Partnership interaction with parents in preschool educational institutions
When studying the Federal State Educational Standard for Educational Education (Standard), it can be noted that preschool educational institutions are tasked with actively involving children’s parents (legal representatives) in the educational process.
This provision can be traced throughout the text of the Federal State Educational Standard for Education. Thus, when listing the principles of preschool education, along with others, the cooperation of the Organization with the family is indicated .
When formulating the tasks facing preschool educational institutions, the Standard points out the need to provide psychological and pedagogical support for the family and increase the competence of parents (legal representatives) in matters of development and education, protection and promotion of children’s health.
Further, it is recommended to organize activities to assist parents (legal representatives) in raising children, protecting and strengthening their physical and mental health, developing individual abilities and the necessary correction of their developmental disorders. The Standard also indicates that the content section of the Preschool Program should also present the features of interaction between the teaching staff and the families of pupils.
The Standard outlines the requirements for the conditions for the implementation of the Preschool Program. These requirements are aimed at creating a social development situation for participants in educational relations, including the creation of an educational environment. The educational environment guarantees the protection and strengthening of the physical and mental health of children; ensures the emotional well-being of children; promotes the professional development of teaching staff; creates conditions for developing variable preschool education; ensures openness of preschool education; creates conditions for the participation of parents (legal representatives) in educational activities.
The Standard specifies the requirements for the creation of psychological and pedagogical conditions for the implementation of the basic educational program of preschool education. For the successful implementation of the Program, a number of psychological and pedagogical conditions must be provided. to support parents (legal representatives) in raising children, protecting and promoting their health, and involving families directly in educational activities is indicated
The section of the Standard about the conditions necessary to create a social situation for the development of children assumes interaction with parents (legal representatives) on issues of the child’s education, their direct involvement in educational activities, including through the creation of educational projects together with the family based on identifying needs and support family educational initiatives.
And in order to effectively implement the Program, conditions must be created for advisory support for teaching staff and parents (legal representatives) on issues of education and child health, including inclusive education.
We see that the “red thread” in the Standard is the recommendation of active interaction with the families of children attending preschool educational institutions.
Since September 1, 2016, inclusive education has become mandatory in all educational organizations. Interaction and cooperation with families where a child with special educational needs is growing up, a “special child” requires new knowledge and skills from teachers. And this is already prescribed in the Professional Standard, which will be introduced in January 2017.
Now let’s turn to the Professional Standard of a teacher (pedagogical activities in preschool , primary general, basic general, secondary general education) (educator, teacher).
Pedagogical activities for the implementation of the Preschool Education Program in accordance with the Professional Standard include:
Labor actions of a preschool teacher
Necessary skills of a preschool teacher
Necessary knowledge of a preschool teacher
In the Professional Standard, the necessary skills of preschool teachers include, among others, the ability to build partnerships with parents (legal representatives) of early and preschool children to solve educational problems, to use methods and means for their psychological and pedagogical education.
Particular difficulties in building partnership interactions in preschool educational institutions arise with parents whose children have special educational needs.
Raising a child with special educational needs in a family requires special efforts, patience, and knowledge from parents. Such parents need medical, psychological and pedagogical support not only from doctors and specialists, but also from psychologists and preschool teachers.
As can be seen from the Professional Standard, in addition to cooperation in the field of upbringing and education of early and preschool children, preschool educational institutions are also entrusted with the task of psychological and pedagogical education of parents and increasing their pedagogical competence. And in the case when we are talking about children with disabilities, about children with disabilities, about children with pronounced special educational needs, the psychological and pedagogical education of parents will be in line with the corrective influence.
It turns out that not only preschool teachers, but also all “narrow” specialists who take part in the implementation of inclusive education, in the implementation of adapted programs for each child, must participate in extensive educational work with parents whose children have special educational needs and attend preschool.
What do teachers, psychologists and special educators in preschool educational institutions need to know about the family of a child with special educational needs before starting a partnership?
Let us try briefly, using data from numerous studies in the field of studying the state of a family with a special child, to give a picture of the psychological climate in such a family. Teachers and psychologists of preschool educational institutions can be recommended to first of all take these conditions into account before starting cooperation with the family of a child attending preschool educational institution.
If a child has various developmental disorders, this affects the psychological state of the parents.
For example, the peculiarities of speech activity of children with alalia, aphasia, dysarthria, and other severe speech disorders, as well as speech disorders of mentally retarded children, children with cerebral palsy, mental retardation and autism are aggravating for the psyche of parents. It is speech impairment or its complete absence that becomes a prerequisite for the emergence of a communication barrier in parent-child relationships. Severe speech disorders that occur in children with disabilities are a significant psychotraumatic factor for parents.
