ISSN 0798 1015

Vol. 38 (Nº 55) Year 2017. Páge 11

Psychological and pedagogical support in positive socialization of preschool-aged children

Apoyo psicológico y pedagógico en la socialización positiva de los niños en edad preescolar

Yelena Semenovna BABUNOVA 1; Liliya Veniaminovna GRADUSOVAS 2; Olga Vasilevna PUSTOVOYTOVA 3; Natalia Anatolevna SHEPILOVA 4

Received: 20/07/2017 • Approved: 15/08/2017

Content

1. Introduction

2. Methodology

3. Discussion

4. Results

5. Conclusion

Bibliographic references

1. Introduction

Globalization of the modern society, contradictions of social relationships and insufficient attention to the issues of social development predetermine the necessity to define the socially valuable vector for positive development of a growing up personality. Retrospective analysis of modern psychological and pedagogical literature shows that the problem of engaging children into social world has always been and still is urgent and one of the leading issues of child’s personality development. The need to solve this issue is associated with its multifaceted nature. First, the society needs educated and moral people possessing not only knowledge and competences, but also positive attitudes toward the society of different people. Second, in this modern world a child lives and develops surrounded by multiple and various sources of powerful impacts of both positive and negative nature. Third, education itself does not always secure high degree of socialization; the essence of the latter is represented by moral accomplishment as a trait of a socialized personality, by attitudes toward others based on self-respect and amiability to everyone. Forth, it is during the preschool years that the culturological foundations of character are established. The form of these foundations and the way of their introduction predetermine the image of future personality, its ethnic tolerance, ethnic sensitivity, and its psychosexual behavioral pattern.

2. Methodology

Modern technique of positive socialization considers complex support based on cooperation and meaningful dialogue between the world of children and the world of adults. Support in this case means moving along with a child when an adult creates psychological and pedagogical conditions for comprehensive development and positive socialization, for protecting the rights and dignity of a little child under the conditions of his/her real existence. Support is a process of interaction between the one who supports and the one who is supported. The technique of complex support in positive socialization implies psychological and pedagogical preconditions, various means, types of activity, methods and techniques of active support, help, facilitation of child’s efforts, strivings to cognition and communication. Humanistic approach makes it possible to consider a child as a personality possessing unique individuality, age-related and personal specifics. In its essence, this approach is contextual and it implies flexibility and variability of complex support. According to modern psychologists and pedagogues, context represents the availability of a certain situation, environment, and system of conditions that predetermine the sense and the meaning of social-psychological-pedagogical phenomenon. The technique of support is based on the complex approach implying cooperation and interrelations between experts, pedagogues and parents, pedagogues and children, Complex psychological and pedagogical support not only ensures positive socialization of children, but also helps adapt them successfully to the children-adult society, to social reality and social environment.

3. Discussion

The studies employ different definitions of the notion of “socialization”. According to one of the concepts, socialization is a process of individual adaptation to the surrounding world, According to another theory, socialization is “an aggregate of social processes due to which the individual adopts and reproduces a certain systemic knowledge, norms and values that enable his functions as a full-fledged member of society” (Kon 2003). The third point is as follows: socialization is a “process of human development in his interaction with the surrounding world” (Mudrik 1997; Shepilova 2011).Thus, interaction between child and society is defined as “socialization” (from Latin “social”). In wider sense it is possible to identify a special process when a child enters the society, adapts to cultural, psychological and social factors through which the child becomes cultured and accomplished, i.e. “socialized”. Socialization-individualization, according to D.I. Feldstein, is revealed through child’s attitude toward the adopted ethno-cultural experience, through development of oneself as an active and creative subject (Babunova 2012).

Studies of methodological and theoretical aspects of human socialization undertaken in social psychology and pedagogy make it possible to define a number of the assumptions essential for understanding pedagogical meaning of this phenomenon related to the issue of this study. Thus, in the works of the foreign (Terry Page, 1987; Thomas 1987; Marshall 1987) and domestic scientists (Kon 2003; Leontyev 1986; Lomov 1986; Myasishchev 1960; Petrovskiy 1988; Rubinstein 1973; Elkonin 1965), it was noted that social and pedagogical mechanism of socialization includes a traditional stage, i.e. when a child adopts behavioral patterns, norms, stereotypes, customs and values characteristic for his/her nearest environment.

