Effective socialization of a child determines his success in life. The social and personal development of preschoolers and all the tasks associated with it have always been relevant, but they are especially important now, when the amount of information is off the charts, and the exchange of it is very fast. In order not to get confused and find oneself, every person needs help in early preschool age, when his personality is being formed.
Communicative development is an important element of a child’s socialization
Parents mostly rely on various preschools to help children learn the basics of life in modern society. It is very important to use effective techniques that can develop the communication skills of each child in the best possible way.
The basis of behavior is emotional states
The introduction of communication skills with other people occurs through play - for preschool children this is the optimal, most suitable way of learning. In addition, it allows educators to see the characteristics of each child and possible communication problems.
What is socio-communicative development - definition
For example, one of the most important things that preschoolers need to be taught is to manage their emotions, since it is emotional states that determine an individual’s behavior; For effective development of personality and brain, it is necessary to teach a child to recognize emotions, their nature, recognize and use them.
While positive emotions are well perceived by the psyche of preschoolers and motivate them to develop further, negative emotions cause acute rejection. You also need to be able to accept this layer of emotions internally, because blocking will create deposits of aggression, resentment and discontent in the child’s subconscious: they can be expressed in communication problems and difficulties in further growing up.
The development of the emotional sphere must be given attention from the first days of life.
By managing their emotions, children will be able to overcome fears and insecurities, be aware of their behavior, avoid destructive and deviant behavior, and not commit rash acts.
Also, work on managing emotions contributes to the social and communicative development of preschoolers in the sense that they are able to determine the mental states of other people. Starting with the perception of basic emotions, with experience children begin to see more and more complex states; in some cases, this contributes to the development of empathy (full feeling of the emotional state of another person).
Directions and tasks of social and communicative development of preschool children
There is a state standard that determines the directions of development of preschool children:
- Social and communicative development.
- Cognitive development.
- Speech development.
- Artistic and aesthetic development.
- Physical development.
Tasks of socio-communicative development - an expanded definition
In combination, they develop the social and communicative abilities of preschool children, the desire and ability to interact based on a positive perception of their peers.
This is quite complex work, which begins with the child recognizing himself as part of a large organism of society, perceiving himself and his interlocutor as separate and self-sufficient units (subjects) of communication.
Having realized this, the child learns to express his thoughts and emotions using different means: visually, verbally, through gestures and facial expressions. Children realize that they communicate with each other in the same language (in every sense), which helps to deepen mutual understanding.
After this, preschoolers are introduced to more complex norms of behavior and life in human society (the presence of certain roles in relationships, professions, etc.).
Communication in the family is the first stage of social and communicative development
Since all this happens in the form of various games, children accept new information easily and naturally. A whole system of game exercises has been developed, which includes:
- individual sessions;
- group work;
- integrated exercises.
This activity allows children to develop the desire and ability to cooperate, share experiences, interact in a team, easily express their thoughts and solve various problems. Games stimulate thinking, cognitive, research, visual, constructive and many other types of activities necessary for the development of a successful personality.
In kindergarten, children learn to communicate with peers
Games help preschoolers eliminate communication problems, process psychological blocks, and help express their thoughts and emotions in a constructive form that is useful to the whole group.
Development of communication abilities of older preschoolers
A child who prefers to spend time alone often does so for reasons of inability to be interesting and communicate well. Being among his peers, he may experience shyness, lack of self-confidence, or be aggressive. Therefore, preschool development requires the allocation of a significant amount of time for the formation of communication skills.
The conditions for the development of communication abilities imply two complementary paths. The first is active communication with adults and adopting their communication model and style of communicative behavior. The second is spending time with peers, during which children constantly learn from each other.
With the development of communicative abilities, children of senior preschool age develop stable motives for communication and a desire to interact with both adults and peers.
