attention! One cell up. One cell to the right. One cell up. One cell to the right. One cell down. One cell to the right. One cell down. One cell to the right. One cell up. One to the right. Now continue to draw the same pattern yourself."

3. "Attention! Three cells up. One cell to the right. Two cells down. One cell to the right. Two cells up. One to the right. Three cells down. One cell to the right. Two cells up. One cell to the right. Two cells down. One cell to the right. Three squares up. Now continue drawing this pattern yourself."

4. "Put the pencil on the lowest point. Attention! Three cells to the right. One cell up. One cell to the left (the word “left” is highlighted in a voice). Two cells up. Three cells to the right. Two cells down. One cell to the left (the word " "to the left" is again highlighted in the voice). One cell down. Three cells to the right. One cell up. One cell to the left. Two cells up. Now continue to draw this pattern yourself."

You are given one and a half to two minutes to complete each pattern independently. The total time of the procedure is usually about 15 minutes.

Analysis of results.

Error-free reproduction of the pattern - 4 points. For 1-2 mistakes they give 3 points. For more errors - 2 points. If there are more errors than correctly reproduced sections, then 1 point is given.
If there are no correctly reproduced sections, then 0 points are given. Three patterns (one training) are evaluated in this way. Based on the data obtained, the following execution levels are possible:

10-12 points - high;
6-9 points - average;
3-5 points - low;
0-2 points - very low.
Methodology "Encryption"

Target . Identification of the formation of voluntary regulation of activity (maintenance of the activity algorithm), the possibilities of distributing and switching attention, performance, pace and purposefulness of activity.
The time to complete this task is strictly limited to 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, regardless of the amount completed, all children must move on to task No. 5 (drawing). The specialist’s task is to track this moment.
Four empty figures are drawn on the board (square, triangle, circle, rhombus), which, in the process of giving instructions, the specialist fills in with the appropriate signs, the same as in the sample task (the first line of four figures, which is underlined).
This methodological guide provides one of the options for filling figures with signs. There can be many such options. In accordance with the requirements of the Pieron-Ruzer method, the figures must be filled with signs that do not repeat the shape of the figures themselves (for example, there should not be a dot in a circle, and just a line parallel to one of the sides in a square). One (last) figure must always remain empty.
Before starting the screening, the specialist must appropriately put “tags” in the sample figures of this task in all forms. This is convenient to do before duplicating forms. The marks should be clear, fairly simple (a cross, a tick, a dot, etc.) and occupy the middle part of the figure, without approaching its edges.
Instructions . Now turn the sheet over. Look carefully. Figures are drawn here. Each of them has its own icon. Now you will place signs in the empty figures. This should be done like this: put a dot in each square (accompanied by showing and placing a dot in the middle of the square on the board), in each triangle - a vertical stick (accompanied by showing and placing the corresponding sign in the triangle on the board), in a circle you will draw a horizontal stick ( accompanied by a corresponding display), and the diamond will remain empty. You don't draw anything in it. Your sheet (the specialist shows a sample of the form to fill out) shows what needs to be drawn. Find it on your sheet (point your finger, raise your hand, whoever saw it...).
All figures must be completed according to queues , starting from the very first row (accompanied by a hand gesture along the first row of figures from left to right in relation to the children sitting in front of the specialist). Don't rush, be careful. Now take a simple pencil and start working.
The main part of the instructions can be repeated twice: Place your own sign in each figure, fill in all the figures in turn.
From this moment the task completion time is counted (2 minutes). The instructions are no longer repeated. We can only say: how to fill out the figures is shown in the sample on their form.
The specialist records on the observation sheet the characteristics of the task and the nature of the children’s behavior. The work lasts no more than 2 minutes. After this time, the teacher asks all the children to stop and stop working: And now everyone put down their pencils and looked at me.
It is important that all children finish the task at the same time, regardless of how much they have completed.

"Encryption"

Successful error-free filling of geometric shapes in accordance with the sample for a period of up to 2 minutes is considered (estimate - 5 points ). Your own single correction or a single omission of a filled-in figure is acceptable. At the same time, the child’s graphics do not go beyond the boundaries of the figure and take into account its symmetry (graphic activity is formed in visual-coordinating components).
One random error (especially at the end, when the child stops referring to the completion standards) or the presence of two independent corrections is assessed as 4.5 points .
With two omissions of filled figures, corrections or one or two errors in filling out the quality of the task is assessed at 4 points . If the task is completed without errors, but the child does not have time to complete it in the allotted time (no more than one line of figures remains unfilled), the assessment is also 4 points.
Moderately successful is such a performance when there are not only two omissions of filled figures, corrections or one or two errors in filling, but also poor filling graphics (exceeding the boundaries of the figure, asymmetry of the figure, etc.). In this case, the quality of the task is assessed at 3 points.
In 3 points The error-free (or with a single error) filling of figures in accordance with the sample, but omitting an entire line or part of a line, is also assessed. And also one or two independent corrections.
Such completion is considered unsuccessful when, due to one or two errors in combination with poor completion graphics and omissions, the child did not manage to complete the entire task in the allotted time (more than half of the last line remains unfilled). This embodiment is estimated at 2 points .
Estimated at 1 point This type of implementation, when there are marks in the figures that do not correspond to the samples, the child is not able to follow the instructions (that is, he begins to fill in all the circles first, then all the squares, etc., and after the teacher’s comment he continues to complete the task in the same style). If there are more than two errors (not counting corrections), even if the entire task is completed, 1 point .
Particular attention should be paid to such performance results when the child does not have time to complete the entire task within the allotted time. This can characterize both the low pace of activity, the difficulty of the task itself, and the child’s fatigue (since this task is one of the last).
The pace of completing this task must be compared (including using an observation sheet, where you can note whether the child has time to complete tasks simultaneously with other children or whether he completes each task, even if not standardized in time, more slowly than others) with the pace of completing other tasks (in in particular task No. 1). If task No. 4 is completed significantly slower than everything else, this indicates a high “price” of such activity, that is, compensation for difficulties by reducing the pace. But this is a reflection of the child’s physiological unpreparedness for regular learning.
If it is impossible to complete the task as a whole (for example, the child started to do it, but could not finish even one line, or made several incorrect fillings in different corners and did nothing else, or made many mistakes), a score is given 0 points.

Studying a child’s self-esteem using the “Ladder” test

CONCLUSION

Recently, much attention has been paid in the literature to the issue of identifying children who are not ready for schooling and who have difficulties adapting to school in the 1st grade. And this problem is still relevant. A child entering school must be physiologically and socially mature; the child’s success in school also depends on his psychological maturity. Psychological readiness for learning is a multidimensional concept. It does not provide for individual knowledge and skills, but a specific set in which all the basic elements must be present. What components lead to this set of “school readiness”? The main components of school maturity are: intellectual, personal, volitional, moral readiness. All of the listed components of school readiness are important in the development of a child. If there is insufficient development of any one component, there is a need for psychological help for the child.

Literature

Diagnostic and coordination work of a school psychologist. /Under the editorship of I.V. Dubrovinkoy / Moscow. 1987

¬ . Features of mental development of children 6 - 7 years of age. /Under the editorship of D.B. Elkonina, A.L. Wenger/Moscow. 1988

¬ Agafonova I.N. Psychological readiness for school in the context of the problem of adaptation “Primary School” 1999 No. 1 61-63 p.

¬ Readiness for school / Edited by Dubrovina M. 1995 - 289 p.

¬ . Gutkina N.N. Diagnostic program for determining the psychological readiness of 6-7 year old children for schooling “Psychological education” 1997 - 235 p.

¬ Ovcharova R.V. “Practical psychology in elementary school,” M. 1999 -261 p.

¬ Wenger L.A. Wenger L.A. "Is your child ready for school?" M. 1994 - 189 p.