Considering the informative characteristics of the process of socialization B.P. Bitinas (1981), I.S. Kon (2003) and Ye.N. Dankova (2008) etc. suggest that the structure of this phenomenon should include the following components: communicative component (related to adoption of means of communication and interaction); cognitive component (formation of moral and ethical ideas); behavioral component (manifestations in activities, in everyday life); value component (establishment of the value core of a personality).

One of the meaningful aspects of social and personal development of a child is represented by the formation of his/her gender identity. The sense of belonging to one’s own sex is important to create the “Me-image” of a child; it largely predetermines his/her self-perception, behavior, value orientations and interests, relationships with the surrounding people. The behavioral models of boys and girls are adopted in the course of gender socialization. Gender is understood as a specific set of cultural and behavioral characteristics predetermining social behavior of men and women (Kon 2003). In modern studies, gender socialization is perceived as a process when a child identifies oneself with the representatives of the relevant sex and learns the things that are socially acceptable for men and women in this particular culture. Gender socialization is understood as an inclusion into the gender culture of this society, as adoption of gender roles (Bern 2001; Kolomiychenko 2002; Kon 2003; Repina 2004).

In domestic psychology of the 20-30s of the 20th century, the problem of sex-role development was intensively studied by Ye.A. Arkin, M.M. Rubinstein, N.A. Rybkin etc. However, for a long time since, there hardly have been any investigations in this area. Over the last decades, many studies were dedicated to the issue of sex-role socialization, to developing psychological gender in preschool-aged children in psychology (Abramenkova 1987; Yeremeyeva, Khrizman, 1998; Zvereva, Kamenskaya, 2004; Mukhina 1980; Repina 2004) and in pedagogy (Gradusova 2009; Kolomiychenko 2002; Tatarintseva 2010). 

Both domestic and foreign studies highlight the importance of the preschool age in gender socialization and development of gender identity in preschool-aged children; they show dynamics of sex-role development (Abramenkova 1987; Bern 2001; Yeremeyeva, Khrizman, 1998; Kagan 2000; Tatarintseva 2010; Repina 2004). Gender is the first category where a child perceives his/her own “Me”. When the child is one year and a half or two years old, initial sex identification takes place: the child associates oneself with either male or female sex. Even before he/she distinguishes oneself among other people, the child already knows who he/she is: a boy or a girl. In the dynamics of developing sex identity, V.Ye. Kagan distinguishes three principal periods: sexual difference, nominative sex and sexual identity. The critical points fall on three years (initial sex identity) and five-six years (system of sexual identity) (Kagan 2000). Socialization of sex difference, development of sex identity and formation of psychological sex are predetermined by two processes: sex typification and sex identification. Conscious belonging to a certain sex, sex identity, is a result of a complex process combining ontogenesis, sex socialization and development of self-awareness.

The issues of the correlation between the biological and the social in socialization, the mechanisms of gender role adoption are justified in different ways in different psychological theories (Bandura 1975; Bern 1974; Stockard 1985; Johnson 1985; Serbin 1973; Kent 1973). Domesticpsychologistsbelievethatitisimpossibletoidentifyasingleabsolute mechanism of sex-role development, and they recognize that the conditions of upbringing, the nature of social reinforcements, examples of parents and peers are equally important (Abramenkova 1987; Kon 2003; Repina 2004).

Modern researchers note the role of different factors influencing social and psychical socialization of preschool-aged children. Thus, the most important role in gender socialization of children belongs to families. Parents, close and distant relatives demonstrate to the child some certain gender patterns of behavior, and they either consciously or unconsciously control how the behavior of the child follows these patterns. Important factors of family upbringing predetermining gender socialization of a child are the following: family structure, child’s position in the family, brothers and sisters, social expectations of the parents, interrelations and the nature of interactions between the parents. The experience gained in the family forms principal gender ideas in preschool-aged children (Repina 2004). Social understanding of the essence of socialization is associated with the process of inclusion of man into the world of the family culture, with determination of independence and autonomy of the subject, with the nature of one’s influence on the surrounding world (Kozlova 2001; Chumicheva 1999).

