priČe u razliČitim domenima deČjeg...

Gnjatović: PRIČE U RAZLIČITIM DOMENIMA DEČJEG RAZVOJA ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Dragana Gnjatović1 Originalni naučni rad Univerzitet na Malti UDK: 37.022

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PRIČE U RAZLIČITIM DOMENIMA DEČJEG RAZVOJA

Rezime: Ovaj članak je zasnovan na rezultatima dobijenim istraživanjem na temu priča i kakvo je poimanje vaspitača u vezi sa ovim fenomenom. Istraživanje je sprovedeno u Švedskoj sa ciljem da se delimično ispune uslovi za sticanje Erazmus Mundus diplome „Internacionalni master predškolskog obrazovanja i vaspitanja”. U skladu sa prethodnim istraživanjima koja ispituje benefite prakse koja je bazirana na pričama, ovo istraživanje analizira i diskutuje percepciju vaspitača u vezi sa pričama. Sa ciljem da se dobije odgovor na istraživačko pitanje, korišćen je intervju istraživanje, malog obima. Istraživanje je sprovedeno u četiri vrtića u jugozapadnom delu Švedske. Podaci su sakupljeni kroz polustruktuirane intervjue. Da bi se sakupile što detaljnije informacije o viđenju priče i njenoj ulozi u praksi vaspitača, pitanja su bila otvorenog tipa. Kao teoretski okvir istraživnja poslužila je socio-kulturna teorija Vigotskog. Ovo istraživanje je pokazalo nov tehnološki pristup pričama. Bez obzira na to, vaspitači i dalje veruju u ulogu tradicionalnog pričanja priča. Oni ističu da priče treba da budu deo predškolskog programa i prakse. Istraživanje se bavilo vaspitačima i njihovim stavovima vezanim za pričanje priča s obzirom na to da takvih istraživanja nema u izobilju. Da bi uloga priča i benefiti prakse koja je bazirana na pričama bili vrednovani na pravi način, potrebno je da neka buduća istraživanja uzmu u obzir dečje shvatanje priča. Ključne reči: predškolsko obrazovanje, pričanje priča, razvojne oblasti kod dece.

Uvod

Dečji razvoj podrazumeva mnoge aspekte, ali ono što je u poslednje vreme u fokusu pažnje je razvoj pismenosti i spremnost za školu sa jedne strane, i umetnost i razvoj kreativnosti kod dece, sa druge strane. Očekuje se da predškolske aktivnosti budu rukovođene dečjim potrebama i interesovanjima. Vreme koje deca provode u slobodnoj igri takođe postaje veoma bitno. Sve ovo praćeno je inovacijama u tehnološkoj oblasti, koje donose nove pristupe predškolskoj praksi i procesu učenja. Gde se priče uklapaju u ovu raznovrsnost obrazovnih potreba i pedagoških pristupa? Veliki broj istraživanja govori o ulozi priča u dečjem razvoju i benefitima prakse koja je bazirana na pričama. Izbel, Sobol, Lindauer i Laurenc smatraju da kroz priče deca usvajaju jezik, bogate rečnik i razvijaju komunikacione veštine. Endžel smatra da deca kojoj se ne pričaju priče, ne mogu biti u potpunosti pismena. Dauli i Meknami diskutuju o izjavi Vivijen Pejli da kroz dečje narative odrasli mogu da razumeju tok dečjih misli. An i Filipenko iznose da kroz pripovedanje i lične narative, deca grade sliku o sebi i svetu koji ih okružuje (Ahn & Filipenko, 2007; Dowley McNamee, 2005; Engel, 1995; Isbell, Sobol, Lindauer & Lowrance & 2004). Nasuprot

1 Imejl-kontakt na adresi: https://www.um.edu.mt/profile/draganagnjatovic.


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tradicionalnom pripovedanju, Boltman i Druin smatraju da nijedna slikovnica ne može da nadmaši nova tehnološka sredstva i da deca pokazuju veliko interesovanje prema novim tehnološkim sredstvima. Otkrivanjem dece, kao važne korisničke grupe, priče su dobile bitno mesto u dizajnu kompjuterskih programa. Poznati likovi iz bajki su digitalizovani i koriste se u obrazovnim i zabavnim programima za decu (Boltman & Druin, 2003).