Basic information about the work

Introduction

1. The concept of readiness for schooling. Key aspects of school maturity

1.1 Intellectual readiness for schooling

1.2 Personal readiness for schooling

1.3 Volitional readiness for schooling

1.4 Moral readiness for schooling

2 The main reasons for children’s unpreparedness for schooling

Conclusion

Glossary

List of sources used

Appendices A. Diagnostics for mastering elementary mathematical concepts

Applications B. Graphic dictation by D.B. Elkonina

Appendices B. Diagnosis of intelligence using the Goodenough-Harris test

Appendices D. Orientation text for school maturity

Appendices E. Ten Word Test

Appendix E. Test "Classification"

Appendix G. Social maturity test

Appendices I. Social Maturity Test

Appendices K. Test “Composing a story from pictures”

Appendixes L. Test “What’s missing?”

Appendices M. Test “The Fourth Wheel”

Introduction

The problem of children's readiness for school education has recently become very popular among researchers in various specialties. Psychologists, teachers, physiologists study and justify the criteria for readiness for schooling, argue about the age at which it is most advisable to start teaching children at school. Interest in this problem is explained by the fact that figuratively psychological readiness for schooling can be compared to the foundation of a building: a good strong foundation is the key to the reliability and quality of future construction.

The problem of studying preschoolers' readiness for school is not new. In foreign studies, it is reflected in works studying the school maturity of children. (G. Getper 1936, A. Kern 1954, S. Strebel 1957, J. Jirasey 1970, etc.). In Russian psychology, a serious study of the problem of readiness for schooling, which has its roots in the works of L.S. Vygotsky, contained in the works of L.I. Bozovic (1968); D.B. Elkonina (1981, 1989); N G. Salmina (1988); HER. Kravtsova (1991); N.V. Nizhegorodtseva, V.D. Shadrikova (1999, 2001) and others. These authors, following L.S. Vygotsky believes that learning leads to development, and therefore learning can begin when the psychological functions involved in it have not yet matured. In addition, the authors of these studies believe that what matters for successful schooling is not the totality of the child’s knowledge, skills and abilities, but a certain level of his personal and intellectual development, which is considered as psychological prerequisites to schooling. In this regard, I consider it appropriate to designate the latest understanding of readiness for school as “psychological readiness for school”, in order to separate him from others.

The psychological readiness of children for schooling is understood as the necessary and sufficient level of psychological development of the child to master the school curriculum under certain learning conditions. A child’s psychological readiness for school is one of the most important results of psychological development during preschool childhood.

We live in the 21st century and now the very high demands of life for the organization of education and training force us to look for new, more effective psychological and pedagogical approaches aimed at carrying out teaching methods in accordance with the requirements of life. In this sense, the readiness of preschoolers to study at school takes on special significance.

The solution to this problem is related to the determination of the goals and principles of organizing training and education in preschool institutions. At the same time, the success of children’s subsequent education at school depends on its solution. The main goal of determining the psychological readiness of children for school is to prevent school maladjustment.

The relevance of this problem determined the topic of my work, “Study of children’s readiness for schooling.”

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:

Identify and study the characteristics of a child’s psychological readiness for school.

TASKS:

a) Study the characteristics of the child’s psychological readiness for school.

b) Identify the conditions for the formation of a child’s psychological readiness for school.

c) Analyze diagnostic techniques and psychological assistance programs for children.

Preparing children for school is a complex task, covering all areas of a child’s life. Psychological readiness for school is only one aspect of this task. But within this aspect there are different approaches:

1. Research aimed at developing in preschool children changes in certain skills and abilities necessary for learning at school.

2. Study of neoplasms and changes in the child’s psyche.

3. Study of the genesis of individual components of educational activity and identification of ways of their formation.

4. Studying the changes of the child to consciously subordinate his actions to the given ones, with consistent execution of the adult’s verbal instructions. This skill is combined with the ability to master the general way of following an adult’s verbal instructions.

Readiness for school in modern conditions is considered primarily as readiness for schooling or educational activities. This approach is justified by looking at the problem from the perspective of the periodization of the child’s mental development and the change of leading types of activity. According to E.E. Kravtsova, the problem of psychological readiness for schooling, receives its concretization as the problem of changing the leading types of activity, i.e. This is a transition from role-playing games to educational activities. This approach is relevant and significant, but readiness for educational activities does not fully cover the phenomenon of readiness for school. This approach is relevant and significant, but readiness for educational activities does not fully cover the phenomenon of readiness for school.

L.I. Bozhovich pointed out back in the 60s that readiness for learning at school consists of a certain level of development of mental activity, cognitive interests, readiness for arbitrary regulation of one’s cognitive activity and the social position of the student. Similar views were developed by A.V. Zaporozhets, noting that readiness to study at school is an integral system of interconnected qualities of a child’s personality, including the characteristics of its motivation, the level of development of cognitive, analytical and synthetic activity, the degree of formation of the mechanism of volitional regulation.

Today, it is almost universally accepted that readiness for schooling is a multiple education that requires complex psychological research. Traditionally, three aspects of school maturity are distinguished: intellectual, emotional, social.

Under intellectual activity differentiated perception is understood, perceptual maturity, including the separation of a figure from the background; concentration; analytical thinking, expressed in the ability to comprehend the basic connections between phenomena; possibility of logical memorization; the ability to reproduce a pattern, as well as the development of fine hand movements and sensorimotor coordination. We can say that intellectual maturity understood in this way largely reflects the functional maturation of brain structures.

Emotional maturity is understood as a decrease in impulsive reactions and the ability to perform a not very attractive activity for a long time.

TO social maturity This includes the child’s need to communicate with peers and the ability to subordinate his behavior to the laws of children’s groups, as well as play the role of a student in a school situation.

Based on the selected parameters, school maturity tests are created.

If foreign studies of school maturity are mainly aimed at creating tests and are much less focused on the theory of the issue, then the works of domestic psychologists contain a deep theoretical study of the problem of psychological readiness for school as a subject of activity, which is expressed in the social formation and execution of intentions and goals, or in other words in arbitrary behavior student.

Almost all authors studying psychological readiness for school give voluntariness a special place in the problem being studied. There is a point of view that poor development of volition is the main stumbling block to psychological readiness for school. The difficulty lies in the fact that, on the one hand, voluntary behavior is considered a new formation of primary school age, developing within the educational (leading) activity of this age, and on the other hand, the weak development of voluntary behavior interferes with the beginning of schooling.

D.B. Elkonin (1978) believes that voluntary behavior is born in role-playing play in a group of children, which allows the child to rise to a higher level of development than he can do in a game alone, because In this case, the team corrects violations in imitation of the expected image, while it is still very difficult for the child to independently exercise such control.

2. 7. Determination of children’s psychological readiness for schooling

Recently, the task of preparing children for school education has occupied one of the important places in the development of ideas in psychological science.

The successful solution of problems in the development of a child’s personality, increasing the effectiveness of learning, and favorable professional development are largely determined by how accurately the level of readiness of children for schooling is taken into account. In modern psychology, unfortunately, there is not yet a single and clear definition of the concept of “readiness” or “school maturity”.

A. Anastasi interprets the concept of school maturity as “mastery of skills, knowledge, abilities, motivation and other behavioral characteristics necessary for the optimal level of mastering the school curriculum” (A. Anastasi, vol. 2, p. 6).

I. Shvantsara more succinctly defines school maturity as the achievement of such a degree in development when the child “becomes able to take part in school education.” I. Shvantsara identifies mental, social and emotional components as components of readiness to learn at school.

L. I. Bozhovich pointed out back in the 60s that readiness for learning at school consists of a certain level of development of mental activity, cognitive interests, readiness for arbitrary regulation of one’s cognitive activity and the social position of the student. Similar views were developed by A. I. Zaporozhets, noting that readiness to study at school “represents an integral system of interconnected qualities of a child’s personality, including the characteristics of its motivation, the level of development of cognitive, analytical-synthetic activity, the degree of formation of the mechanisms of volitional regulation of actions, etc. d. "(A.I. Zaporozhets, p. 56).