Both foreign and domestic researchers believe that an important factor of socialization is represented by the group of peers. The community of peers in a kindergarten, among other functions, performs the function of gender socialization, forms gender stereotypes and some certain norms and rules of social behavior (Archer 1994; Abramenkova 1987; Kon 2003; Repina 2004). In a kindergarten group, the specific public opinion also covers the evaluation of the sex-role behavior of boys and girls. Upbringing of preschool-aged children plays the most important role in their socialization. Gender techniques of upbringing and education should give the preschool-aged children the possibility to develop their individual abilities irrespective of their gender. L. Klimkina (2012) notes the difference between “gender” and “sex-role” approaches in education of preschool-aged children. The sex-role approach in upbringing is focused on highlighting traditional differences between the sexes, while gender approach is largely targeted at abandoning the traditional strictly fixed models of sex-role behavior.

The problem of development of positive socialization in preschool-aged children is closely related to the issues of values and value-based orientations of personality. The works of foreign and domestic psychologists (Freud 1930; Yung 1954; Maslow 1970; Rogers 1987; Allport 1967; Albukhanova-Slavskaya 2012; Ananyev 1960; Bozhovich 1988; Myasishchev 1960) showed that the formation of the higher needs, motives and interests in spiritual activity of people predetermine the means to achieve these needs. Psychologists note that the needs are the source of impetuses and motives, which reflects relatively stable, vital requirements of both organism and social environment as a whole.

The potential for applying axiological approach under the conditions of modern preschool education and the development of its principal postulations were studied in the works belonging to N.V. Yezhkova (1997), N.L. Khudyakova (2012), V.P. Petrov (2004), T.D. Stulnik (2004), T.V. Antonova (2004). The problem of social and value-based development of a child belongs to the area of moral upbringing, insofar as in its essence it implies the development of some certain system of moral discussions aimed at supporting the fundamental moral values of society: good and evil, righteous behavior of man. Morality as the basis of socialization includes the system of value-based orientations, imperatives and the ways of human formation manifested through social behavior and communication (Arkhangelskiy 1985; Drobnitskiy 1974).Summarizing the studies of the scientists (Zdravomyslov 1986; Tugarinov 1978; Kagan 1997; Vinogradova 2004; Ostrovskaya 1987) the notion of “value” can be defined as something that is important for human life on Earth, as something that ensures happiness as the precondition of life. From social perspective, value-based development is understood as adoption of social mindsets, evaluations, imperatives, taboos, normative ideas (about good and evil, justice, things allowed and things forbidden).

The authors of the study perceive upbringing as a complex process when a child adopts values, traditions, culture of the society or community he will have to live in. Preschool age is the most important stage in the development of personality. This is the period of initial, primary socialization of man, the time when he establishes primary relationships with the leading areas of existence and it manifests itself through the originality of the ways and forms of cognition, communication and activity of a preschool-aged child (Kozlova 2002). Axiological approach in the process of preschool socialization implies the initiation of children in the world of moral, ethical values. The essence of moral values (Parsons 1971; Chumicheva 1992; Vedmed 2005; Platokhina 2005) is revealed as the ideas, methods, signs, symbols that regulate actions of man in society through norms, rules, through rethinking of cultural standard patterns.

Adoption of cultural values, their transformation, promotes social progress; it represents one of the tasks of education, including ethno-cultural education. Ethno-cultural paradigm of socialization is built up on the conceptual postulations of social development and upbringing suggested by S.A. Kozlova (1998). The view point of S.A. Kozlova is that the children should be taught to be interested in and respectful toward one’s own and other peoples’ culture, to be capable of tolerance toward children and adults irrespective of their racial and national differences. Extraterritoriality, awareness of being the inhabitant of the planet Earth should go together with the sense of belonging to some certain culture. The author believes that when the child adopts his people’s culture as a component element of general culture (spiritual and material), it will adapt him/her better to the social world; it will result in accepting social world as given; in ability and need to transform social environment and oneself. These values are the integral representation of principal meaningful aspects of life and culture; they generally reveal the leading value-based orientations of the modern society (Yezhkova 1997).