Teoretski okvir istraživanja Sa ciljem da pruže kvalitetnu uslugu i da zadovolje potrebe dece, vaspitači se suočavaju sa izazovima pri izboru odgovarajućih pedagoških i metodoloških pristupa. U svetlu savremenih pogleda na pedagošku praksu, pristup bi trebalo da bude baziran na igri, sa detetom u centru pažnje. U isto vreme, vaspitač je aktivni posmatrač koji treba da ohrabruje decu i stimuliše njihov razvoj. Različite teorije, poput psihoanalitičke teorije razvoja deteta, kognitivne, bihejvioralne i socio-kulturne teorije, daju širok opseg pristupa i definicija koje mogu biti od pomoći vaspitačima u razumevanju dečjeg ponašanja i njihovih razvojnih sposobnosti. U svojoj socio-kulturnoj teoriji, Vigotski ističe da se razvoj i proces učenja kod ljudi odvija na dva nivoa. Prvo na društvenom nivou, a zatim i na individualnom nivou. Društvena sredina i interakcije sa drugim ljudima su za Vigotskog od presudnog značaja zato što on posmatra razvoj kao transformaciju društvenih iskustava u internalizovane procese (Rogoff & Morelli, 1989). Prema socio-kulturnom pristupu, ljudi deluju u društvenom okruženju gde su njihove akcije i interakcije predstavljene kroz jezik i druge simbole (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996). Vigotski smatra da više mentalne funkcije ljudskog uma treba da budu tretirane u socijalnoj sferi pre nego što se interno integrišu kroz razmišljanje i upotrebu jezika (Vygotsky, 1978). Luc i Hjuit diskutuju o načelima teorije Vigotskog i ističu da je važnost društvenih relacija za kognitivni razvoj vezana za to kako se proces učenja manifestuje, šta se uči i u kojim uslovima. Ovaj princip ističe značaj tvrdnje da proces učenja treba da bude rezultat socijalnih interakcija, gde učenikova upotreba jezika i simbola donosi kompleksnost procesu razmišljanja (Lutz & Huitt, 2004). Fokus socio-kulturne teorije je na ulozi društevnog i kulturnog konteksta u dečjem razvoju i razvoju jezika kao kognitivnog alata. Vigotski smatra da prilikom savladavanja sposobnosti spoljašnjeg govora, deca započinja sa jednom rečju i polako napreduju ka rečenicama sa više smisla (Vygotsky, 1986). Jezik i mašta pružaju ljudima mogućnost da izraze svoja osećanja i zato Vigotski smatra da imaginarne slike daju spoljašnji jezik ljudskim emocijama. Sva ljudska iskustva su obojena emocijama i ljudi koriste jezik da bi iskustva oblikovali u priče u toku društvenih interakcija (Vygotsky, 2004). Razmatrajući dečji razvoj, Vigotski daje svoje mišljenje i o razvoju kreativnosti kod dece. On objašnjava ljudsku kreativnost kroz dva osnovna tipa. Prvi tip naziva reproduktivnom vrstom ljudskog ponašanja i objašnjava to kao ljudsku sposobnost da prizove sećanja iz prošlosti i reprodukuje ih kroz reči, crteže i druge ekspresivne metode. U ovom slučaju, Vigotski primećuje da ljudi ne proizvode ništa novo i originalno. Drugi tip Vigotski naziva kombinatorno ili kreativno ljudsko ponašanje. U ovom slučaju ljudi koriste svoju maštu da izraze događaje i predstave iz prošlosti ili budućnosti, koje nisu deo njihovog ličnog iskustva. Ova vrsta ljudske aktivnosti je kreativna i proizvodi originalne stvari. Dalje, Vigotski smatra da je kreativnost bitna za ljudsku egzistenciju i da se prvi tragovi kreativnosti mogu uočiti u predškolskom periodu, naročito u dečjoj igri uloga (Vygotsky, 2004).