Today, it is almost universally accepted that readiness for schooling is a multicomponent education that requires complex psychological research. In the structure of psychological readiness, it is customary to distinguish the following components (according to L. A. Venger, A. L. Venger, V. V. Kholmovskaya, Ya. Ya. Kolominsky, E. A. Pashko, etc.):

1. Personal readiness. Includes the formation of a child’s readiness to accept a new social position - the position of a schoolchild who has a range of rights and responsibilities. This personal readiness is expressed in the child’s attitude towards school, educational activities, teachers, and himself. Personal readiness also includes a certain level of development of the motivational sphere. A child who is ready for school is one who is attracted to school not by its external aspects (the attributes of school life - briefcase, textbooks, notebooks), but by the opportunity to gain new knowledge, which involves the development of cognitive interests. The future schoolchild needs to voluntarily control his behavior and cognitive activity, which becomes possible with the formation of a hierarchical system of motives. Thus, the child must have developed learning motivation. Personal readiness also presupposes a certain level of development of the child’s emotional sphere. By the beginning of school, the child should have achieved relatively good emotional stability, against the background of which the development and course of educational activities is possible.

2. The child's intellectual readiness for school. This component of readiness presupposes that the child has an outlook and a stock of specific knowledge. The child must have systematic and dissected perception, elements of a theoretical attitude to the material being studied, generalized forms of thinking and basic logical operations, and semantic memorization. However, basically, the child’s thinking remains figurative, based on real actions with objects and their substitutes. Intellectual readiness also presupposes the development in a child of initial skills in the field of educational activity, in particular, the ability to identify an educational task and turn it into an independent goal of activity. To summarize, we can say that the development of intellectual readiness for learning at school involves:

differentiated perception;

analytical thinking (the ability to comprehend the main features and connections between phenomena, the ability to reproduce a pattern);

rational approach to reality (weakening the role of fantasy);

logical memorization;

interest in knowledge and the process of obtaining it through additional efforts;

mastery of spoken language by ear and the ability to understand and use symbols;

development of fine hand movements and hand-eye coordination.

3. Social and psychological readiness for schooling.

This component of readiness includes the formation in children of qualities through which they could communicate with other children and the teacher. A child comes to school, a class where children are engaged in common activities, and he needs to have fairly flexible ways of establishing relationships with other children, the ability to enter the children's society, act together with others, the ability to give in and defend himself. Thus, this component presupposes the development in children of the need to communicate with others, the ability to obey the interests and customs of the children's group, and the developing ability to cope with the role of a student in a school learning situation.

Practical psychologists working in public education institutions face the problem of diagnosing children’s psychological readiness for school. Every year, from April-May to August, children who have reached the age of seven flock to school. Different schools have their own ways and methods of organizing the reception of children. Today, almost everywhere the level of psychological readiness of children for school is determined. At the same time, each psychologist, to the extent of his competence and theoretical preferences, uses a different set of methodological procedures that allow him to obtain data on the formation of psychological readiness for schooling.

During this period, the psychologist conducts both mass and individual psychodiagnostic examinations. During mass (group) examinations of children, the general level of intellectual development, development of fine motor skills of the hand, coordination of hand movements and vision, and the child’s ability to imitate a model are revealed. To achieve these goals, in order to get a general idea of ​​the level of development of a child’s readiness for schooling, you can use the Kern-Jirasik school maturity orientation test. This test has a number of significant advantages for the initial examination of children:

firstly, this test requires a short time to use;

secondly, it can be used for both individual and group surveys;

thirdly, the test has standards developed on a large sample;

fourthly, it does not require special means and conditions for its implementation;

fifthly, it allows the research psychologist to obtain information about the child.

Brief description of the test

The indicative test of school maturity by J. Jirasik is a modification of the test by A. Kern. It consists of three tasks:

drawing a male figure from an idea, imitation of written letters, sketching a group of dots. J. Jirasik introduced an additional fourth task, which consists of answering questions (each child is asked to answer 20 questions).

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.

Instructions for task 3:“Look, there are dots drawn here. Try and draw the same ones here, next to each other.”

Test performance assessment:

Exercise 1. Drawing of a male figure.

7 point is exhibited in the following cases. The drawn figure must have a head, torso, and limbs. The head and body are connected through the neck; the head does not exceed the body. There is hair on the head (or it is covered by a hat), there are ears, and on the face there are eyes, a nose and a mouth. The hands are finished with a hand with five fingers. The legs are bent at the bottom, men's clothing is used. The figure is drawn using the so-called synthetic method, that is, the figure is drawn immediately as a single whole (you can outline it without lifting the pencil from the paper). Legs and arms seem to “grow” from the body.

2 points the child receives if all the requirements as in paragraph 1 are met, except for the synthetic image method. Three missing parts (neck, hair, one finger, but not part of the face) may be excluded from the requirements if this is balanced by a synthetic image method.

3 points placed when the drawing shows the head, torso, limbs, and the arms or legs are drawn with a double line. Absence of neck, ears, hair, clothing, fingers, feet is allowed.

4 points. A primitive drawing with a torso. The limbs are expressed with just simple lines (one pair of limbs is enough).

5 points. There is a lack of clear image of the torso (head and legs) or both pairs of limbs.

It should be noted that a drawing of a person is one of the old diagnostic techniques. Back in 1926, F. Goodenough attempted to create a standard scale of characteristics for assessing the quality of human drawings. This scale was aimed at assessing the drawing from the point of view of the child’s level of intellectual development. In 1963, D. Harris, a student of F. Gooding(f), carried out a new standardization of this task. The scale of signs for assessing the drawing “Draw a Person” according to Goodenough-Harris contains 10 categories of informative signs:

1) body parts, facial details;

2) three-dimensionality of the image of body parts;

3) quality of connection of body parts;

4) compliance with proportions;

5) correctness and detail of the clothing image;

6) correct depiction of the figure in profile;

7) quality of pencil control: firmness and confidence of straight lines;

8) the degree of arbitrariness in using a pencil when drawing forms;

9) features of drawing technique (only for older children, for example, shading);

10) expressiveness in conveying the movements of the figure. The visual activity of children has now been studied quite widely, its stages and informative features have been identified. Research by M. D. Barreto, P. Light, K. Makhover, I. I. Budnitskaya, T. N. Golovina, V. S. Mukhina, P. T. Khomentauskas and others show that the features of graphic images to a certain extent correlate with the level of mental development of children.

P. T. Homentauskas believes that a psychologist should pay attention to the following points in graphic presentations:

1. Number of body parts. Are there: head, hair, ears, eyes, pupils, eyelashes, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, mouth, neck, shoulders, arms, palms, fingers, legs, feet.

2. Decoration (clothing details and decorations): hat, collar, tie, bows, pockets, belt, buttons, hairstyle elements, complexity of clothing, decorations, etc.

The absolute size of the figures can also be informative: children who are prone to dominance and self-confident draw large figures; small human figures are associated with anxiety, uncertainty, and a feeling of insecurity.

If children over five years of age miss some parts of the face (eyes, mouth) in the drawing, this may indicate serious impairments in communication, isolation, or autism.

We can say that the higher the level of detail in the drawing (the figure of a man), the higher the general level of mental development of the child.

There is a pattern that as children age, the drawing is enriched with more and more new details: if at three and a half years old a child draws a “cephalopod”, then at seven years old he presents a rich body diagram. Therefore, if at seven years old a child does not draw one of the details (head, eye, nose, mouth, arms, torso, legs), then you need to pay attention to this.

It should be emphasized, however, that this test does not have independent diagnostic value, that is, it is unacceptable to limit yourself to examining a child with this technique: it can only form part of such an examination.

Task 2. Imitation of written letters.

1 point the child receives in the following case. The imitation is completely satisfactory to the written model. The letters do not reach double the size of the sample. The initial letter has a clearly visible capital letter height. The rewritten word does not deviate from the horizontal line by more than 30 degrees.