L.E. Probst (2002), a Western scientist, determines child values as value-based ideas, i.e. the orientations toward some certain image interrelated with the needs and interests of children. The dynamic way of adoption of social and moral, social and gender, ethno-cultural norms and rules, traditions, evaluations and interrelations has been illustrated in the works of several authors. Thus, A.V. Zosimovskiy (1973), S.N. Karpova (1986), L.G. Lysyuk (1986), A.Z. Rakhimov (1995), Ye.V. Subbotskiy (1986), etc. note that even five year olds are already capable of controlling their behavior in situations associated with moral choice. In the middle of the preschool age, the principal ethical mindsets are formed, although those cannot be regarded as finally accomplished. When children are over five, they become intensely interested in the norms and rules regulating relationships between people and in people’s behavior; children follow the norms and make moral choices quite consciously. The facts have been investigated in the works by A.V. Merenkov (2001), L.N. Buylova (2001), N.V. Klenova (2001), etc. The authors believe that if a child is intensively developed from moral perspectives, then it is much easier for him/her to enter into the world of culture; and his/her intellectual, esthetic and labor upbringing is much less trouble for the adults.

Thus, in the course of social interaction with different cultures (ethnic culture, psychosexual, normative and regulatory culture, etc.) the child’s system of values and orientations is formed. The child learns to control his/her social behavior and relationships with people according to the system of values accepted in the society. In this regard, the personality sets requirements to itself, self-evaluation takes place. A qualitative characteristic of socialization of a personality is represented by its social maturity when human being adopts certain system of norms and values that enable him/her to function as a full-fledged member of society.

Modern understanding of this process indicates the inextricable connection between two interrelated components: socialization and individualization of personality under conditions of social reality. The process of socialization ensures adaptation of man to society due to adoption of norms and rules of the community life, due to adoption of socially preconditioned values and senses. Individualization implies the internalization of these norms, rules and values, the manifestation of the social in individual uniqueness leading to actualization of the new “selfhood” that expresses the degree of independence, self-reliance and initiative (Feldstein 1997; Poddyakov 1992; Golovanova 2004).

Age-related specifics affect the moral maturity of a child and predetermine the process of entering into the new social situation of development. Thereat, an assumption suggested by L.S. Vygotskiy (1997) should be taken into account, namely, that the development of personality as a process of individual socialization is led by the adults and predetermines the nature of interaction with the child. The process of exposing personality to culture is implemented through various types of subject’s activity. According to L.S. Vygotskiy (1997), culture makes an inseparable part of an individual; thereat, it exists beyond him, sets targets and predetermines the nature of the organization. There is another important thought suggested by L.S. Vygotskiy (1997), namely, that each function in the cultural development of a child reveals itself twice, in two planes: first, in social and then in psychological plane; first, between people as an inter-psychic category, and then inside the child as an intra-psychic category. It is only in the course of interaction with the adults that the child’s “area of the nearest development” is activated and facilitates dynamic learning, which can be successful only when it goes ahead of the development and incites the functions that are still maturing.

These ideas have been further developed by A.N. Leontyev (1995) who notes that the psychical development of a child is predetermined by the adoption of social and cultural historic experience contained in knowledge and methods of activity. A.N. Leontyev considers culture as a specific method of activity that includes the process of creative self-regulation of personality as a subject of individuality and uniqueness. Owing to the works of A.N. Leontyev (2001), social situation has become associated with game activity.

Humanistic theory of personal actualization highlights the originality of human personality, search for values, hierarchy of needs (Maslow 1999). According to A. Maslow (1999), healthy personality is a self-actualizing personality which distinguishing traits are as follows: sense of belonging to other people, no hostile attitudes; egalitarianism in relationships, willingness to learn from other people; freshness of viewpoint, ability to find something new in things already known; critical attitude toward one’s own culture; “philosophical” sense of humor: treating oneself and life with humorous undertone.

C. Rogers (1986), one of the founders of the humanistic theory, used to highlight the importance of subjective emotional experience of a personality, its feelings, personal attitudes toward oneself and the world. Behavior of a personality is predetermined by the most important motive in life, by the tendency to actualization, i.e. by the striving to develop oneself, to reveal the best qualities of personality. Personal development is based on the creation of the facilitating attitudes that actualize man’s ability to change and develop oneself. Facilitating attitudes are only possible upon establishing three major conditions: frankness, sincerity, honesty in relationships with a child; unconditional acceptance of a child as a value, irrespective of his/her state, behavior or feelings; empathic understanding as compassionate understanding, understanding together instead of understanding about (Rogers 1986).