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Priče u različitim oblastima dečjeg razvoja

U poslednjih nekoliko godina, dosta se komentarisalo o pravom pedagoškom pristupu i usklađivanju između struktuirane prakse i one bazirane na dečjoj igri, kao i između razvoja pismenosti, matematike i dečje kreativnosti (Martlew, Stephen, & Ellis, 2011; Prentice, 2000; Rao, Ng, & Pearson, 2010). Priče zasluženo imaju svoje mesto u različitim oblastima dečjeg razvoja i Hendi i Tun smatraju da vaspitači treba ozbiljnije da prihvate ulogu priča u svom radu (Hendy & Toon, 2001).

Priče i razvoj jezika kod dece predškolskog uzrasta

Predškolski period je vreme kada deca razvijaju govorni jezik kao i veštine poput slušanja, pisanja i čitanja. Razvoj govora je bitan jer predstavlja sastavni deo procesa učenja, komunikacije i društvenih interakcija (Wells, 1981). Bruk i Rankin smatraju da deca kad-tad usvoje sistem simbola koji se koristi u komunikaciji i da je bitno da deca imaju pozitivna iskustva u periodu kada razvoj govora započinje (Brock & Rankin, 2008). Razvoj govora zavisi od velikog broja faktora. Zdravlje i intelektualni razvoj, okruženje u kom dete odrasta (ono bi trebalo da detetu pruži iskustva koja obiluju govornim aktivnostima) i životno blagostanje, samo su neki od uslova koji doprinose kvalitetu razvoja govora. Sa ciljem da deci pomognu u razvijanju govora, odrasli treba da se trude da dečja okolina bude stimulativna i da obiluje aktivnostima koje će unapređivati dečji govor. Pogodne aktivnosti za razvoj govora su: fonološke i azbučne aktivnosti, slobodna igra kao prirodni ambijent za razvoj govora, prepoznavanje slova u neposrednom okruženju i čitanje i pričanje priča. Ovakvim aktivnostima vaspitači mogu dosta da doprinesu razvoju govora kod dece (Pelletier, 2011; Roskos, Christie & Richgels, 2003). Različiti pedagoški pristupi takođe mogu da utiču na kvalitet pismenosti kod dece. Nikolopolou, Mekdauel i Brukmajer se zalažu za ravnotežu između aktivnosti koje su vođene od strane vaspitača i onih koje su inicirane od strane dece. Istraživanja pokazuju da su načini na koje deca razumeju odrasle i prihvataju date instrukcije, različiti. Dalje, oni ističu da su priče bitne u razvoju govora jer pomažu deci da shvate simbolički potencijal jezika. Dok slušaju priče, razvijaju slike realnog i imaginarnog sveta. (Nicolopoulou, McDowell & Brockmeyer, 2006). Razmatrajući proces dečjeg opismenjavanja, Miler i Penikaf smatraju da se mnoga dece muče pri učenju slova. Oni vide pripovedanje kao bitan faktor u razvoju pismenosti zbog međusobno povezanih procesa koji se odvijaju prilikom čitanja, pričanja i pisanja. Dalje, oni smatraju da su društvene aktivnosti bitne za razvoj pismenosti, a pripovedanje priča vide kao aktivnost gde su i deca i odrasli u prilici da budu društveno aktivni (Miller & Pennycuff, 2008). Izbel, Sobol, Lindauer i Lorenc uradili su istraživanje o uticaju koji priče imaju na razvoj govora kod dece uzrasta tri do pet godina. Deca su podeljena u dve grupe i obe grupe su čule iste priče. Jednoj grupi čitano je iz knjiga, dok su se drugoj grupi priče pričale. Rezultati su pokazali da su deca, kojoj su pričane priče, bila u stanju da bolje registruju likove i radnju u pričama, kao i da su bolje razumela moralne poruke. I mnoga druga istraživanja pokazuju da deca uživaju u bilo kom obliku prezentacije priča i da ove aktivnosti utiču pozitivno na razvoj govora (Collins, 1999; Isbell, 2002; Isbell et al., 2004; LaFlamme, 1975; Malo & Bullard 2000).

