STUDY OF READING TRAINING OF FUTURE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS IN THE ASPECT OF SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION AND UPBRINGING

STUDY OF READING TRAINING OF FUTURE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS IN THE ASPECT OF SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION AND UPBRINGING

The article, based on the generalization of the results of the study, outlines the features of the reading portrait of a modern student – a future primary school teacher and preschool teacher. The correlation between the attitude to reading in childhood and the formation of professional reading competence in student years is established.
Keywords: reading, literature, research, future teachers and educators, reading portrait.

Yemets A. A.
Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor,
H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Kovalenko O. M.
Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor,
H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

10.34142//2708-4809.SIUTY.2022.77

The problems of declining public interest in reading are in the center of attention of the scientific community around the world. In-depth research by Ukrainian scholars (“Reading in the Context of Media Consumption and Life Construction” (2020) [1], the Chitomo study [3]) shows that there are similar problems, which are sometimes more serious than those of colleagues from European countries: only 8-10% of Ukrainian adults and 13% of children read books every day.

The problem of non-reading is complex and cannot be reduced to one or two reasons, among which ordinary citizens usually mention the use of gadgets. However, we cannot ignore their negative impact: digital addiction, which indicates a violation of brain functions, is recorded in every tenth person, on average in 3-5% of children and adults. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Manfred Spitzer [4] coined the term “digital dementia” to describe functional changes in the brain, especially in the younger generation.

In Ukraine, the problem of overcoming the crisis of non-reading is being addressed by several institutions, including the Ukrainian Book Institute, established under the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. To date, the UIK staff has not only conducted several large-scale sociological studies of reading problems, but also developed the state program “Reading as a Life Strategy. 2021-2025”, whose full implementation was unfortunately halted by the war. This program emphasizes the importance of

“reading in the family, especially in a family where children are growing up. It is the perception of reading in childhood that has a decisive influence on the frequency of reading in adulthood: for example, among non-readers, only 23% say that their parents taught them to read and they liked it, while among daily readers, the number is 70%. Despite the fact that children aged 6-9 remain the most active readers of all age groups, this habit actually disappears with age: the loss of interest in reading occurs from the age of 9-10, and among older adolescents from the age of 14, the number of daily readers is more than halved compared to the youngest age group” [2].

If a family cannot realize the spiritual potential of fiction due to the loss of the tradition of family reading, then preschool and primary education institutions should take over. The extent to which a teacher is a well-rounded reader and professionally knowledgeable in the field of literature depends on whether he or she can fill (at least partially) the existing gap in children’s reading.

The research, conducted at the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year at the Faculties of Preschool Education and Primary Education of H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, was aimed at creating a reader’s portrait of a modern student – a future preschool teacher and primary school teacher. The survey involved full-time and part-time students: I year of PhD (full-time) – 28 respondents, I year of PhD (part-time) – 18 respondents, II year of PhD (full-time) – 36 respondents. Part-time students, except for one respondent, have no or almost no teaching experience (up to 1 year), so their answers do not affect the overall results.

The collection of experimental data was carried out by means of an electronic survey through a Google form and was supplemented by communication with individual participants of the study and observation of readers’ reactions during the course of the disciplines “Literature for Preschool Children” and “Children’s Literature”.

The survey focused on two aspects of the reader’s portrait: childhood memories and attitudes toward reading fiction at the present time.

In our opinion, the assessment of the attitude to reading in childhood is quite objective, since the answers are given by an adult who may not worry about the correctness/incorrectness of the answer, as in childhood. In addition, students of the selected faculties are more professionally oriented to reflecting on their children’s reading.

The comparative analysis revealed that the answers of students of different faculties are similar: the largest number of those who liked to read as a child was in the FPO (77.8%), slightly less in the FDL (full-time) (70.4%) and the smallest in the FDL (part-time) (61.1%). One third of the surveyed students assess their childhood reading experience as negative.

The main reasons for non-reading in childhood were uninteresting works (14.8% of the total number of respondents), adult coercion (11%), static reading position (7.4%), and large volume (4.9%).
The number of those who indicated the reason for their reluctance to read is higher than the number of those who testified to their dislike of reading in childhood.

Accordingly, we have the following data: at the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology – 38.8% (of the total number of respondents at the faculty), at the Faculty of Education (full-time) – 44%, and at the Faculty of Education (part-time) – 55.5%. This indicates that the number of people who did not like to read as a child is somewhat higher than the results of answering the question “Did you like to read as a child?”.