Today, there is an objectively established scientific tradition associated with the names of G.G. Shpet (1996) and L.N. Gumilev (1994), which implies that the ethnic is the belonging to one of the types of the psychic patterns that predetermine behavioral reactions. The psychic pattern specific for some particular ethnos is revealed through some certain norms of behavior. In other words, this is about the mechanism of value-based orientations that reveals the deeper aspect of the ethnic, the axiological aspect. “The very specifics of the value-based education in the structure of personality are the essence of the ethnic. This specifics paint the mankind with motley colors of the peoples of the world” (Gumilev 1994: 10).

Ethnic socialization is always actualized consciously, and it can only be revealed when ethnic consciousness is there. According to Yu.V. Bromley, ethnic awareness became to be defined as an unavoidable prerequisite for functions of an ethnos” (1983: 98). Yu.V. Bromley (1983) provides the data showing that ethnic awareness starts forming in early childhood. 75 % of children aged four to five already name their nationality, and almost all children identify their nationality when they are six years old. The child’s understanding of one’s ethnic belonging depends on the social and ethnic environment where he is developed and where he becomes a personality.

V.Yu. Khotinets (2000) defines ethnic awareness as a relatively stable system of conscious ideas about and evaluations of really existing ethno-differentiating and ethno-integrating components of life of an ethnos. “Having formed this system, a man perceives himself as a representative of the ethnic community” (Khotinets 2000: 88). Thus, ethic awareness is the result of personal activity on understanding one’s own ethnicity.

The analysis of psycho-pedagogical studies enables a suggestion that national awareness can be developed when a child is five to seven years old. Considering national awareness as the understanding of one’s own belonging to some certain ethic community and one’s standing in it, V.Yu. Khotinets (2000) distinguished principal structural elements of national awareness that can be formed in preschool age:

- national identity. i.e. the ideas of preschool-aged children about their ethnic belonging;

- national stereotypes;

- understanding the commonality of the historic past, territorial and state unity, cultural values.

According to R. Redfield (1956), ethnic picture of the world is a view on the Universe characteristic for this nation. The ethnic picture of the world is a complex of basic ideas about natural social Universe active in social consciousness in this particular epoch and, consequently, in consciousness of each member of this society (Boronoyev 1994). Ethnization is a type of socialization, a process of active adoption of the values of some certain ethnos. Ethnization of personality includes the formation of ethnic stereotypes, ethnic awareness, ideas about the specifics of life of one’s community, acquisition of traditional ethnic norms and rules of behavior. Within the stricture of personality, the mechanisms of ethnic socialization are formed: active imitation, identification and personification, borrowings, adaptation and individualization, reflection (self-observation), for example, persuasion etc. These mechanisms ensure traditionalism and stability, succession, integration and differentiation, kinship (“we”) and alienation (“they”) in history of childhood culture.

The suggested characteristic of the essence, factors and dynamics of socialization development consistently proves the necessity and the importance of psychological and pedagogical support for children in both normal and abnormal cases of personal development. The idea of support (or guidance) is the practical implementation of the postulations of humanistic psychology. This idea takes into account the assumptions of A. Maslow (1999), C. Rogers (1986) who relied on self-development, self-actualization, integrity of child’s personality, importance of psychological and social-pedagogical health of children.