Borrowing adult communication models
By communicating with adults, a preschooler develops the basic components of communication skills. The ready-made model that they observe among relatives and educators allows them to understand the following:
- When to make contact, that is, to understand under what conditions conversations are appropriate and when to remain silent;
- How to organize communication, how to resolve conflicts, clearly see emotional empathy;
- What norms and rules does communication require, that is, to determine for yourself the boundaries of acceptable harshness, frankness, and playfulness.
Also, dialogues with adults mean obtaining information about knowledge and cultural values. By example, children learn to tell stories, learn how to make their stories interesting and exciting.
Development of abilities in communicating with children
The fundamental difference between communication with peers is increased emotional intensity. In this case, boundaries are removed, and children learn to be sincere and artistic. Their communication includes causeless laughter, antics, loud statements that turn into screaming.
In this way, children experiment, independently looking for ways to attract attention to themselves without the help of adults.
Also in peer communication there may be elements such as:
- Unpredictable combinations of syllables and sounds - attempts to create your own language;
- Lack of rules;
- Having harsh words to help release emotions.
If, when talking with adults, a preschooler asks and listens more, then in conversations with peers he strives to speak out himself, even if this means shouting down others. Moreover, the preschooler expects evaluation or new information from teachers and parents. Just by chatting with friends, he learns to express himself and emotions, express desires, show his mood through words, and even tries to take on leadership functions, demonstrating initiative and trying to manage the rest of the company.
Problems of development of communication in modern children
But the main task of preschool communicative development is to awaken in the child the desire to communicate.
As you know, communication is the most important need of a person, without which he ceases to be a person; It is the ability to interact with each other that is the peculiarity of human civilization. Without communication, it is impossible to communicate socially, to find your place and purpose in life. This is the foundational activity for all other activities.
Play and communicative development are interconnected
The concept of effective communication consists of 4 components:
- desire to interact with people around you;
- know the norms and rules of behavior, perceive social roles in society;
- be able to communicate, listen, perceive emotions, conscious and unconscious signals from other people;
- resolve any conflicts in communication.
Despite the fact that all this seems quite natural, in the modern world the number of young children with problems in the development of communication skills is increasing.
Speech therapy games will help improve speech communication
This leads to the fact that the behavior of preschoolers becomes increasingly unbalanced: they are unable to take control of their emotions, communicate normally with peers, master speech, etc. All this, of course, affects the development of intellectual abilities and leads to a frightening lag in the normal development of all greater percentage of children.
Responsible parents are the key to a child’s successful development!
That is why the timely assistance of preschool education workers is of fundamental importance - you need to send your children to special institutions on time and actively support their socialization.
The fact is that this process directly depends on the influence of parents, whom the child trusts absolutely. It is the influence of parents that is primary in relation to the social development of their child. Research and statistics show that if the mother and father are responsible and competent, then the preschooler himself is much more actively involved in social life and interaction with people.
Communication with a child in the family is the basis of social and communicative adaptation in society
Also, and vice versa: a low level of speech development arises primarily due to insufficient communication in the family, the so-called “personal experience”. This affects the intellectual and creative development of preschool children.
Thus, it becomes clear that the work of parents and educators in institutions is of equal importance for the social and communicative development of children. Moreover, these two points are closely interrelated with each other.
Successful results in the development of social and communication skills in preschoolers lay the foundation for unlocking creative potential, finding their place in the world and building success in life.
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Communicative aspects of personnel management in preschool educational institutions
Zhgenti I.V., head of the department of pre-professional training at the Academy of Watercolor and Fine Arts of Sergei Andriyaka, Moscow
The management activities of any modern manager, including the head of a preschool educational institution, have fairly clear criteria for monitoring the organization and the actions of employees and are based on the principles of effective distribution of powers of the management structure, creating an atmosphere of collegiality (in other words, constructive communication, “dialogue of equals,” “multi-positional communication ") performers of all levels. In the case when performers at all levels are endowed with specific responsibilities and rights and have sufficient freedom to make decisions at their level, all employees of the organization take part in management. The management system in this case does not allow personal subordination, which helps prevent conflict situations without provoking participants in business communication to humiliate and insult the individual. In this case, the organization's employees accept a code of mutual recognition and mutual respect.