In a number of studies, domestic authors identify four options for parents’ response to a speech diagnosis or speech therapy report of children.
The first response option is characterized by a state of confusion among parents who experience a feeling of inferiority and a feeling of helplessness. Negative emotions knock them out of the usual framework of life, lead to sleep disturbances, changes in character and in family relationships. When assessing the condition of a child with disabilities, it is difficult for specialists to decide who needs medical care and treatment more - the mother or the child. This period is complicated by the fact that parents are sometimes simply unable to adequately understand and comprehend the recommendations of specialists and need special psychological help. Of course, in such a state, parents are unlikely to be involved in the active process of interaction in the preschool educational institution. And this must be taken into account. They not only do not want to participate, but due to their psychological state they cannot immediately join in cooperation in the preschool educational institution.
With the second response option, a negative reaction and denial of the diagnosis appears. Some parents repeatedly turn to different scientific and treatment centers for a diagnosis. An extreme form of negativism is the refusal to examine the child and carry out any corrective measures. Other parents accept the diagnosis, but at the same time become inadequately optimistic about the child’s developmental prognosis and possibilities of cure. The real assessment of its capabilities is distorted, preventing adequate adaptation.
The third response option occurs when parents recognize the correctness of the diagnosis and understand its meaning, which causes a depressive state. This syndrome, called “chronic sadness,” is the result of parents’ constant dependence on the child’s needs, their chronic frustration due to the lack of positive changes in the child, the persistence of his mental and physical defects.
The fourth response option is an independent, conscious request for help from specialists. This is the beginning of a new stage in life, when parents are already able to correctly assess the situation, begin to be guided by the interests of the child, actively cooperate with specialists, and join the correctional process. Some parents are able to independently reach a period of mature adaptation, but most of them, according to experts, need psychological and medical help and support.
In special studies devoted to the characteristics of interpersonal contacts between a child with disabilities (for example, with severe speech pathology) and his parents, the following data are provided.
This is how various characteristic behavior positions of mothers are given . The main burden of caring for a child with speech pathology lies primarily with the mother. Clinical studies of the mental state of mothers with children with disabilities have identified two groups.
Mothers of the first group were distinguished by their activity. The news of deviations in the development of the child caused pronounced depressive reactions lasting from several weeks to several months. Along with depression, such mothers experienced asthenic phenomena: headaches, fluctuations in blood pressure, etc. Over the years, the personal characteristics of the mothers underwent characteristic dynamics. Women became more withdrawn, lost interest in their surroundings, and their circle of former attachments narrowed. They seemed to become calmer, but also more indifferent.
The second group consisted of women who were characterized by less activity and a small circle of acquaintances. They blamed the medical staff for the child's defect. The message about the nature of the violation was received quite calmly. The reason for this could probably be misconceptions about the disorder in the child's development. The mothers did not fully understand the severity of his condition. Over time, they became aware of the situation in which they found themselves, and at the same time they developed a tendency to live for today and not make plans for the future. Many of these mothers became depressed.
Thus, mothers of both groups, despite the difference in mental states that could be observed at the beginning, eventually showed persistent depression, accompanied by a feeling of grief, compassion for the child, and the need for self-sacrifice for him.
Research also shows the behavior of the second parent, the father of a child with developmental disabilities. In this article we analyze the attitude of parents towards the condition of a child with severe speech pathology.
Fathers of children with severe speech impairments are rarely participants in studies. Usually information about them is obtained from conversations with mothers.
The mentioned characteristics of parents of children with severe speech impairments should be taken into account when conducting counseling and psychological and pedagogical support in preschool educational institutions for this contingent of families.
How to build interactions with a family with a problem child? How can we help the family of such a child, and, consequently, the child himself, in creating optimal conditions for normalizing the development and formation of speech?
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of children with various pathologies. Most often it manifests itself in speech development disorders. Parents of these children should be attentive to the child’s development process, know how to behave in difficult situations, promptly seek help from specialists and follow their recommendations. At the same time, responsibility for creating the most favorable conditions for the development of the child’s speech at home and fulfilling the requirements of the speech regime rests entirely with the child’s parents.
This position is prescribed in the Federal State Educational Standard for Education. Preschool teachers can correctly convey this situation to parents and include them in the interaction process in the interests of their child.
