From responsiveness to self-organization: a comparative study of approaches to children in Waldorf and “Directive” preschool education

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Recieved: 05/27/2022

Accepted: 06/05/2022

Published: 08/24/2022

Keywords: self-organization; will; voluntariness; organized classes; independent and cooperatively-shared activity; independent play; senior preschool age

p.: 77-88

DOI: 10.11621/npj.2022.0310

Available online: 24.08.2022

To cite this article:

Elena A. Abdulaeva. From responsiveness to self-organization: a comparative study of approaches to children in Waldorf and “Directive” preschool education. // National Psychological Journal 2022. 3. p.77-88. doi: 10.11621/npj.2022.0310

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Elena A. Abdulaeva Moscow State University of Psychology and Education

Abstract

Background. The individual’s ability for self-development is the modern day priority in education. The main prerequisite for the development of this ability is self-organization which is considered to be one of the future’s most in-demand competences. It seems necessary to study the conditions for its development at the initial stage — at preschool age, in particular, in a kindergarten, where children spend a significant part of their lives.

Objectives. The study aims to explore the practices of educational systems as an environment to develop self-organization of preschool children at the Waldorf kindergarten with the educational programme “Beryozka” (V.K. Zagvozdkin, S.A. Trubitsyna), where independent and cooperatively-shared activity with an adult prevails (independent and cooperative activity — ICA) and at the most common kindergarten “Fr om Birth to School” (N.E. Veraksa, T.S. Komarova, E.M. Dorofeeva), wh ere activities organized by adults (AOA) predominate.

Sample. The study involved 28 normatively developed children from Moscow kindergartens aged from 6.4 to 7.2 years (13 girls and 15 boys). Half of the preschoolers were brought up in the groups of the Waldorf kindergarten operating under “Beryozka” programme, the other 14 children were from the kindergarten operating under the mass program “From Birth to School”.

Method. To evaluate the development of self-organization in children, involved in different educational programmes, a range of methods were used. These included structured observation, structured analysis of the programmes, questionnaire, and an experimental method for assessing the level of self-organization in preschoolers based on a modification of the methodology for assessing educational activity (Repkina, Zaika, 1993) and on diagnosing the features of self-organization (Ishkov, 2011). Two diagnostic situations included novel productive activity in the “Sewing on buttons” technique with a demonstration as instruction and the outdoor game “Hoops and flags” with a verbal instruction. Statistical data processing was carried out with the SPSS Statistics program.

Results. The level of children’s self-organization in different educational systems varies significantly according to both the overall assessment and individual criteria. The group of independent and cooperatively-shared activities with an adult (ICAA) included twice as many highly self-organized children as the group with a predominance of classes and activities organized by an adult (AOA) (85.7/92.9% vs 42.8/50%). In the “Game with Task” test, the differences between children in the AOA and ICAA groups were more pronounced than in the “Productive Activity” test. This stage showed that the ICAA group had a significantly higher level of Goal Setting (100%) and Self-Control (78.6% and 92.9%), while in the AOA group about half of the children reached a high level in both tasks (Goal Setting 57.1% and 50%, Self-Control 57.1%). In the ICAA group, a high level of Planning was also noted in the majority of children (92.9%). At the same time, according to the criteria “Analysis of Situation” and “Correction”, in the AOA group, every fifth child (21.4%) showed low level, whereas no low level was registered in the ICAA group.

Conclusion. The educational process in the form of joint / free activity enhances the development of self-organization of preschoolers better than a tightly organized schedule of classes. Rhythmic alternation of concentration on the leading adult and independent activity allows the child to remain active longer and more consciously.

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