Of course, regulating relationships between people, groups of people, coordinating processes and activities of people is a multifaceted task that requires deep knowledge in the field of psychology, conflict management, management, etc., and in addition, a special talent of a leader - the talent of a facilitator, responsible, capable of self-regulation, development of tactics and strategies of action, sensitive to the sociodynamics of their organization.
Let us consider the theoretical positions of the concept of “communication” in a broad sense. What does this term mean? Communication is primarily the exchange of information. The word "communication" comes from Lat. communicate - to confer with someone, to communicate. It is interesting that a number of scientists (for example, M.S. Kagan) insist on separating the terms “communication” and “communication”, identifying the following differences:
- communication has both a practical and spiritual nature, while communication is an information process;
— communication is an intersubjective interaction, and its structure is dialogical, while communication is an information connection between a subject and a particular object [4, p. 144].
It seems that the statement that communication is an information connection that is not dialogical in structure is very controversial.
There are different types of communication - mass, intercultural, managerial, etc. There are several managerial levels of communication: organization, planning, motivation. Going through these steps is one of the important conditions for properly building relationships both within the organization and outside it.
A brief review of the history of domestic and foreign experience in developing the theory of communication in management allows us to especially note several outstanding scientists who had a significant influence on the development of these ideas.
The American engineer F. Taylor is considered the founder of the scientific organization of labor and enterprise management. Taylor's theory of labor organization was a system of interrelated provisions and principles for increasing the efficiency of workers' work activities by improving social organization. In his opinion, it is people management that is the main factor of efficiency and rationality [10, p. 37].
It is necessary to emphasize here that long before F. Taylor, in the 1860-1870s. employees of the Moscow Higher Technical School developed their own methodology for rationalizing labor movements, which was tested and worked effectively at the factories of the heirs of L.I. Rastorguev and received the “Medal of Success” at the World Trade Exhibition in Vienna. It was this technique that was later actively introduced by English industrialists [8, p. 265].
In 1893, interesting experiments were carried out in the city of Ekatirinoslav under the leadership of engineer K. Adametsky. He tried to rationalize labor and production processes. Adametsky systematized the reasons why deviations from work occur, and in 1903 he formulated four basic laws of labor organization: increasing production, specialization, production coordination and labor harmony.
In 1921 and 1924 The First and Second All-Russian Initiative Conferences on the Organization of Labor and Production took place, where the issue was resolved that it was necessary to introduce such a subject as “labor organization and management” in educational institutions. As a result of the work of the conferences, laws for the scientific organization of production were founded, which largely retain their significance today.
According to modern researchers, the concept of management at that time was divided into two groups: organizational-technical and social. Adherents of the first were A.A. Bogdanov, O.A. Yermansky, A.K. Gastev, E.F. Rozmirovich. The second group was supported by P.M. Kerzhentsev, N.A. Witke et al. [5, p. 224].
An important stage in the development of management was the theory of administrative capacity by F.R. Dunaevsky, which examined the ability of managers to simultaneously manage a certain number of subordinates, regardless of their personal qualities. One of the important issues in this theory was the consideration of the relationship between the development of production stages and the increase in management personnel at all levels, which ultimately leads to bureaucratization. Dunaevsky identified a way to solve the problem that arises with the growth of the information barrier when the “administrative capacity” of each higher level of the administrative apparatus is exceeded.
An interesting approach to effective management is a theory presented by Richard L. Daft, a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Management. In his works, Daft described a system that involves using the creativity and enthusiasm of people, encouraging teamwork, adapting the organization to changes in the external environment and achieving maximum efficiency of their activities [3, p. 63]. One of the chapters of R. Daft's book “Management” is devoted to leadership, basic principles of communication and team management.