Parents should be interested in providing optimal conditions for the development and formation of their child's speech. First of all. From a very early age, a child should hear correct, clear speech at home, on the example of which, by imitation, his own speech will be formed. To fulfill these conditions, parents can rely on the recommendations of specialists and preschool teachers on organizing a speech regime, which should be strictly followed at home.
Such requirements for organizing a speech regime for a child with problematic speech development may include a number of recommendations. Thus, in a family in which a child with speech impairments is being raised, a calm, friendly atmosphere should be created that will contribute to the normalization of his emotional and personal sphere. A child with speech impairments, while at home, should hear only correct speech that corresponds to the cultural norm, for which adults must comply with all the requirements of the literary language in conversation. Speech addressed to a child must be accessible to his understanding, i.e., correspond to the level of his age and mental development. Speech addressed to the child should have a normal or somewhat slow pace. Words must be spoken clearly. The volume of speech, if required by the child’s developmental conditions, can be slightly increased. When addressing a child, an adult should look the child in the eyes and be gentle, but demanding.
Research and practice have proven that the earlier psychological, pedagogical and speech therapy assistance is provided, the faster correct speech will be formed. The more successful will be the learning at school and the further development of the child.
It has been established that the development of a child and his socialization begins with communication with loved ones. Direct emotional communication with the mother is the first type of his activity. All further development of the child depends on what place he occupies in the system of family relations and in the system of communication, with whom he communicates, what is the circle and nature of his communication. Observations by psychologists indicate that children’s need for communication does not appear automatically. It is formed gradually, depending on the conditions of existence.
The decisive role in the formation and subsequent development of such a need belongs to the influence of surrounding people, especially close adults. During the first five years of a child’s life, all aspects of mental activity and personality are formed. However, due to his age during this period, the child is completely dependent on the family. The experience of relationships with adults serves as a school of social communication for him. A lack of emotional communication can negatively affect the child’s further speech and personal development.
In this regard, teachers can build cooperation with parents of children attending preschool education and give appropriate recommendations.
Thus, parents can be informed that the child’s emotional communication with his mother is the first type of his communicative activity. According to a number of researchers, there is a direct connection between the emotional positive responsiveness of the mother and the level of cognitive development of the child.
It is also known that the main condition for the development of mental health is their warm relationships at an early age, mutual joy and satisfaction from these relationships. Otherwise, the child will experience maternal deprivation.
In the first years of life, any developmental deviation manifests itself primarily in speech retardation. Speech is the basis for the formation of a child’s social connections with the outside world. Therefore, when there is a delay in speech development, he always has additional problems associated with communication.
It is very important and even necessary that the mother pays sufficient attention to verbal communication with the child, stimulating him to use onomatopoeia, babbling and simplified words, common words and sentences. This depends on the level of speech development of the child at which he is and on his capabilities, taking into account the “zone of proximal development”.
The first task is to create the need for communication. And for this, the child must, first of all, feel the advantage of verbal communication with the surrounding gestures, facial expressions and screams. Therefore, it is necessary to form a conscious attitude in the child to the process of speech development. To develop the child’s motivation and desire to overcome his speech problems. At the same time, you cannot focus the child’s attention on his deviations and speech deficiencies. Otherwise, the child may refuse speech contact and even develop speech negativism.
Main literature
- Arkhipova E. F. Speech therapy work with young children. - M., 2007.
- Arkhipova E. F. Erased dysarthria in children: textbook. allowance. - M., 2007.
- Arkhipova E. F. Family of a child with speech impairments // Psychological and pedagogical support for the family of a child with disabilities / Ed. V. V. Tkacheva. Textbook. M., 2014..
- Volkovskaya T. N. Speech therapy examination in the system of comprehensive study of children with developmental disorders / Psychological and pedagogical diagnostics of the development of persons with disabilities: textbook / ed. I. Yu. Levchenko, S. D. Zabramnoy. - M., 2011.
- Volkovskaya T. N. Organizational and methodological foundations of psychological assistance to persons with speech impediments: educational method. allowance. - M., 2011.
- Zhukova N. S., Mastyukova E. M., Filicheva T. B. Overcoming general speech underdevelopment in preschool children. - M., 1990.
- Mastyukova E. M., Moskovkina A. G. Family education of children with developmental disabilities. - M., 2003.
- Special family pedagogy. Family education of children with developmental disabilities: textbook. manual / ed. V. I. Seliverstova, O. A. Denisova, L. M. Kobrina. - M., 2009.
Arkhipova E.F. Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor at Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow.