The largest number of respondents who indicated their favorite book in childhood was in the FDO (full-time) – 92.6%. Although there are quite a few of them in other groups as well: FDL (part-time) – 88.9% and FPN – 86.1%. The following point is noteworthy: the number of respondents who named their favorite children’s book is higher than the number of those who said they like to read: by 27.8% of part-time students, by 22.2% of full-time students, and by 8.3% of vocational students. This may indicate a certain untapped reading potential, although there were also some frankly formal answers, for example: “Kolobok”, “Cinderella”, “Cockerel – the Golden Comb”, “Little Red Riding Hood”.

When naming their favorite childhood books, the vast majority of students do not mention their authors, which indicates a low level of reading culture and reading independence. The largest number of students who did not indicate the author’s surname is among part-time students.

Analyzing the content of children’s reading preferences, it should be noted that preference is traditionally given to fairy tale folklore and proven classics (S. Perrault, H. C. Andersen). More often than in previous years, students began to name the works of V. Nestaiko, R. Dahl, and L. Carroll.

The second direction of the survey was to determine the reading portrait of a junior student of a pedagogical university. At least half of the respondents answered positively to the question “Do you currently read books that are not related to your studies or professional training?” 48% of full-time teachers, 61% of part-time teachers, and 81% of part-time teachers. In our opinion, a higher percentage of respondents studying at the PES is associated with professional orientation, with a certain awareness of the need for education in future teachers. It was quite interesting to compare the results of answering this question with the data on determining the desire to read in childhood. For both full-time and part-time students of the FDO, they almost coincide: FPN in childhood – 77.8% and 80.6% in students; FDL (part-time) in childhood – 61% and 61% in students.
Only among first-year students of full-time education the number of those who read now is 48% (in childhood – 70.4%).

However, the results are actually not that positive. This is evidenced by the analysis of answers to the question “How often do you read books not related to your studies or professional training?” It has been proven that daily reading is the norm for a skilled reader. Among the respondents, 52.8% of the FPN respondents consider themselves to be those who read almost every day, 33.4% of the FDLs (part-time), and 22.2% of the FDLs (full-time).

Recording a book that impressed or was memorable is another indicator of reading competence. 80% of the respondents of the FPN named such a work (mostly one), and more than half of them (62%) indicated the author.

Among FDL (part-time) students, 72% indicated the last memorable work they read (almost all mentioned one work), and 38% indicated the author. Among full-time students, 57% indicated the last work they read that they remembered (almost all mentioned only one work), and only 30% mentioned the author. The variety of works is very large, and no one work is repeated.

Of course, studying the reading preferences of future primary school teachers and educators of preschool education requires a deeper analysis, but we can already see the traditional themes of love, self-discovery, interest in psychology and detectives.

When evaluating themselves as readers on a 12-point scale, 50% of the students of the FPN, 48% of the FDL (full-time), and 28% of the FDL (part-time) gave themselves 10 to 12 points.

Thus, our study allows us to draw the following conclusions:

– The interest in reading formed in childhood is an important stimulus for independent reading activity throughout life;
– about 50% of students – future primary school teachers and educators of preschool education consider themselves skilled readers and do not realize the gaps in their reading skills.

One of the possible ways to overcome the crisis of non-reading in childhood may be to increase the level of reading competence of future teachers of preschool and primary school teachers by organizing targeted systematic work to engage students in working with children’s books and reading works of children’s literature throughout their years at university.

List of references

1. Volosevych I., Shurenkova A. Report on the results of the all-Ukrainian sociological study “Reading in the context of media consumption and life construction” commissioned by a state institution. Kyiv: Ukrainian Book Institute, 2020. 181 с. URL: ttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KCC8ZkOAXTWInqRTRchHzpVzUhKtxSf5 (accessed November 01, 2022).
2. Reading as a life for 2021-2025: draft strategy. URL: https://mkip.gov.ua/files/pdf/.pdf (accessed November 01, 2022).
3. Chitomo. Ukrainian Readingand Publishing Data. Reading in Ukraine. All-Ukrainian project. URL: http://data.chytomo.com/chytannya-v-ukrayini/ (accessed November 01, 2022).
4. Spitzer Manfred. Digital dementia: What We and Our Children are Doing to our Minds. Brno: Host, 2014.