According to the theory of K. Lewin, a German-American psychologist, developed in the 30s. last century and has become classic, three leading leadership styles can be distinguished: authoritarian, democratic and neutral. The main difference between these styles is the preferred management methods [6, p. 332]. The command method corresponds to the authoritarian style, the contractual and socio-psychological method corresponds to the democratic style, and the general lack of system is characterized by the neutral leadership style.
The ideas of K. Lewin became fundamental for psychologists and had a significant influence not only on American social psychology, but also on many other areas, including the theory of cultural development of L.S. Vygotsky and researchers of the “Vygotsky circle”, which explains the importance of such factors as group dynamics, game situations, avoiding failures, striving for success, etc. [2, p. 118].
Domestic scientists such as A.N. Leontiev, in their works on psychology, noted the importance of the connection between the concepts of “communication” and “activity” [7, p. 104]. This connection, however, can be perceived in completely different ways. In one case, these two concepts are considered as different aspects of an individual’s life, and in the other, as interconnected parallel processes. Communication is presented as an important type of communicative activity. The communicative side of communication includes the exchange of information, the interactive side means the organization of interaction, and the third, perceptual side, includes a reflection of the establishment of interaction between people, how each person perceives and forms the image of another person.
The joint activity of the manager and the performer involves a constant exchange of ideas, moods, and various ideas about the progress of the process, and therefore information is not simply transferred from one to the other, but also develops, refines and is formed. Each participant in the information exchange process has a certain influence on other participants in order to change their behavior.
Of course, every leadership style has both positive and negative aspects of work. For example, an authoritarian style ensures efficient management and minimizes decision-making time, but at the same time suppresses the creative initiative of performers. With a democratic leadership style, initiative is encouraged, employee job satisfaction increases, but all this works in a stable team with highly qualified, proactive, truly active employees.
Avoidance of making important strategic decisions, indifference to personnel, lack of control over subordinates, i.e. the absence of any management system characterizes a neutral or anarchic leadership style.
Having examined the largest theories of management, let us return to the concept of “communication”. So what is it? As we see, from the perspective of representatives of effective management, communications imply constant interaction and exchange of relevant information between management levels in order to optimize communication between members of the organization’s team and its management [9].
The exchange of information, facts, opinions between individuals or groups of people, the perception of information and the receipt of another person's reaction in response is called interpersonal communications.
If the communication process involves managers who strive to connect various links with each other to achieve their goals and perform work more efficiently, these are organizational communications, which, in turn, are divided into external and internal.
External organizational communications involve interaction with potential consumers, clients, competitors and government bodies.
Internal communications - information interaction within one organization at various levels: both vertical (exchange of information between the manager and subordinates) and horizontal (transfer of information between employees of the same level).
One of the main elements of management is management culture - the manager’s skills and knowledge in the field of legislation, management and economics, norms of behavior, and his organizational abilities. The personal qualities of a leader, creative thinking, communication ability, understanding of the specifics of one’s work, one’s functional responsibilities lead to the optimal structure of work, orientation in modern information technologies, which are so necessary for managerial potential today.
Each leader has his own style, and it is possible to mix styles depending on the situation. Thus, concern for production can be combined with insufficient attention to people; Familiar relationships are often detrimental to business. The activity of a manager is essentially a system of complex socio-psychological methods on which the community of interests and goals, the adoption of optimal decisions, and the moral and psychological climate in the team depend.
An important condition for achieving results is staff motivation. Every person has a need to be significant to others, a need for self-expression and self-realization. The interest of employees, the creation of a system of incentives, and objective gratitude for certain achievements in work contribute to the growth of a person’s motivation.