2 points put if the sample is copied legibly. The size of the letters and adherence to the horizontal line are not taken into account.

3 points. Explicit division of the inscription into three parts. You can understand at least four letters of the sample.

4 points. In this case, at least two letters match the pattern. The copy still creates the caption line.

5 points. Scribble.

Task 3. Drawing a group of points.

7 point. Almost perfect imitation of the model. Only a very slight deviation of one point from a row or column is allowed. Reducing the picture is acceptable; enlarging it should not be.

2 points. The number and location of points must correspond to the sample. You can allow even three points to deviate by half the width of the gap between the rows and columns.

3 points. The whole is similar in outline to the sample. It does not exceed it more than twice in height and width. There should be no more than 20 points and no less than 7. Any rotation is allowed, even 180 degrees.

4 points. The outline of the drawing no longer resembles the sample, but it still consists of dots. The size of the picture and the number of dots do not matter. Other forms are not allowed.

5 points. Sketching.

After the subtests are completed, the psychologist collects the forms and conducts a primary grouping of them based on the test results, selecting children with very weak, weak, average and strong

level of readiness for schooling.

The results obtained characterize the child in terms of general mental development: the development of motor skills, the ability to perform given patterns, i.e., they characterize the arbitrariness of mental activity. As for the development of social qualities related to general awareness and the development of mental operations, these properties are quite clearly diagnosed in J. Jirasik’s questionnaire.

Questionnaire for the orientation test of school maturity by Jaroslav Jirasik.

1. Which animal is bigger - a horse or a dog? Horse =0 points, wrong answer = -5 points.

2. In the morning you have breakfast, and in the afternoon. . .

Let's have lunch. We eat soup, meat = 0 points. We have dinner, sleep and other erroneous answers = -3 points.

3. It is light during the day and at night. . . Dark = 0 points, wrong answer = -4 points.

4. The sky is blue and the grass is. . . Green = 0 points, wrong answer = -4 points,

5. Cherries, pears, plums, apples. . . what's this? Fruit = 1 point, wrong answer = -1 point.

6. Why does the barrier drop before the train passes?

To prevent the train from colliding with the car. So that no one gets hit by a train (etc.) = 0 points Incorrect answer = -1 point.

7. What are Moscow, Rostov, Kyiv? Cities =1 point. Stations=0 points. Incorrect answer = -1 point.

8. What time does the clock show (show on the clock)?

Well shown = 4 points. Only a quarter, a whole hour, a quarter and an hour are shown,

correct = 3 points. Doesn't know the clock = 0 points.

9. A small cow is a calf, a small dog is this. . . , little sheep is. . . ?

Puppy, lamb = 4 points.

only one answer out of two = 0 points.

Incorrect answer = - 1 point.

10. Is a dog more like a chicken or a cat? How similar

What do they have in common?

Like a cat, because it also has four legs, fur, a tail,

claws (one similarity is enough) = 0 points.

On a cat (without giving similarity marks) = -1 point.

For chicken = -3 points.

11. Why do all cars have brakes?

Two reasons (braking down a mountain, braking at a turn; stopping in case of danger of a collision, stopping altogether after finishing driving) = 1 point. 1 reason = 0 points.

Incorrect answer (for example, he would not drive without brakes) = -I point.

12. How are a hammer and an ax similar to each other?

Two common features = - 3 points (they are made of wood and iron, they have handles, they are tools, they can be used to hammer nails). 1 similarity = 2 points. Incorrect answer = 0 points.

13. How are squirrels and cats similar to each other?

Determining that these are animals, or citing two common characteristics (they have four legs, tails, fur, they can climb trees) = 3 points. One Similarity = 2 points. Incorrect answer = 0 points.

14. What is the difference between a nail and a screw? How would you recognize them if they were lying here in front of you?

They have different characteristics: a screw has a thread (thread, such

twisted line around the notch) = 3 points.

The screw is screwed in and the nail is driven in: the screw has a nut

Incorrect answer = 0 points.

15. Football, high jump, tennis, swimming. . . This? Sports, physical education == 3 points.

Games (exercises), gymnastics, competitions = 2 points. Incorrect answer = 0 points.

16. What vehicles do you know?

Three land vehicles, aircraft or ship = 4 points.

Only three land vehicles or a complete list, with an airplane or a ship, but only after explaining that vehicles are something you can use to get somewhere = 2 points. Incorrect answer = 0 points.

17. What is the difference between an old man and a young man? What is between them

Three signs (gray hair, lack of hair, wrinkles, narrower

cannot work like that, sees poorly, hears poorly, is sick more often, is more likely to die than young) = 4 points. One or two differences = 2 points. Incorrect answer (he has a stick, he smokes, etc.) = 0 points.

18. Why do people play sports?

For two reasons (to be healthy, hardened, strong, to be more mobile, to stand straight, not to be fat, they want to achieve a record, etc.)

One reason = 2 points.

Incorrect answer (to be able to do something) = 0 points.

19. Why is it bad when someone avoids work?

The rest must work for him (or an expression that someone else suffers as a result of this). He's lazy. Earns little and cannot buy anything = 2 points. Incorrect answer = 0 points.

20. Why do you need to put a stamp on the envelope?

This is how they pay for sending, transporting a letter = 5 points. The other one would have to pay a fine = 2 points.

Incorrect answer = 0 points.

After the survey is completed, the results are calculated based on the number of points achieved on individual questions. The quantitative results of this task are divided into five groups:

Group 1 - plus 24 or more

Group 2 - plus 14 to 23

Group 3 - from 0 to 13

Group 4 - from minus 1 to minus 10

Group 5 - less than minus 11

According to the classification, the first three groups are considered positive. Children who score from plus 24 to plus 13 are considered ready for school.

Overall assessment of test results

Children who receive three to six points in the first three subtests are considered ready for school. The group of children who received seven to nine points represents the average

level of development of readiness for schooling. Children who received 9-11 points require additional research to obtain more objective data. Particular attention should be paid to a group of children (usually individual children) who scored 12-15 points, which constitutes development below the norm. Such children need a thorough individual examination of intelligence, development of personal and motivational qualities.

Thus, we can say that the Kern-Jirasik methodology provides preliminary guidance on the level of development of readiness for schooling.

At the same time, the concept of “readiness for schooling” also includes the formation of the basic prerequisites and foundations of educational activities.

G. G. Kravtsov, E. E. Kravtsova, speaking about readiness for schooling, emphasize its complex nature. However, the structuring of this readiness does not follow the path of differentiating the child’s general mental development into intellectual, emotional and other spheres, and, therefore, types of readiness. These authors consider the system of relationships between the child and the outside world and highlight indicators of psychological readiness for school associated with the development of various types of relationships between the child and the outside world. In this case, the main aspects of children’s psychological readiness for school are three areas: attitude towards an adult, attitude towards a peer, attitude towards oneself.

In the sphere of communication between a child and an adult, the most important changes that characterize the onset of readiness for schooling are the development of voluntariness. The specific features of this type of communication are the subordination of the child’s behavior and actions to certain norms and rules, reliance not on the existing situation, but on all the content that sets its context, understanding the position of the adult and the conventional meaning of his questions.

All these traits are necessary for a child to accept a learning task. The studies of V.V. Davydov and D.B. Elkonin show that the learning task is one of the most important components of educational activity. The basis of the educational task is the educational problem, which is a theoretical resolution of contradictions.

The educational task is solved with the help of educational actions - the next component of educational activity. Educational activities are aimed at finding and highlighting general methods for solving any class of problems.

The third component of educational activity is the actions of self-control and self-assessment. In these actions the child is directed

as if to himself. Their result is changes in the cognizing subject itself.

Thus, voluntariness in communication with adults is necessary for children to successfully carry out educational activities (primarily for accepting a learning task).

The development of a certain level of communication with peers is no less important for a child for further learning than the development of arbitrariness in communication with adults. Firstly, a certain level of development of a child’s communication with peers allows him to adequately act in conditions of collective learning activities. Secondly, communication with peers is closely related to the development of learning activities.