The authors believe that psychological and pedagogical support should be based on the following principles of adult activity:

-  principle of meaningfulness and dialogue of social and pedagogical interaction based on trust in the world of adults and in the world of children built on the phenomenon of decentration (putting oneself in another man’s place). In preschool educational institution, the subjects of educational relationships should create social, cultural and educational environment built up on dialogue, cooperation, interaction and activity of all participants. The authors of this study believe that such simulated social environment would facilitate personality becoming and development in preschool-aged children;

- principle of humanization understood as a system of psychological and pedagogical means and such organization of educational process that should ensure free development of child’s innate powers, capabilities, talents, and also ensure the possibility to select starting priorities in line with the needs, motives and interests of the child’s personality;

- principle of accepting the universal values of childhood as sociocultural phenomenon of everlasting importance and significance;

- principle of social protection based on accepting the importance of child’s safety in the world of adults;

- principle of rapprochement of the values of the adults (pedagogues and parents) with the system of social growth of children meaning the acceptance (adoption) and implementation of norms and rules of social behavior;

- principle of harmonization between the processes of children’s socialization and individualization that implies the creation of the conditions for the child to demonstrate his understanding of the norms and rules of behavior, traditions and creative adoption of socially approved values of the community, of mankind;

- principle of harmonization in the relationships between two social institutions (family and the kindergarten). The principle implies acceptance of the importance of interaction and cooperation, dialogue-based relationships corresponding to the leading functions of these two social institutions;

- principle of systemic consistency and continuation of the complex psychological and pedagogical support of children and adults assuming the growth of the child’s capability to independently apply the obtained knowledge through the mediation of either adults or peers;

- principle of enhanced social partnership with different communities to enrich the child’s personal experience;

- principle of continuous improvements incompetence of pedagogues and parents as natural teachers which makes it possible to enhance social and psychological as well as social and pedagogical statuses of the adults.

4. Results

Given the context of the research investigation, it is now possible to identify the results of pedagogical activity based on the acceptance of diversity of the contents of complex psychological and pedagogical support that implies establishing the system of measures (in the family or in the kindergarten) ensuring different types of security to make the preschool-aged children understand the necessity to protect oneself and other people. The authors of this study discovered that pedagogical protection of children develops in preschool-aged children the need for protection and security and is targeted at the formation of the value-based orientations in children and adults (parents and pedagogues) regarding safe behavior in the streets of the city, in transport, outdoors, in the family, during communications, etc.; ensuring the consistency of the processes of children’s and adults’ socialization in the common social space of life of the subjects of the educational process “family–kindergarten – school – city district – the city”; improving children’s awareness about the right and safe behavior; developing motivation and behavioral culture of the subjects under conditions of natural and social variety of the world.  

The authors have tested and proved the efficient forms, means, methods, conditions for developing positive socialization: educational and game projects, discussions, excursions over the city district, topic short journeys, training and producer games, work with models of the city district and road signs, reading fiction, compiling short stories, drawing, clay modelling, cut and paste, games in the model race-track, work with the glossary, discussion-journey, visiting different museums, listening to audio records, watching videos (types of transportation), viewing pictures, composing short tales based on personal experience, observation, discussions focused on resolving difficult issues, plot-based didactic games, cultural and leisure activities, socio-dramatic play, educational and entertaining quests etc. Working with children proved the psychological and pedagogical possibility to create such conditions that included educational and preventive activities ensuring happy and safe behavior of preschool children in the environment of sincere, emotionally positive communication. The effective techniques include helping a child in social realities, enriching a child with the ideas about the social world, developing his/her moral feelings and competence.

The authors have discovered the following regularities in development of ethical ideas: from moral feelings to their reasonable perception and stabilization. Thereat, the authors discovered the importance of joint children-adult activities, the game being the leading one. Social and moral practical exercises for children were represented by the following created situations aimed at general development: situations involving the child’s own personal experience: role behavior situations, emotional experience and understanding of human relationships, situations of emotional rethinking of attitude toward oneself; situation of the child’s personal choice: verbal situations of choice, real situations of self-determination in the society.

The experimental and research works have revealed the specifics of pedagogical standing of the adult with its phenomenon of personal impact and which is indicated here as a positive influence produced by a pedagogue on a child.

The study proved the priority of the following methodological approaches to the creation of the techniques for value-based development of child’s personality: axiological and culturological approaches implying the induction of a child into the world of culture and general human values. Sociocultural approach aimed at the establishment of elementary humanistic relationships between the society, the world of people, things, nature, and one’s own inner world; felixological approach that implies facilitating child’s happiness in his/her real life, teaching the child to be and to feel happy. The authors’ technique enables considering the notion of “support” as help that ensures apprehension of the value and sense-based orientations (Shepilova 2011).

