The role of educators in encouraging the symbolic play of children of an early Age

Otvoreni kurikulum ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja, usmjeren na kompetencije djece u razvoju, njeguje igru kao najvažniju vodeću aktivnost djeteta. Dva su motrišta bitno promijenila sliku o igri, a još uvijek su minimalno testirana. Prvo koje kaže da je simbolička igra zona proksimalnog razvoja te drugo koje tvrdi da je ona potencijalni izvor ranog samoregulirajućeg ponašanja (Bodrova, 2008). Novija istraživanja povezuju simboličku igru sa protučinjeničnim mišljenjem (Gopnik i Walker, 2013), razvojem jezika (Weisberg, 2013), kreativnosti (Russ i Wallace, 2013), izvršnim funkcijama (Berk i Meyers, 2013), teorijom uma (Bodrova i Leong, 2019), subjektivnom dobrobiti i sposobnosti nošenja sa životnim situacijama (Fiorelli i Russ, 2011). Istraživanja su obećavajuća, no smatra ih se preoskudnim da bi se donosili strogi zaključci. Postoje dvije oprečne struje koje trenutno egzistiraju u odgojnoobrazovnoj praksi, a vezane su uz „kraljicu igara“. Obje odgovaraju na važno pitanje: Treba li se, kako i koliko miješati u nju? Ovaj istraživački rad promovira stav pozitivne participacije odgajatelja, ali uz njegov senzibilitet za igrovne situacije. Prikazat će se proces akcijskog istraživanja intervencija odgajatelja u poticanju simboličke igre djece rane i predškolske dobi, koji daje bolje razumijevanje nedirektivnog pristupa učenju. Cilj je postizanje zrelijih karakteristika igre kod djece. Istraživanje je provedeno u DV „Dječja igra“ u objektu „Vrbani“, gdje je kontinuirano promišljanje, djelovanje, suradničko učenje kroz akcijska istraživanja dugogodišnja praksa. Sudjelovalo je šest odgajatelja, ravnatelj, pedagog i psiholog te tri mješovite odgojno-obrazovne skupine djece od tri do sedam godina. Prikazat će se i razvoj refleksivne prakse odgajatelja što je ključni sastojak u postizanju kvalitete odgojno-obrazovnog procesa. Ovo istraživanje pokazuje da je simbolička igra vodeća aktivnost u kojoj djeca uvježbavaju različite kompetencije potrebne u dosezanju razvojnih postignuća (Lav Vigotski, 1967), a odgajateljeva uloga je neophodna.Open curriculum of early child development and education, aimed at competences of developing children, puts childhood play as one of the most important leading activities for learning in children. The following two views have changed significantly the image of play as we understand it, and both have been minimally tested until today. The first says that symbolic role play falls under the scope of proximal development and the second maintains that play is potentially a source of early self-regulating behavior (Bodrova, 2008). New research links symbolic role play with counterfactual opinions (Gopnik i Walker, 2013), language development (Weisberg, 2013), creativity (Russ i Wallace, 2013), executive functions (Berk i Meyers, 2013), mind theory (Bodrova i Leong, 2019), subjective wellbeing and coping skills (Fiorelli i Russ 2011). The existing research is expanding but still considered inadequate to make definitive and meaningful conclusions. Currently two opposite ideas exist in educational practice which are connected to be the so-called “queen of play”. Both give an answer to an important question: should educators interfere in role play and to what degree? This research paper promotes the idea of positive participation of educators, with an emphasis on their sensibility to different playing situations. It will present the process of action research of educator’s interventions when encouraging symbolic role play in pre-school children and will provide a better understanding of indirect approach to learning. Its goal is to induce a more mature characteristics of play in children. This research has been conducted in kindergarten “Dječja igra” at Vrbani, where continuous reflecting and collaborative learning, through action research has been a long-standing practice. Research participants were six educators, principal, pedagogist, psychologist, and three mixed educational groups of children aged three to seven. It also presents the development of educators’ reflective practices which is a key factor in bringing quality in the educational process. This research has shown that symbolic role play is a leading activity in which children develop diverse skills needed to achieve developmental accomplishments (Lav Vigotski), and thus educator’s role is necessary