G. G. Kravtsov, E. E. Kravtsova emphasize that mastering educational actions gives the child the opportunity to learn a general way of solving a whole class of educational problems. Children who do not know this method can only solve problems with the same content.

This connection between the development of communication with peers and the development of educational activities is due to the fact that children who have developed communication with peers are able to look at the task situation “with different eyes” and take the point of view of their partner (teacher). They have sufficient flexibility and are not so rigidly tied to the situation.

This allows children to identify a general way to solve a problem, master appropriate learning actions, and solve direct and indirect problems. Children who can easily cope with both types of problems are able to identify a general solution scheme and have a fairly high level of communication with peers.

The third component of a child’s psychological readiness for school is his attitude towards himself. Educational activities require a high level of control, which should be based on an adequate assessment of one’s actions and capabilities. Inflated self-esteem, characteristic of preschoolers, is transformed due to the development of the ability to “see” others, the ability to move from one position to another when considering the same situation.

In connection with the identification of various types of relationships in the psychological readiness of children that influence the development of educational activities, it makes sense to diagnose children entering school through indicators of mental development that are most important for the success of schooling.

E. A. Bugrimenko, A. L. Venger, K. N. Polivanova, E. Yu. Sushkova offer a set of techniques as such a diagnostic procedure that allows us to characterize the following mechanisms:

1) level of development of the prerequisites for educational activities: the ability to carefully and accurately follow sequential instructions

an adult, independently act according to his instructions, focus on the system of task conditions, overcoming the distracting influence of side factors (methods “Graphic Dictation”, “Sample and Rules”),

2) the level of development of visual-figurative thinking (in particular, visual-schematic), which serves as the basis for the subsequent full development of logical thinking, mastery of educational material (the “Labyrinth” method).

It is advisable to carry out all the identified methods during a group examination, since they are aimed at the child’s ability to follow the instructions of adults addressed to the group or class.

Methodology "Graphic dictation"(developed by D. B. Elkonin) and is aimed at identifying the ability to listen carefully and accurately follow the instructions of an adult, correctly reproduce the given direction of lines on a sheet of paper, and act independently according to the instructions of an adult.

To conduct the study, each child is given a notebook sheet in a cage with four dots marked on it. Before the study, the psychologist explains to the children: “Now you and I will draw different patterns. We must try to make them beautiful and neat. To do this you need to listen to me carefully. I will tell you how many cells and in which direction you should draw the line. Draw only those lines that I tell you about. When you do it, wait until I tell you how to draw next. The next line should begin where the previous one ended, without lifting the pencil from the paper. Does everyone remember where the right hand is? Extend your right arm to the side. You see, she points to the door (a real landmark in the room is given). When I say that you need to draw a line to the right, you will draw it - to the door (on the board a line is drawn from left to right, one square long). I drew a line one cell to the right. And now, without lifting my hand, I draw a line two cells up. Now extend your left arm to the side. See, she points to the window (or other real landmark). Now, without lifting my hand, I draw a line three cells to the left. Does everyone understand how to draw?”

After this, the psychologist proceeds to drawing a training pattern: “We begin to draw the first pattern. Place a pencil on the topmost square. Draw a line without lifting the pencil from the paper: one cell down (do not lift the pencil from the paper). One cell to the right. One cell up. One cell to the right. One cell down. One cell to the right. One cell up. One cell to the right. One cell down. Then continue to draw the same pattern yourself.”

When dictating, the psychologist should pause long enough so that the children have time to finish the previous lines. You are given one and a half to two minutes to independently continue the pattern. Children are warned that the pattern does not have to extend across the entire width of the page.

In the process of carrying out the work, the psychologist ensures that the children start work each time from the indicated point, encourages the children (“I think that you will definitely succeed, try again”). At the same time, no specific instructions for executing the pattern are given.

After the children independently complete the training pattern, the psychologist says: “That’s it, you don’t need to draw this pattern any further. Let's draw the following pattern. Now place your pencils on the next point. Get ready, I'm starting to dictate. One cell up. One cell to the right. One cell up. One cell to the right. One cell down. One cell to the right. One cell down. One cell to the right. Now continue to draw the same pattern yourself.”

After one and a half to two minutes, the psychologist says: “That’s it. We will not draw this pattern further. Let's draw the following pattern. Attention! Three squares up. One cell to the right. Two cells down. One cell to the right. Two squares up. One cell to the right. Three cells down. One cell to the right. Two squares up. One cell to the right. Two cells down. One cell to the right. Now continue to draw this pattern yourself.”

After one and a half to two minutes, the dictation of the final pattern begins: “Put the pencils on the lowest point. Attention! Three cells to the right. One cell up. One cell to the left. Two squares up. Three cells to the right. Two cells down. One cell to the left. One cell down. Three cells to the right. One cell up. One cell to the left. Two squares up. Now continue to draw this pattern yourself.”

Evaluation of results

The results of the training pattern are not evaluated. In each of the subsequent ones, the completion of the dictation and the independent continuation of the pattern are assessed separately. The assessment is made on the following scale.

Accurate reproduction of the pattern - 4 points (uneven lines, “shaking” line, “dirt” are not taken into account and do not reduce the score);

Reproduction containing an error in one line - 3 points;

Reproduction with several errors - 2 points;

Reproduction in which there is only similarity of individual elements with the dictated pattern - 1 point;

Lack of similarity even in individual elements - 0 points.

For independent continuation of the pattern, the mark is given on the same scale.

Thus, for each pattern the child receives two marks;

one - for completing a dictation, the other - for independently continuing the pattern. Both scores range from 0 to 4. The final score for dictation work is derived from the three corresponding scores for individual patterns by summing the maximum with the minimum. The resulting score can range from zero to eight.

Similarly, from the three marks for the continuation of the pattern, the final score is derived. Then both final grades are summed up, giving a total score (TS), which can range from zero (if zero points are received for work under dictation and independent work) to 16 points (if 8 points are received for both types of work).

Methodology “Pattern and Rule” developed by A.L. Wenger and aimed at identifying the ability to be guided by the system of the task conditions, overcoming the distracting influence of extraneous factors. The results of its implementation also reflect the level of development of visual-figurative thinking.

To conduct the study, you will need a sheet with tasks that are distributed to children (on the reverse side information about the child is indicated - last name, first name, age).

The psychologist gives preliminary explanations, holding a sheet of assignments in his hand: “You have the same sheets as I do. You see, there were points here (points to the vertices of the triangle). They were connected so that the following pattern was obtained (holds a pointer along the sides of the triangle). There are also points nearby (the points to the right of the sample triangle are indicated). You yourself will connect them so that you get exactly the same pattern as here (points to the sample again). There are extra points here - you will leave them, you will not connect them. Now look, are all the points the same or not?”

When the children answer that the points are different, the psychologist says:

“That's right, they are different. Some dots are like small crosses, others are like small triangles, there are dots like small circles. You need to remember the rule: you cannot draw a line between identical points, between two circles, or between two crosses, or between two triangles. A line can only be drawn between two different points. If you draw any line incorrectly, tell me and I will erase it with an eraser. When you draw this figure, draw the next one. The rule remains the same. You cannot draw a line between two identical points.”

After the explanation, the psychologist invites the children to begin completing the task. Along the way, the psychologist stimulates, encourages the children, and, if necessary, repeats the instructions, but no additional explanations are given to the children. Evaluation of results

For each of the six tasks, a score is given, which can range from 0 to 2 points.

If a rule is violated in a task and the sample is reproduced incorrectly, 0 points are given.

If a rule is broken, but the sample is reproduced correctly, 1 point is given.

If the rule is not broken, but the sample is reproduced incorrectly, 1 point is also given.

If the rule is not broken and the sample is reproduced correctly, 2 points are given.