Priče i kreativni razvoj dece predškolskog uzrasta

Holistički pristup predškolskom obrazovanju i vaspitanju podrazumeva da se radi na kreativnom i psihomotornom razvoju isto koliko i na kognitivnom (Edwards, 1990). Pramling


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Samuelson, Asplund Karlson, Olson, Pramling i Valersted smatraju da su deca najkreativnija u predškolskom periodu kada su izraženo radoznala i razigrana. Dečja kreativnost ogleda se u njihovoj sposobnosti da koriste jezik, stvaraju nove reči, pričaju i izmišljaju priče i pesme, glume, slikaju ili igraju. Pramling Samuelson i dr. takođe ističu i bitnu ulogu roditelja i vaspitača u kreativnom razvoju dece (Pramling Samuelsson, Asplund Carlsson, Olsson, Pramling & Wallerstedt, 2009). U dokumentu škotskog Konsultativnog saveta o predškolskom programu, istraživanja na temu kreativnosti pokazuju kako različite vrste ekspresivne umetnosti mogu biti kombinovane i da pritom donesu značajne benefite deci. Jedna od studija sprovedena je u galeriji. Deca su bila u prilici da vide likove iz bajki, urađene vodenim bojama. Nakon što su pogledala izložbu, deca su bila ohrabrena da izmisle priču gde će glavni likovi biti upravo oni koje su videli na izložbi. Priča je takođe trebalo da bude izražena kroz različite pokrete telom. Deca su u kreiranju priče radila sa profesionalnim plesačem koji im je pomogao da se izraze kroz pokret, a kasnije su sarađivala sa skulptorom koji im je pomogao da od gline naprave likove iz svojih priča. Cilj ove studije bio je da se organizuje kreativna radionaica u kojoj će deca biti u prilici da isprobaju različite umetničke tehnike.

Priče i dečja igra

Igra je jako bitna u dečjem životu iako se ponekad doživljava odvojeno od procesa učenja; mnoga istraživanja pokazuju da je igra dečji način da uče i upoznaju svet oko sebe (Bodrova, 2008; Gupta, 2009; Pramling Samuelsson & Asplund Carlsson, 2008). Igre uloga su veoma čest oblik dečje igre. To je igra kroz koju deca glume i imitiraju likove i događaje iz svoje svakodnevice i time ih bolje razumeju. Hendi i Tun smatraju da kroz igre uloga deca manipulišu identitetima i ispoljavaju svoje shvatanje kulture i društva u kome odrastaju (Hendy & Toon, 2001). Gupta smatra da igre uloga i imitacije daju deci prostor da sazrevaju u oblasti kognitivnog, emocionalnog, kinestetičkog i kreativnog razvoja. Dalje, ona smatra da kroz pričanje priča i igre uloga, deca mogu da izraze svoje potrebe, unaprede svoj govor i obogate rečnik (Gupta, 2009). Nikolopolou smatra da su pričanje priča i igre uloga komplementarne aktivnosti. U istraživanju koje je Nikolopolou radila u jednoj predškolskoj ustanovi, pričanje priča i igre uloga bili su uobičajen i sastavni deo programa. Deca su svakodnevno smišljala i diktirala svoje priče vaspitaču. U toku radnog dana te priče su dramatizovane i pričane svoj deci. Ovakva aktivnost je omogućila deci da osmisle priču i učestvuju u njenom izvođenju. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da su deca bila jako maštovita pri izboru tema i likova za svoje priče. Često su poznate priče i njihova lična iskustva bila deo priča. Deca su u isto vreme pokazala i zrelost u selektovanju i prilagođavanju elemenata priče svojim ličnim afinitetima (Nicolopoulou, 2007).

Priče i nova tehnološka sredstva u dečjem razvoju

Još jedan način da se deca angažuju u igri, a da u isto vreme budu kreativna i inovativna je da prihvate izazove koje donose nova tehnološka sredstva. To za decu ne predstavlja veliki problem s obzirom na to da su po prirodi radoznala. Jiland vidi tehnološka sredstva kao pomoćni materijal u dečjoj igri i otkrivanju sveta koji ih okružuje. Dalje, on smatra da su tehnološka sredstva pogodna i za kreiranje priča. Na primer, kamerama deca mogu da prave


