Spiritual and Moral Education of Preschoolers

Abstract

The relevance of the problem under study is conditioned by the fact that of children’s spiritual and moral educationbecomes a priority for educational activity of many countries. One of the human development megatrends is shifting towards dualism “technological progress – peace of mind”, when each new technology is accompanied by a compensatory humanitarian reaction. The education of preschoolers becomes a topical issue for scientists owing to the significance of this age with regard to the formation of an individual’s spiritual and moral culture, ability to preserve peace of mind, dignity, tolerance to negative influences of modern life.

The paper is aimed at revealing the essence of the process of spiritual and moral education of preschoolers.

The leading approaches preferred in studying the outlined problem are humanist and self-development approaches, allowing to revealpeculiarities of the value and notional realm among young children aged 6-7. In addition, they enable the development of guidelines and patterns for cultural practices in the sphere of spiritual and moral education.

The main study results are as follows: for the first time, the concept “spiritual and moral human culture” has been formulated; the methodological grounds for spiritual and moral education of preschoolers have been determined; basic forms of educational activity, oriented towards the developmentof children’s value and notional realm, have been discovered. It has been proven that at the age of 6-7, the child gradually becomes aware of basic values: beauty, kindness, love, health, truth, etc. The peculiarities of preschoolers’ spiritual and moral education have been determined and scientifically grounded. The work provides a logical justification for the formation of spiritual and moral culture grounds among children: the ideas about values are transformed from immediate into mediated, from unconscious into conscious. The article also formulates the conditions of organizing the educational process as cultural and creative.

The research findings of the paper may be useful for practitioners and scientists, studying the education problems faced by preschoolers.