If, when performing any task, the child draws at least one line not between the given points, 0 points are given for this task (except in cases where there is a slight inaccuracy caused by motor or sensory difficulties). In the case when the child himself puts additional points and then draws a line between them, the completion of the task is also scored 0 points. Errors in drawing lines are not taken into account; they do not reduce the score (curves, trembling lines, etc.).

The total score (TS) is obtained by summing the points received for all 6 tasks. It can range from 0 to

12 points.

Thus, this technique is aimed at identifying the ability to navigate in the conditions of a task, identifying preferences in orientation to a visually specified sample or a verbally formulated rule. The process of completing tasks also reflects the peculiarities of perception of visual-figurative thinking and the level of development of the child’s sensorimotor abilities. This technique allows us to detect an important feature of a child’s psychological readiness - this is whether he belongs to the “preschool” or “school” type. The predominance of pattern orientation (when the child tries to reproduce the shape of a triangle or rhombus and pays much less attention to the rule of connecting dots) is characteristic of the “preschool” type. An emphasized effort to fulfill the rule of connecting the dots is characteristic of the “school” type, indicating readiness for schooling. If a child of the “school” type has difficulties in perceiving and depicting the shape of a sample, this indicates a failure of imaginative thinking and requires additional research using other methods.

“Labyrinth” technique(was developed by the Research Institute of Preschool Education of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the former USSR) is intended to identify the level of development of visual-schematic thinking (the ability to use diagrams, conventional images when navigating situations). The assessment is made in “raw” points without conversion to a normalized scale.

Before starting the study, children are given “books”, which are sheets of paper depicting a clearing with branched paths and houses at their ends, as well as letters indicating the path to one of the houses. The first two sheets (A and B) correspond to introductory problems.

First, children are given two introductory tasks (A and B), then all the others in order. Children open a book of tasks that begin with an introductory task. After this, the psychologist offers instructions: “In front of you is a clearing, paths and houses are drawn on it at the end of each of them. You need to find one house correctly and cross it out. To find this house you need to look at the letter (the psychologist points to the bottom of the page where it is placed). The letter says that you need to go from the grass, past the Christmas tree, then past the fungus, then you will find the right house. Everyone find this house, and I’ll see if you made a mistake.”

The psychologist looks at how each child solved the problem. If necessary, he corrects mistakes and explains. Having made sure that all the children have completed the first introductory task (A), the psychologist invites them to turn over the piece of paper and solve the second problem (B): “There are also two houses here and again we need to find the right house. But the letter here is different: it shows how to go and where to turn. You need to walk straight away from the grass again, and then turn to the side.” The psychologist shows the “letter” at the bottom of the sheet. After the explanation, the children solve the problem, the psychologist checks and explains again.

After solving the introductory problems, they begin to solve the main ones. Brief additional instructions are given for each of them.

To tasks 1-2.“The letter shows how to walk, which way to turn, and start moving away from the grass. Find the house you need and cross it out.”

To task 3:“Look at the letter. You have to go from the grass, past the flower, then past the fungus, then by birches, then fir trees. Find the house you need and cross it out.”

To task 4:“Look at the letter. You have to walk away from the grass, first past the birch tree, then past the fungus, the Christmas tree, then the chair. Mark the house."

To problems 5-6".“Be very careful, look at the letter, find the right house and cross it out.”

To problems 7- 7ft “Look at the letter, it shows how to walk, what object to turn around and in which direction. Be careful. Find the house you need and cross it out.”

Evaluation of results

Solving introductory problems is not assessed. When solving 1-6 problems, one point is awarded for each correct turn. Since in problems 1-6 it is necessary to make 4 turns, the maximum number of points for each of the problems is 4. In problems 7-10, 2 points are given for each correct turn, in problems 7-8 (2 turns) - the maximum number of points is 4, in tasks

9-10 (3 turns) - 6 points.

The points received for solving each problem are summed up.

The maximum number of points is 44.

The three presented methods (“Graphic dictation”, “Sample and rule”, “Labyrinth”) form a complex, the total points of which determine the level of performance of each child

Five levels of completion of each task were identified.

Table 1 SB values ​​corresponding to different levels of task completion

Tambov Regional Institute of Advanced Studies

qualifications of education workers

readiness of children

to school

Practical guide

Tambov

Reviewers:

Vice-rector for scientific and methodological work of TOIPKRO, Ph.D.

E.I. Agarkova

Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor

T.V. Overseas

Compiled by: Kazakova G.M. Methods for studying children's readiness for school. Practical guide. – Tambov: TOIPKRO, 2007

The practical manual presents material that makes it possible to identify the characteristics of a child’s development during the transition from preschool to primary school age, and to obtain reliable indicators of children’s readiness for schooling.

The manual is addressed to specialists (preschool teachers, primary school teachers, additional education teachers) who organize the activities of preschool groups for children aged 5.5-7 years; parents, as well as all interested parties involved in the problems of pre-school education.

BBK

INTRODUCTION
The diagnostic problem is key in determining the readiness of a 5-7 year old child to study at school, as well as possible adaptation forecasts. It concerns today not only parents whose children enter first grade, but also teachers of educational institutions. Upon arrival at school, the child finds himself in a new social development situation for him and is faced with a new activity, which becomes the main one. Success not only at school, but also in later life will depend on how successfully he gets involved in a situation of systematic learning. Comprehensive assessment of children's development to predict maladaptation risks (risks of school difficulties); identifying the reasons that make it difficult for a preschooler to advance to a higher level of development; choosing the most adequate program and learning conditions, as well as developing recommendations for teachers and parents to reduce the risks of maladjustment are the main goal of a diagnostic examination.

It should be noted that the modern approach to considering the problem of diagnosing psychological and pedagogical readiness for school is directly related to the problem of providing children with equal starting opportunities on the eve of entering school. The beginning of education and preparation for it are associated with the need to take into account important psychological patterns of children's development. A six-year-old first-grader remains a preschooler in terms of mental development: the peculiarities of his thinking, attention, memory require the use of adequate technologies of education, training and development in his traditional types of activities, taking into account forms of thinking specific to preschoolers. In relation to the education of children under 5 years of age, as well as children who have not attended preschool educational institutions, these positions are even more relevant. In this case, we can only talk about the prerequisites for the emergence of educational activity. The child must finish playing, “ripe” for schooling, that is, he must be psychologically ready for it.

The results of research by the IVF RAO show that a significant proportion of modern children entering first grade do not correspond to their passport age in their morphofunctional development. Up to 60% of children 5-6 years old are characterized by immaturity in the organization of activity, which is associated with the immaturity of the regulatory structures of the brain; in 60% of children, speech is unformed and, above all, its regulatory function; up to 30% of children demonstrate immaturity of motor skills associated with immaturity of neuromuscular regulation; up to 35% of children have immature visual and visuospatial perception and visual memory, which is associated with the immaturity of the brain systems for controlling and regulating activity; up to 30% of children have underdeveloped auditory-motor and visual-motor coordination, which is associated with immaturity of integrative brain activity. There is a steady increase in preschoolers with low educational motivation or its complete absence, an increase in the number of underachieving students among younger schoolchildren, as well as those lagging behind in psychophysical development, which is often caused by their premature inclusion in school.

The lack of formation of school-significant functions leads to the emergence of a whole complex of problems of maladjustment at the initial stages of education, as well as difficulties in learning basic educational skills: reading, writing, counting, which is expressed in facts of academic failure, school neuroses, and increased anxiety. A shortening of the play period of childhood, acceleration of development, a one-sided “intellectual” bias in the educational process most often lead to the fact that a child, in whom a huge amount of effort and money was invested in preschool age, not only turns out to be unsuccessful at school, but also demonstrates all signs of neurotic changes in personality. Sometimes these phenomena soften by the end of the second year of study, but most often they persist and are consolidated for a long time.