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fotografije od kojih će kasnije kreirati priču. Tehnološka sredstva daju novu dimenziju pričama dok priče koje deca vole − čine ove uređaje interesantnim za decu (Yelland, 2011). Kolbert smatra da informaciona i komunikaciona tehnološka sredstva stimulišu decu da pišu ili pričaju priče koje su bogatije u izboru teme, sadržaja i likova. On u tehnološkim sredstvima takođe vidi prednost i za vaspitače. Mogućnost da vaspitač priču predstavi multimedijalno čini svaku obrazovnu aktivnost interesantnijom za decu (Colbert, 2006). Riokaji i Kasel predstavljaju potpuno inovativni pristup u podržavanju dečje igre kroz pričanje priča. Glavna tehnološka potpora u ovom istraživanju je kompjuterska prostirka za pričanje priča (storymat). Prostirka predstavlja tehnološko sredstvo za igru i podsticaj dece da pričaju priče. Osim za razvoj govora i igru, ova prostirka ima i socijalnu komponentu jer podstiče saradnju među decom. Dok se dete igra i priča priču na prostirci, kompjuter unutar prostirke snima priču i beleži kretanje koje dete izvodi sa lutkama. Kada dete završi sa igrom i pričanjem priče, kompjuter upoređuje snimljenu priču sa pričama koje su prethodno deca pričala. Najsličnija priča se emituje i deca koja su ispričala priče sa sličnim sadržajem mogu da sarađuju i menjaju željene elemente priče. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da je prostirka odlično sredstvo za razvoj govora i negovanje pripovedačkih sposobnosti kod dece. Ovaj kao i mnogi drugi materijali tog tipa, čine da tehnološka sredstva postanu poželjna u procesu učenja.

Metodološki pristup

Veliki broj istraživanja o pričama i njihovoj ulozi u razvoju dece, navela su me da razmišljam o mestu koje pripada pričama u oblasti predškolskog obrazovanja. Dečja zainteresovanost za priče i način na koji su priče integrisane u dečje odrastanje nije nov fenomen u istraživačkim radovima. Međutim, istraživanja vezanih za vaspitače i njihovo viđenje priča, nema u izobilju. Trenutak neizvesnosti i treme koju sam osetila kada sam se pripremala da deci ispričam priču, doveli su do toga da razmislim o kvalitetima koje vaspitač treba da poseduje ili razvije da bi bio dobar pripovedač. Praksa bazirana na pričama unapredila je moj pristup radu sa decom. Zato je cilj ovog istraživanja bio da se stekne uvid u to kako vaspitači doživljavaju priče, kao i kako komentarišu metode koje koriste u prezentaciji priča, u različitim obrazovnim i razvojnim oblastima. Pitanje koje je vodilo ovo istraživanje je: Kako vaspitači percipiraju priče u predškolskoj praksi? Što se tiče dizajna istraživanja, nakon što je utvrđeno da je istraživačko pitanje deskriptivne prirode i da se očekuje velika količina tekstualnih podataka, odlučila sam da istraživanje bude kvalitativno intervju istraživanje, malog obima. Flik, fon Kardorf i Stainke smatraju da kvalitativno istraživanje opisuje život i svet „iznutra”, sa stanovišta ljudi koji učestvuju u istraživanju. Na taj nači, kvalitativno istraživanje doprinosi boljem razumevanju društvene stvarnosti i skreće pažnju na procese, strukturalne karakteristike i misaone obrasce (Flick von Kardorff & Steinke, 2004). Kao takvo, kvalitativno istraživanje omogućilo je da se istraživanom fenomenu priđe iznutra i da se kao poseban element istražuju vaspitači i njihovi stavovi, misaoni obrasci i strukturalne karakteristike prakse koja se bazira na pričama. Za obezbeđivanje uzorka korišćena je metoda neslučajnog ciljanog uzorkovanja. Ova metoda ukazuje da je uzorak odabran sa posebnim ciljem i da učesnici u istraživanju poseduju određeno znanje o istraživanom fenomenu (Fossey, Harvey, McDermott & Davidson, 2002; Teddlie and Yu, 2007).


