All articles

The relevance of the topic of the article. An analysis of the indicators of irregularity in a child’s speech, speech disorders, and the existing methods of their measurement shows that disturbances in the fluency of speech in preschool children are mainly associated with evolutionary stuttering. There are no methods of objective assessment of fluency of speech and its disorders in stuttering in the Russian literature and speech therapy practice, while abroad there are different models of categorization of indicators of speech irregularity and various objective methods of measuring fluency of speech in children with normal conditions and with stuttering are used.

The aim of the research. The study of physiological and pathological indicators of speech irregularity of preschool children with stuttering and without speech disorders for the differential diagnosis of normal and deviating speech development is the aim of the study.

Description of the research progress. The study involved 35 children aged 4,5–6,5 years: 16 children without speech disorders and 19 children with stuttering of varying severity. The fluency / irregularity of speech was assessed using technology for assessing the indicators of speech irregularity (Vanderbilt technology) based on the analysis of two representative speech samples of 100 words each (a conversation and a story based on a series of plot pictures): the total percentage of speech irregularity, the percentage of physiological and pathological indicators of speech irregularity were calculated, the dominant types of speech irregularity in both groups were identified.

The results of the study. A significant difference was revealed in physiological and pathological indicators of speech irregularity in preschoolers with normal conditions and with stuttering. The article provides evidence of the connection of mainly pathological indicators of speech irregularity with stuttering, and physiological indicators - with normal speech development. In preschoolers with stuttering, a direct relationship was found between the overall percentage of speech irregularity and the severity of stuttering. In the group of children without speech disorders, preschoolers with a risk factor for stuttering were identified, for whose parent’s recommendations on a protective general and speech regime were developed.

Conclusion. The results of the experimental study demonstrate the advisability of including Vanderbilt’s technology in a comprehensive examination of the speech of a preschool child. The specific nature and frequency of manifestation of indicators of speech irregularity in preschool children make important diagnostic information about the typical / atypical development of speech irregularity.

This paper addresses the problem of development of giftedness of young children. Early childhood age, viewed from the perspective of talent, is one of the priorities for the world’s pedagogical and psychological science. At the same time, in Russia, most of the concepts of giftedness are focused on other levels of education, including the current Concept of the National System for Identification and Development of Young Talents. The Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has always been focused on the development of children’s and young people’s talents. Its new vector is the early development of children’s giftedness, starting from early childhood age. The pilot project involves 107 early childhood institutions and 14 primary schools in Yakutia. All subjects of the educational model take part in the support of gifted children: parents, educators, tutor’s assistants, specialists and administration of preschool institutions, children and social partners. The work with children’s talent is based on the idea that five pillars of education, i.e. music, chess, drawing, languages and sports that should become the basis for education of human talent. Early childhood organizations create conditions for mass manifestation of children’s abilities across different areas, which allow to count on the manifestation of hidden or potential giftedness as a result of certain volitional qualities and awakened interest in any kind of activity. Each educational organization builds its own educational model of work according to this concept. The author of the article analyzes the work performed, which is based on the principles of consistency, openness and cultural congruence. Implementation of these principles allows the child to develop its intellectual and creative potential.

Introduction. The paper examines the necessity of public urban playgrounds for children. Psychological and pedagogical studies reveal that the quantity and quality of outdoor play areas do not cover the needs of children. The authors monitored playgrounds in different areas of Moscow, Russia in order to explore the actual situation in the urban space from the perspective of well balanced development and spontaneous outdoor learning of children of different ages. They looked into how existing public playgrounds covered the needs of children, and if the outdoor learning was possible.

Methods. The study had two stages. The data was collected by structured non-participant observation with interview elements in which 24 public playgrounds in Moscow were involved, 417 adults were interviewed. The authors carried out an analysis of the equipment of playgrounds, and children activities to determine whether and how far playgrounds were used for communication in mixed age groups.

Analysis and Results. The authors analyzed characteristics of playgrounds, including: location, observation time, age and number of visitors, equipment and its arrangement, presented play areas and infrastructure, surface materials, individual and group activities of children and adults. The observation discovered that children of three different ages (early, preschool and school age) were using public playgrounds at the same time. The vast majority of the playgrounds near apartment blocks (76.9%) and almost a half of the playgrounds in parks (45.5%) had separated play areas for children of different ages, which largely meets the needs of parents. The qualitative analysis revealed that the equipment of the park playgrounds was more diverse, while almost a half of the playgrounds near apartment blocks (53.8%) showed one and the same type of equipment. The authors emphasize that, both playgrounds near apartment blocks and playgrounds in parks, were more focused on active exercises; most components of the equipment were of the same type and had closed character. The authors discovered lack of equipment for experimenting. The infrastructure of the playgrounds of both types showed that the playgrounds were considered as a space for children only, the interests and needs of adults coming with children were not taken into account.

Conclusion. The study indicates the need to create additional conditions for supporting and developing of children’s game, and increasing educational capacity of playgrounds. Among the measures proposed by the authors is increasing the educational capacity of playgrounds, and creating a citywide digital resource with a map and description of psychological and pedagogical characteristics of outdoor areas for children. An important role is given to educational work with families, that will increase the parental competence and responsibility in the field of educational structuring and outdoor learning.

Introduction. The article presents results of a theoretical research in the field of quality control of learning environment of early childhood groups. The purpose of the study is to develop a theory based methodology for quality control of learning environment by employing modern trends in early childhood pedagogy.

Directions and methods of research. The research methods are based on activity and competence approach, the idea of the learning environment as a medium for successful socialization of toddlers, structural components of the learning environment, where the key parameters are: nature of adult - child interaction, content and modes of the interaction, focused on successful mastery of kindergarten programs, designing of stimulating environment for early childhood groups. Theoretical analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature on the subject, design of structural components of learning environment of early childhood groups, determination of the expert indicators for each component of learning environment were used as research methods.

Results. Result of the research was presented in the form of control methods description, that include evaluation of the quality of learning environment, measurement of the quality indicators for each component of the learning environment (the nature of adult interaction with the child, the content and modes of interaction, aimed at the successful mastery of the kindergarten program, design of stimulating environment for early childhood groups). Detailed recommendations to the content of each indicator are given.

Conclusion. The developed control methodology makes it possible to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the quality of learning environment for early childhood groups in accordance with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard, and to help an expert to determine ways of further quality improvement of the learning environment.

This research article attempts to determine strategies that can be used to support children’s cognitive and social-emotional development in early childhood care and education programs. By synthesizing empirical evidence about pedagogical techniques that promote children’s competencies, the article aims to identify those characteristics of programs that ultimately contribute to the effectiveness of early childhood care and education. In particular, the article summarizes strategies that foster children’s acquisition of language, math, and social-emotional skills. In so doing, it responds to the needs of program staff who struggle to understand and address the numerous developmental needs of young children and it provides concrete guidance for policymakers and management personnel who aim to design purposeful programs which benefit child development effectively.

The appropriateness of early childhood foreign language education is occasionally a debatable subject among parents, educators, public education administrators and policymakers. A large body of research has been done on this subject and conclusions sometimes appear contradictory. This article first reviews briefly the importance of learning a foreign language, and the advantages of bilingualism. Second, it compiles empirical evidence that concerns early foreign language education of children living in a native language speaking environment and suggests answers to questions regarding the developmentally appropriate timing to start providing foreign language education services.