To prevent the introduction of pre-school education as a systematic one from aggravating the situation and leading to many problems for both the child himself and parents and teachers, all these factors should be taken into account when preparing for school and organizing the education of children 5.5-6 years old using technologically advanced psychological and pedagogical diagnostics to determine the child’s overall readiness for school and planning the educational process based on its results.

Early diagnosis (prediction) of risk factors that can cause maladjustment and school difficulties at the stage of senior preschool age (one year before school) makes it possible to build an adequate system of preschool education, covering all aspects of the child’s development: personal, social, cognitive, physical. The very logic of life dictates that it is necessary to develop criteria and indicators of children’s readiness for school, and not focus only on the physical or passport age of children.

Readiness for school is considered as an integral characteristic of the morphofunctional, psychological, cognitive and social development of a child. Investigating a child’s readiness for schooling in its entirety means diagnosing its various aspects: motivational, intellectual, volitional readiness; identify the degree to which each child’s capabilities meet the requirements of school education, and the child’s developed attitude towards the teacher as an adult with special social functions; development of necessary forms of communication with peers, etc.

This determines a set of psychological and pedagogical diagnostic methods, the content and procedure of which corresponds to the age characteristics of children 5.5-7 years old, and which are a universal means of monitoring the quality and effectiveness of preparation for schooling. It is important not only to choose interesting and entertaining material for classes with the child, but also to realize whether the child is ready to perceive and understand it. The success of the study largely depends on the methodological ingenuity of the researcher, on his ability to select a combination of techniques that exactly corresponds to the tasks assigned.

Diagnostics has a broader and deeper meaning than traditional testing of students’ knowledge and skills. The test only states the results without explaining their origin. Diagnostics considers results in connection with the paths and methods of achieving them, identifies trends, dynamics of the formation of learning products, including control, verification, evaluation, accumulation of statistical data, their analysis, identification of dynamics, trends, forecasting further developments of events. Thus, diagnostics is designed to optimize the process of individual learning, to ensure the correct determination of learning outcomes; guided by the developed criteria, minimize errors when transferring students from one training group to another.

Diagnostics that serve to improve the educational process should focus on the following goals:

• 
  internal and external correction in case of incorrect assessment of learning outcomes;
• 
  identifying learning gaps; confirmation of successful learning results;
• 
  planning subsequent stages of the educational process;
• 
  motivation through rewards for success in learning and regulation of the complexity of subsequent steps;
• 
  improving learning conditions.

The practical manual offers a number of diagnostic techniques that allow us to identify the characteristics of a child’s development during the transition from preschool to primary school age; obtain reliable indicators of children's readiness for school. The proposed tasks take into account the characteristics and capabilities of older preschoolers as much as possible, ensure children adequately understand the content, are based on their real experience, and do not depend on the level of reading and writing skills. The presented materials will help you overcome many pitfalls and errors that arise during the testing process and learn a lot of new and important things about children.

When using various diagnostic methods, it is necessary to remember that the age norms associated with most methods are not absolute and unchangeable, suitable for assessing the level of development at all times and for all children without exception. Norms are almost always relative and reflect the state of a particular sample of children from which these samples were obtained. In each specific case, when, as a result of a survey, a characteristic is given to a child, including an assessment of the level of his psychological development, it is indicated which sample or category of children the norm with which the development indicator of this child is compared belongs to. In addition, it should be taken into account that the norms themselves are changeable: as social development progresses, the average level of intellectual, personal and behavioral development of children changes. Consequently, it is impossible to use standards that were established more than ten years ago, since they require mandatory re-checking and correction every three to five years.

The study of readiness for schooling of children of senior preschool age is carried out using scientifically proven research methods, the quality of which is subject to strict requirements. Only valid, accurate and reliable methods should be used, otherwise there is a serious risk of obtaining unreliable data and making errors in conclusions. The user of the method is responsible for the quality of the method used and for obtaining results that can be trusted.

There are a number of moral and ethical requirements for conducting diagnostic examinations of children. The main ones are the following:

• 
  the results of a diagnostic examination should under no circumstances be used to harm the child;
• 
  diagnostics of children can and should be carried out (except for special cases in the field of medical or legal practice) only with the consent of the children themselves and their parents;
• 
  parents, with the exception of those who have been deprived of parental rights by law, can know the results of a diagnostic examination of their children, as well as the conclusions that a specialist made based on them;
• 
  the results of a diagnostic examination without taking into account many other factors and without taking into account the opinions of teachers and parents cannot serve as a basis for determining the fate of the child and making a conclusion about the possibility of his education and upbringing;
• 
  Psychodiagnostics of children should be carried out in close cooperation of a psychologist, educator, and teacher.

Individual tests are designed to work with each subject individually; group tests allow simultaneous testing of several subjects. Verbal tests are based on the analysis of the subjects’ own statements; nonverbal tests use signs other than speech for generalizations and conclusions. Quantitative tests make it possible to obtain numerical indicators of the degree of development of the property being studied, and qualitative tests provide its detailed descriptive characteristics. Gradual tests make it possible to express in numbers the degree of development of the property being studied using a certain scale; alternative ones allow only two mutually exclusive conclusions such as “yes” or “no”. General tests are designed to examine some psychological property of a general nature, such as general intelligence. Special tests evaluate some special property that distinguishes a person from other people, for example, verbal or figurative thinking.

In pedagogy, group tests dominate, since they are the most economical for a specialist. However, it should be remembered that data from group tests is never absolutely reliable, especially in the case of a low result. There are many reasons leading to an inadequate decrease in test indicators: an unfavorable neuropsychic state of the child at the time of the examination (confusion, excitement or anxiety associated with the examination, with being in a new environment or caused by previous random impressions; the child may be sick on that very day head, he may be upset about something, etc.); random distractions caused by the behavior of other children, etc. Consequently, based on the test results, final conclusions that negatively characterize the assessed level should not be drawn.

The practice of determining “readiness” and selecting children should not contain as diagnostic criteria only a set of indicators characterizing the stock of information, knowledge, operational skills, multiplied by the speed of reaction. In turn, methods should evaluate not only “learning” (“training”). The use of such techniques has a double negative effect: firstly, it directs parents and educators towards “active training”, and secondly, for most children it creates a situation of inadequate demands. Methods of psychological and pedagogical diagnostics should be adequate to the specific objectives of the examination and aimed, first of all, at differentiating the qualitative uniqueness of individual development, as well as identifying “risk factors” in development, at a comprehensive assessment of the child’s development when comparing data from observations of parents and analysis of the child’s activity when performing set of tasks.

Examinations can be carried out in the presence of parents. The only exceptions are those methods during which no, even accidental, influence on the child’s choice is allowed (for example, determining the dominance of a cognitive or play motive). In other cases, when completing tasks, the presence of parents is desirable. This gives children greater confidence, and, in addition, when parents personally see what tasks their children are performing, they do not have any doubts about the bias and inadequacy of the examination. If necessary, parents are given recommendations on what games, exercises, and activities can be done at home to prepare their child for school.

Children must be at least 5 years 6 months old at the time of examination. The procedure for determining readiness for school is carried out in the first half of the day from 9 to 12 o'clock, preferably on Tuesday or Wednesday, when the maximum level of children's performance during the week is observed. The total duration of children's work in one lesson is no more than 40-45 minutes. Tasks that children did not have time to complete during this time are transferred to the second lesson. If a child cannot cope with the general pace of work or refuses to perform it during a frontal examination, it is recommended to subject him to an individual check.

A prerequisite for a successful diagnostic examination is the transition of an adult from the position of a teacher to the position of a person conducting diagnostics. This inevitably entails a change in its activities. If in the process of everyday work the main goal is to teach, to achieve the correct answer at the moment, then in the process of diagnostics it is to obtain reliable data about the state of the child’s readiness for school.