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Podaci su prikupljeni kroz polustruktuirane intervjue (Dicicco-Blum & Crabtree, 2006). Za analizu podata korišćena je metoda analize značenja (Kvale, 1996). Intervjui su transkribovani, pročitani i kodirani. Dobijeni podaci su obrađeni metodom kondenzovanja i interpretacije značenja. Ovaj proces mi je omogućio da suzim veliki količinu podataka, uporedim odgovore, kondenzujem značenje i interpretiram rezultate u skladu sa postojećom literaturom i teoretskim okvirom

Rezultati

Analizirani podaci dali su interesantne informacije o stavu vaspitača prema pričama, kao i o njihovoj zastupljenosti u različitim domenima dečjeg razvoja. Priče kao sredstvo za razvoj govora Vaspitači prijavljuju da koriste različite metode pri obradi i prezentaciji priča. Kakav god da je metod, pričanje ili čitanje, analiza ili dramatizacija priče, vaspitači se slažu da priče utiču na razvoj govora kod dece, predstavljajući im nove reči i misaone koncepte.

Što pre počneš da čitaš deci priče, to bolje, jer utiče na razvoj govora. Kada deci pričaš priču, možeš da koristiš neku reč koja se ne koristi u svakodnevnoj komunikaciji. Na taj način deca usvajaju nove reči i bogate rečnik. (Vaspitač A)

Vaspitači posebnu pažnju pridaju novim rečima i smatraju da ih, kada se u toku čitanja susretnu sa novim rečim, treba deci objasniti, a ne zameniti već poznatim rečima. Takav pristup pomaže deci da nove reči prihvate i da pokušaju da ih koriste. Neki vaspitači posebno akcentuju korišćenje različitih metoda poput čitanja, pričanja i pokazivanja teksta i ilustracija deci. Po njima, na taj način deca uočavaju strukturu rečenica, uče reči i prepoznaju slova što će im kasnije pomoći da lakše nauče da čitaju i pričaju. Socijalni aspekt priča Jedan od važnih aspekata dečjeg razvoja je socijalizacija i razvoj komunikativnih sposobnosti. Dok borave u vrtiću, deca su okružena odraslima i decom i izložena različitim socijalnim iskustvima. Takva sredina utiče da se deca prilagođavaju, uče da koriste jezik i komuniciraju sa svojim okruženjem. Rezultati ovog istraživanja pokazuju da priče, naročito lične koje deca sponatno pričaju, predstavljaju dragocen materijal za vaspitače. Oni smatraju da deca pričanjem ličnih priča razvijaju svoj jezik, komuniciraju i šalju poruke odraslima. Priče kao sredstvo komunikacije Vaspitači smatraju da je jako važno da se deci pomogne da nauče da se izraze i komuniciraju sa svojom okolinom. Kada je priča uključena u konverzaciju među decom, ta konverzacija je obično zabavna, ali u isto vreme i ozbiljna. Jedan od primera konstruktivne priče među decom je tehnika „Sokratovi dijalozi”, koju je jedan od vaspitača naveo kao dobar metod.

Ja takođe koristim ,,Sokratove dijaloge” u svom poslu. Oni imaju filozofsku formu i u toku razgovora postoje pravila koja i deca i vaspitači poštuju. U ,,Sokratovim dijalozima” mogu da se koriste priče, slike, pesme, novinski članci, ali osnova svega je priča. (Vaspitač B)

Tehnika „Sokratovi dijalozi” omogućava deci da u grupi iznose i diskutuju o problemima koje imaju među sobom. Ova tehnika ih po mišljenju vaspitača čini aktivnim agentima u formiranju