The results of the experimental and research work can be represented by the following events and initiatives tested and proved in the course of work with the preschool-aged children:

- Classes: “Cultured person”, “Our close-knit family”, “What kinds of beauty there are”, “We are all citizens of the planet Earth”, etc.

- Meeting of the “Club of the polite and cultured” dedicated to such issues as “Ethical and unethical actions”, “Rules of decorum”, “Cultural environment”.

- Discussions on moral topics: “Discussion on the rules of conduct in the streets of the city”, “Discussion on the traditions of Russian people”, “What is health and how to preserve it”, “You are a part of nature”.

- Didactic games: “Find a picture to match”, “Who need what”, game exercises: “Name the rules of conduct”, “How you should address other people”.

- Journey-games: “Journey into the human body”, “Journey into the forest”.

- Socio-dramatic games (shop, hairdressers, post office).

- Pedagogical situations: “Who is right”, “What has to be done”.

- Entertainments: “Celebration of growing-up”, “Why the “Wash ’Em Clean” is angry”, “Work done, have your fun”, “Our dearest”.

- Moral quizzes.

- Special visits (observing the work of the kindergarten employees).

- Excursions over the city (shop, post-office, lemon tree nursery).

These pedagogical events included the following means, methods and techniques: explanation, disputes during the meeting of the club, discussions, evaluation of behavior, clarification, reading fiction, watching video films and cartoons, listening to audio records, picture exhibitions, composing short stories, solving riddles, homework, viewing illustrations and photos, surprises, modelling, viewing family albums, working in the yard, making handcrafted items, presenting one’s family tree, stories told by the children about the members of their families who served in the army or fought in the war, using schematics and charts.Thefollowingelementsofdifferenttypesofmediahavebeendesigned: file system for audio and video records, study guide “Tree of the acts of kindness”, models of Russian peasant house and Bashkir nomad tent, file system of pedagogical situations, fiction, illustrations and photos, behavioral patterns, didactic and other games, family albums, exhibition of gifts for the family members, album of safe behavior in different situations, family tree, patriotic upbringing area that included the map of the South Urals, portraits of the state leaders, globe, model of Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. The authors’ experience showed that the meeting of the “Club of the polite and cultured” proved to be the event most effective and favored by the children.

The result of the developing gender socialization was represented by the complex of the conditions aimed at preparation to fulfill future social roles. Gender upbringing of the preschool-aged children proved the possibility to accomplish the following tasks: enriching gender ideas of the children, organizing partnership relationships between boys and girls, developing sincerity and mutual understanding in the relationships between children of different sexes, developing children’s individuality.

The authors of this study have identified the preconditions for successful socialization of children: gender competence of the pedagogues; attention to psychological specifics of the preschool children of different sexes in their social and communicative development; employing the principle of joint venture in organizing different types of activity; interaction with the family.

The study shows the specific role of the pedagogue in the formation of gender socialization of the preschool-aged children: he/she is the bearer of gender culture of the society and the bearer of his/her own ideas of gender (Gradusova 2011). The structure of the gender competence of a pedagogue has been confirmed:

- theoretical competence: a pedagogue should know the difference in psychological statuses of boys and girls; should understand the dynamics of sex-role development in preschool childhood; should know the forms and methods for creating the first principles of masculinity and femininity in preschool-aged children;

- diagnostic competence: willingness to apply diagnostic methods to investigate the processes of sex-role socialization;

- personal competence: understanding one’s own personal qualities, gender stereotypes, identity, fulfilled gender roles, understanding one’s own personal specific traits;

- technological competence: willingness to apply gender approach to organize principle types of activity of the preschool-aged children.

The following ways of gender socialization of preschool-aged children have been experimentally tested and confirmed: pedagogue’s focus on child’s gender and on the type of the sex-role behavior, on individual specifics of a personality; attention to gender-related specifics in different types of activity: household, game, education and learning, labor.

The authors have designed the system of pedagogical aids including the following: attention to gender specifics in organizing different types of activities; enrichment of the environment; selection of the contents of the activity, selection of management methods and techniques, performance evaluation, etc.; organization of the interaction between children of different sexes in different types of activity, overcoming the alienation between boys and girls in the group in the kindergarten; organization of the interaction with the family(Gradusova 2009). The authors identified the regularities in the development of the subject-space gender environment that form the ideas about the contents of male and female social roles, satisfy the interests of the children of different sexes, develop relevant behavioral patterns and partnership relationships between children of different sexes.