From the very beginning of the examination, it is important to analyze the child’s reaction to the examination situation: how open he is to contact, whether he is active (for example, studying the situation in the room, examining toys and objects in it with interest), or whether he is disinhibited (fussing, trying to get up, twirls something in his hands, etc.). It should also be noted the manifestation of lethargy, tension, reluctance to draw attention to oneself, and fear of entering into a conversation. All these facts can be associated both with the psychodynamic (innate) characteristics of the child, for example, impulsivity or rigidity, and with such qualities of his personality as anxiety or demonstrativeness. The observations obtained are subsequently compared with test data, which helps to understand the nature of the preschooler’s intellectual or emotional deviations.

During the examination, one should alternate techniques so that the study of memory follows the analysis of thinking, and the study of perception follows the study of creativity. It is recommended to start diagnostics with tasks that involve drawing (both on a free and on a given topic), giving the child time to enter into the examination situation. During the interview, it is necessary to establish friendly, relaxed contact with the child, create favorable conditions for him, a familiar, comfortable environment. All tasks should be carried out in a playful way and perceived by children as games. A play situation allows children to relax and helps reduce stress. In a situation where a child is afraid to answer and does not communicate well with an adult, he should be emotionally supported; if necessary, use tactile contact: pat on the head, hug, accompanying the actions with a verbal expression of confidence that the baby will cope well with all the games. Such support and constant confirmation as the tasks progress that the child is doing everything correctly contributes to the establishment of contact between the experimenter and the subject, and ultimately guarantees the purity of the results. It should be noted that the tactic of approval, regardless of the actual result, is recommended in communication with all children, since a positive assessment from an adult is especially important to them.

During the examination, it is not recommended to rush children or rush with a hint; show your displeasure, dissatisfaction; highlight negative results and analyze the results with parents in the presence of the child.

The examination results may be complicated due to:

• 
  difficulties in contacting unfamiliar adults (sometimes this depends not on the child, but on his interlocutors);
• 
  fear of bad results (parents are often very worried themselves and scare their children with the “exam”);
• 
  inability of the subject (for various reasons) to concentrate or concentrate;
• 
  individual characteristics of the activity (in particular, the slow pace of work).

If the diagnostic results show a low level of readiness for school and the child needs special correctional and developmental work, all sections reflecting his development at the time of the examination are filled out in the psychological chart, the child’s main problems are recorded and a plan for appropriate measures is outlined. However, it should be remembered that it is unacceptable to make a diagnosis based on one or even several indicators. By themselves, in isolation, poor memory or a high level of imagination do not indicate anything. Poor memory can be compensated by good volition, and a very developed imagination can be present even with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. If, when checking psychological and pedagogical readiness for school, particularly serious deviations in the child’s activities are discovered, parents should be tactfully recommended to contact the appropriate specialists.

Methodology for conducting pedagogical diagnostics

Pedagogical diagnostics of readiness for schooling consists of checking the formation of prerequisites for mastering literacy and mathematics. At the same time, there is no need to find out the ability to read, write, count, that is, to test those subject knowledge and skills that are taught in the 1st grade. The tasks proposed to determine children’s readiness for school take into account the characteristics and capabilities of 6-year-old children as much as possible, ensure children’s adequate understanding of their content, are based on their real experience, and do not depend on the level of reading and writing skills.

During pedagogical diagnostics the following is checked:

• 
  state of spatial perception;
• 
  state of visual perception;
• 
  state of motor skills and hand-eye coordination;
• 
  the ability to carry out classification and identify the characteristics by which it is made;
• 
  the presence of intuitive pre-numerical representations;
• 
  mastery of the concepts underlying counting; the counting itself (within 6), ideas about the operations of addition and subtraction;
• 
  the ability to compare two sets by the number of elements;
• 
  development of phonemic hearing and perception;
• 
  the formation of prerequisites for successful mastery of sound analysis and synthesis;

The proposed pedagogical diagnostics includes two interrelated stages. The first stage is a group examination, during which children work on the sheets provided to them.

At the same time, the data from a group examination cannot be absolutely reliable, especially in the case of a low result (due to personal characteristics, the child may be very confused in a new environment, he may have a headache that day, he may be upset about something, etc. .d.).

The second stage - individual examination - is carried out only with those children who made mistakes when completing any tasks in the group examination. The teacher observes the child’s activities, records on the same examination sheet the level of assistance provided to him, and immediately enters the results of the implementation into the examination form. Individual examination is carried out the next day after the group examination. Parents and child are informed of the designated time for this.

Group work includes examination:

– states of visual perception, fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination (task 1);

– level of spatial representations (tasks 2, 4);

– the ability to classify objects, highlight the characteristic by which the classification is carried out (task 6);

– the ability to compare two sets by the number of elements and complete the task in strict accordance with the instructions (task 5);

– the ability to select and perform addition and subtraction operations and move from a number to a finite set of objects (task 3);

– the formation of prerequisites for successful mastery of sound analysis (tasks 7, 8).

When conducting a group survey, the following rules should be followed.

1. If the work is carried out without an assistant, then the number of children in the group should not exceed 10–12 people.

2. On each desk for one child, the necessary sheets and a set of pencils for the examination must be prepared in advance: red, blue, green, yellow and simple.

3. Children are invited to class without their parents. Parents must be notified in advance that the work will be carried out in this way.

4. Children are invited to sit at their desks one at a time. If you know that one of the children has difficulty seeing or hearing, put him at the first desk.

5. The work begins with a brief explanation: “Children, prepare your sheets and pencils. I will read the tasks to you in order. Be careful. Listen to the first task."

6. The tasks are read loudly enough, at an even and calm pace. You can repeat the text of the task if you clearly see that the children did not understand you, but you must not deviate from the text. There is no need to add any words “from yourself”.

7. On average, no more than 3 minutes are allotted to complete each task. You should move on to reading the next task only when most of the children have completed the previous one. If someone did not have time to complete the task, invite this child, together with everyone else, to proceed to the next one. When moving on to reading the next task, you should warn the children about this with the words: “We have finished working on this task. Listen to the next task."

8. The total duration of the group examination should not exceed 25 minutes.

9. During work, it is important to maintain a trusting, friendly atmosphere, not to express your dissatisfaction with the wrong actions of children, not to point out mistakes, not to make value judgments, and more often to say the words: “Very good!”, “You did well!”, “I see, “You’re doing great.”

Individual examination includes tasks offered to children who made mistakes during the group examination:
– clarification of the ability to compare sets by the number of elements – clarification of task 5 of the first stage (task 5-I);

– identifying the ability to make classification – clarifying task 6 of the first stage (task 6-I);

– clarification of the level of development of phonemic hearing and perception – clarification of task 7 (tasks 7-I-1, 7-I-2);

– determination of the formation of prerequisites for successful mastery of sound analysis and synthesis – clarification of task 8 (task 8-I);

When conducting an individual examination, it is important to fulfill the following conditions.

1. An individual examination must be carried out with the child so that his answers cannot be heard by other children.

2. An individual examination can be carried out both in the presence of parents and without them. You should ask the child himself how he will feel calmer: if his parents wait outside the door or go into the office with him. Having invited one of the parents to be present in the class, it is worth warning that there is no need to interfere in the conversation, give hints, comment on answers, or make comments to the child.

3. When inviting a child to class, it is better to call him by name and invite him to sit comfortably near his desk. Before starting the conversation, it is important to give the child the opportunity to get used to the new environment, at this time try to determine the child’s state (anxiety, lethargy, overexcitement, etc.)

4. The duration of an individual examination should not exceed 15 minutes.

The results of the diagnostic examination of each child (both its group and individual form) are entered into the class examination form. The vertical axis shows the children's names and scores for completing each task. On the horizontal - numbers of diagnostic tasks: 1 - level of development of visual perception, fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination;

2 – level of development of spatial concepts;

3 – level of ability to select and perform addition and subtraction operations and move from a number to a finite set of objects;

4 – level of formation of intuitive topological ideas;

5 – level of ability to compare two sets by the number of elements;

6 – ability to carry out classification;

7 – level of development of phonemic hearing and perception; 8 – the formation of prerequisites for mastering sound analysis and synthesis.