At the same time, control on the part of the manager must be, first of all, objective - the ability to compare the assigned tasks, achieved goals, and criteria for their achievement. An employee must have control parameters of a given organization, developed standards and indicators, as well as information about what he does well, the reason for deviations from certain standards, and what needs to be done to eliminate shortcomings. Violation of ethical and legal standards of behavior on the part of the manager and direct inspector, or the creation of stressful and conflict situations, is unacceptable. The obtained control information can be used for further planning and effective management of the organization, organizational restructuring of activities.
It follows that a modern leader must first of all be a competent specialist in the field of communication, which is manifested in the need for interaction with other people, the integrity and individuality of the communication process, and the ability to express a stable, friendly attitude towards others.
The most significant features characterizing the developed communicative competence of the head of a preschool educational institution: psychological observation, tact, sociability; professional and pedagogical orientation of the individual, conditioned by the idea of the effectiveness of one’s own activities and the presence of skills to manage one’s mental states, pedagogically effectively and emotionally openly express one’s attitude to the situation, the need to achieve the heights of professionalism in the activities of a leader, a high level of knowledge in the specialty, as well as a broad cultural horizon.
The effectiveness of his work largely depends on the level of development of the preschool director’s communication skills. It is obvious that in modern conditions it is necessary to abandon authoritarian communication, which, as we know, is easier than democratic communication, since it is based on blind submission and does not require painstaking work. Democratic communication is more difficult and complex, since it involves the implementation of attitudes through the acceptance of communication goals by participants in the process. The leader in this case acts both as a source of information, and as a person who gets to know another person, and as an organizer of collective activities and relationships.
It is important to remember that the exchange of information is largely achieved through speech activity, which has a number of psychological characteristics. Therefore, the ability to express thoughts logically, consistently and clearly plays a big role in how the information exchanged among team members is understood. In addition, it is necessary to take into account that all this information can be significantly or slightly transformed, as it will be refracted through the previous experience of the transmitter (communicator) and the perceiver (recipient). In this regard, we can assume that there is a possibility that certain disagreements will arise during the work process, which will be caused by different views on the essence of the problem. And in such cases, when transmitting distorted information, conflicts often arise.
A small study based on pedagogical observation of the activities of several heads of preschool educational institutions showed that:
- managers who are unable to control emotions and reactions in stressful situations often develop a feeling of annoyance, grief, and failure of their leadership - they do not take active action; emotionally unbalanced leaders in stressful situations most often resort to open conflict and show aggression;
— leaders with bright, rich emotions, natural and relaxed behavior are revealed in their activities as sensitive and attentive, well adapted to the life of the team, and in stressful situations, compliant, trusting people; such leaders tend to show tolerance in difficult situations, they are independent in judgment and behavior, and are not biased in their assessments;
— leaders who communicate freely, do not feel difficulties during encounters with surprises, withstand emotional stress well, most often in difficult situations strive to independently solve problems, and are prone to an increased sense of responsibility.
The study found that with high authority of the leader, the number of conflict situations, both vertically and horizontally, sharply decreases. This undoubtedly reflects the so-called “halo effect”, which arises from the feeling of the leader’s prestige, i.e. measures of the extent to which preschool employees recognize the superiority of the leader in his abilities, knowledge and skills. In conflict situations, it is not the fact of disagreement itself that is decisive, but rather the nature of communication and methods for resolving the contradictions that arise. According to English psychologists M. Woodcock and D. Francis, effective conflict resolution is associated with the leader’s ability to convince people, find the only correct arguments, and strictly observe the unity of word and deed [1, p. 45].
The art of management communication is associated with such concepts as emotions, feelings and experiences. The peculiarities of managing preschool teachers are that the manager’s experience, along with undoubted positive aspects, can interfere with the perception and acceptance of new methods and style, since certain rigid stereotypes may have formed during the previous work.
This is very important to remember and strive to overcome such stereotypes.
In conclusion, we can draw the following conclusions: communication is the main condition for the development of an organization, characterizing the state of the internal environment. An optimal psychological climate in the team, openness, and constructiveness of everyday communication within the team contribute to the effectiveness of management and joint activities of all levels.