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znanja o društvenim odnosima. Baza ovih dijaloga je priča i vaspitač konstatuje da deca uglavnom pričaju lične priče. Pričajući te priče, deca voljno dele svoja iskustva sa drugarima i uče iz njih. Priča kao glasnik U svojoj diskusiji o pričama i njihovoj ulozi, vaspitači izjavljuju da priče takođe doživljavaju kao glasnike. Priče mogu da prenesu poruku deci, vaspitačima i roditeljima. Sa ove tačke gledišta priče se mogu posmatrati kao socijalno i kulturno sredstvo koje ljude proklamuje kao kulturna bića, koja dele svoja iskustva kroz priče. Ako tražimo poruke koje priče prenose vaspitačima, možemo da se fokusiramo na lične priče koje deca pričaju sponatno. Vaspitači smatraju da takve priče mogu da pomognu vaspitačima da razumeju dete i njegove potrebe u određenom razvojnom periodu. Vaspitači dodaju da treba obazrivo pristupati ličnim pričama, jer one predstavljaju detetovu percepciju stvarnosti u određenom trenutku. Kada se posmatra iz dečje perspektive, vaspitači smatraju da priče prenose različite poruke deci. Ponavljajući istu priču nanovo, deca uče sadržaj i strukturu priče. Na taj način deca primaju poruke, grade i prihvataju njihovo značenje. Vaspitači ističu da je bitno izabrati odgovarajuću poruku, kao i da uvek treba obratiti pažnju kakvu poruku priča šalje deci. Vaspitači smatraju da lične priče mogu da prenesu i značajne poruke roditeljima. Slušajući pažljivo dečje priče, roditelji mogu da budu deo detetovog unutrašnjeg sveta i pomognu detetu kada je to potrebno. Nije bitno gde deca pričaju priče, u vrtiću ili kod kuće, bitna je saradnja između roditelja i vaspitača, koja omogućava da i jedni i drugi prime i razumeju poruke koje deca šalju kroz priče. Priče i razvoj kreativnosti kod dece Razgovori sa vaspitačima u toku istraživanja ukazali su da je za njih svaki segment dečjeg razvoja podjednako bitan. Ipak, faktori kao što je broj dece u grupi ili odbojnost vaspitača prema aktivnostima koje podrazumevaju nered i recimo prljanje bojama, dovode do toga da kreativne aktivnosti često izostaju u radu vaspitača. Razvoj maštovitosti vaspitači smatraju jako bitnim, a priče vide kao izvor ideja i kreativnonog razmišljanja. Kao primere kreativnih aktivnosti vaspitači uglavnom navode slikanje bojama, glumu i izmišljanje prča sa decom. Priče kao sredstvo za razumevanje dečjih crteža Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da se dečji crteži koriste da bi se predstavila priča, ali isto tako, vaspitači koriste priču da bi sa decom analizirali crteže. Priče i crteži predstavljaju materijal koji vaspitačima pruža priliku da organizuju aktivnosti u kojima će dečja kreativnost biti maksimalno upošljena. Jedna od aktivnosti koja je uvek interesantna za decu je prezentacija priče sa zanimljivim i upečatljivim likovima. Nakon čitanja priče deca uživaju u prezentovanju ovih likova uz pomoć različitih umetničkih tehnika. U toku intervjua, jedan od vaspitača mi je pokazao crtež petogodišnje devojčice. Vaspitač je opisao crtež kao priču unutar crteža. Priča govori o boginji mora, koja je imala muža. Muž je napustio i ona je bila jako usamljena. Jednoga dana muž se vratio da obriše njene suze i ostali