The result of gender socialization has been achieved due to the following methods applied by the authors: reading and understanding the works of fiction that show positive male and female images, ethical discussions on the contents of the works of fiction; role games, dramatic games, stage games based on the plots of the works of fiction; didactic games; solving the imaginary problems that may occur in real life; specially created situations of real interaction between children of different sexes in different types of activity. Significantly, the study proves the basic principle in applying the methods of gender upbringing. These methods should be applied as a complex affecting the cognitive sphere (formation of ideas), emotional sphere (formation of value-based attitudes), behavioral sphere (formation of relevant sex-role behavior). The important source for developing gender-related ideas is represented by children’s literature, because it reflects the gender stereotypes existing in the society. 

The result of gender socialization is confirmed by applying the practices of folk pedagogics. The work of Ye.S. Babunova (2012) implements the ideas of folk pedagogics including the homage paid to the family as to the most important institution of upbringing; respectful relationships between the parents; high esteem to woman (mother); respect and homage paid by the children to their parents; parental love; traditional moral code of Russian people based on such manly traits as camaraderie, commitment to one’s words and deeds, courage, self-sacrificing attitude; and such womanly traits as tenderness, tolerance, kind-heartedness, compassion. Children of both sexes are taught to be kind, honest, decent, truthful, reliable, prudent; they are taught to respect the elder and to take care of the younger people, show hospitality, mercy and charity, the children are encouraged to do good and to be involved in creative activities (Babunova 2012); children are taught labor traditions including different types and forms of labor accessible to the children of their sex and age.

5. Conclusion

Thus, the children adopt sociocultural experience in the form of both spontaneous (worldly) and organized socialization. The process of socialization of preschool-aged children is subject to age-related, individual and personal specifics of children. The pedagogues and parents are focused on social and psychological well-being of children associated with psychological and pedagogical support in child’s socialization-individualization. Psychological and pedagogical means ensure free development of the child’s innate powers, abilities, and ensure the possibility for the adult to choose the values, senses and socially meaningful mindsets. Complex support is based on the meaningfulness and on dialogue nature of psychological and pedagogical interaction based on trust and love of the world of children. The technique of psychological and pedagogical support is built by stages, it reveals meaningfully the conditions, means, forms, methods and techniques facilitating positive socialization of preschool-aged children.

Humanistic approach to social development and upbringing makes it possible to form different aspects of socialization, such as moral and value, gender, ethno-cultural, emotional and personal aspects. Moral and value-based socialization sets the vector for developing moral manners based on the standard pattern of the personality whose development is focused on the exploration of the social world, its subjects and relationships, historically selected forms and ways of communication, norms of human interrelations. Gender socialization is considered as a process when the child identifies himself/herself with the representatives of the relevant sex and learns the things that are socially accepted for men and women in this culture. Gender socialization implies the inclusion into the gender culture of this society, adoption of gender roles. The most important aspect of social and personal development of preschool-aged children is represented by ethnicity. Ethno-cultural socialization implies the inclusion of children into the culture of the society, understanding their own ethnic identity, establishing the possibility of ethnically tolerant behavior in multicultural community. Contextual nature of these types of socialization predetermines the variety and variableness of psychological and pedagogical support. The technique of the support practically implements psychological and pedagogical conditions that include active protection, care, assistance, help, and ensure child’s personality development, his/her socialization. Complex support in children’s socialization implies cooperation between psychologists, pedagogues, medical experts and parents who should make optimum decisions in different situations of social choice. Complex support ensures children’s successful adaptation to new social communities and secures harmonization between child’s personality and the surrounding people.

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1. Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University, Magnitogorsk, Russia. E-mail: babunova@bk.ru

2. Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University, Magnitogorsk, Russia. E-mail: lil.gradusova@yandex.ru

3. Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University, Magnitogorsk, Russia. E-mail: olgapustovojtova@yandex.ru

4. Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University, Magnitogorsk, Russia. E-mail: shepilovanatasha@rambler.ru