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su zajedno, zauvek srećni. Vaspitač je ovu priču napisao na poleđini crteža. To je praksa koju često praktikuje. Priču koju dete ispriča u vezi sa crtežom, vaspitač zapiše na poleđini i kasnije je diskutuje sa decom. Druga aktivnost koju je jedan od vaspitača naveo pokazuje kako pričanje priča i crtanje iniciraju i produbljuju timski rad među decom. Vaspitač je objasnio da svaki dan po jedno dete priča priču. Nakon toga, deca su slobodna da crtaju različite situacije i likove iz ispričane priče. Na sledećoj grupnoj aktivnosti deca sklapaju crteže i prave slikovnicu. Ova aktivnost je korisna iz više razloga. Deca su u prilici da pričaju i slušaju priče, da crtaju i prave slikovnice, da na osnovu crteža menjaju i prilagođavaju sadržaj priča, kao i da razvijaju timski rad. Priče kao put ka maštovitosti Vaspitači nalaze da je razvoj mašte i imaginacije jako bitan jer daje deci mogućnost da razumeju sadašnjost, zamišljaju budućnost i vide stvari iz perspektive drugih ljudi. Vaspitači vole da predstave deci maštu kao njihov ličan svet u koji niko ne može da se meša. Zato oni uče decu da razvijaju i vrednuju svoju maštovitost. Priče, pozorište i film su dobri načini da deca budu povremeno u svetu mašte. Iako je razvoj imaginacije okarakterisan kao bitan, pojedini vaspitači ističu da neka deca previše žive u svetu mašte. Kompjuterske igrice su, po mišljenju vaspitača, izvor nerealnih predstava kojima su deca izložena. Korišćnje tehnoloških sredstava u pripovedanju Izgleda da su digitalne priče veoma popularne među decom i vaspitačima. Uređaji poput kompjutera, tableta i interaktivne bele table pogodni su za prezentaciju priča, a među decom su popularnije priče u obliku crtanih filmova. Mišljenja vaspitača u vezi sa pričama i tehnološkim sredstvima su podeljena. Jedni smatraju da se priče i tehnologija dopunjavaju i da ovi uređaji poboljšavaju kvalitet priča. Drugi su mišljenja da digitalna sredstva uzimaju primat i da tradicionalno pripovedanje gubi svoje mesto u predškolskoj praksi. Ipak, svi vaspitači su se složili da deca treba da su tehnološki pismena, ali da kompjutere treba koristiti svesno i sa merom. Vaspitači ističu da u svom radu koriste tablete i kompjutere. Zajedno sa vaspitačima ili sama, deca imaju inicijativu i vole da koriste kompjutere. Uživaju kombinujući različite slike, pri čemu uče boje, slova, brojeve i prave kratke priče. Najveći broj ispitanika nalazi da deca uživaju gledajući priče u formi crtanog filma i da su tableti u vrtićima vrlo korisno sredstvo. Ipak, nekoliko vaspitača je komentarisalo obrazovni aspekt ove aktivnosti − izneli su zabrinutost da dok gledaju crtani film deca ne nalaze vreme da razmisle o tome šta su videla. Gledanje crtanog filma se zato uglavnom svodi na zabavnu aktivnost. Nasuprot crtanim filmovima, dok slušaju priču, deca mogu uporedo da komentarišu sa vaspitačem o poenti i porukama koje priča šalje.

Diskusija

Rezultati ovog istraživanja pokazuju da su priče deo vaspitačke prakse i da vaspitači cene ulogu priča u svom radu. Priče su percipirane kao obrazovna sredstva i koriste se u razvojnim


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domenima poput matematike, razvoja govora, upoznavanja okoline ili fizičkog, muzičkog i kreativnog vaspitanja. Priče kao okvir za razvoj govora i komunikacije Predškolski period je vreme kada deca ovladavaju jezikom i kada kroz društvene aktivnosti usvajaju komunikativne veštine. Diskutujući razvoj jezika i misli, Vigotski smatra da su ova dva procesa različita, ali da se prepliću na određenom nivou kognitivnog razvoja. Deca na određenom nivou kognitivnog razvoja savladavaju jezik kojim mogu jasnije da izraze svoje misli. Vigotski takođe smatra da neposredno dečje okruženje utiče i na razvoj govora i na tok misli (Vygotsky, 1986). Vaspitači u ovom istraživanju izjavljuju da su priče dosta zastupljene u njihovom radu. Razvoj govora i komunikacije su domeni koje vaspitači posebno ističu kada govore o svrsishodnosti priča. Oni uviđaju da, dok slušaju priču, deca postaju svesna rečenične strukture i simbola koji se koriste u priči, kao i u svakodnevnoj komunikaciji. Njihovo aktivno učešće u pričanju priča ili gledanju ilustracija i teksa u knjigama, utiče da deca lakše nauče da čitaju i pišu. Miler i Penikaf ističu da je pričanje priča bitno u procesu razvoja govora i pismenosti zbog međusobno povezanih procesa, koji su sastavni deo pripovedanja, čitanja i pisanja. Dalje, oni smatraju da se razvoj govora i komunikacionih veština lakše odvija ukoliko je dete društevno aktivno, što je jednim delom tvrdio i Vigotski. On je video pričanje priča kao idealan način da deca i odrasli budu socijalno aktivni (Miller & Pennycuff, 2008; Vygotsky, 1986). Vezano za razvoj govora, Bruk i Rankin smatraju da deca pre ili kasnije, ukoliko ne postoje neke smetnje, savladavaju simbole koji se koriste u komunikaciji. Peltijer i Roskos, Kristi i Ričgels smatraju da sa ciljem razvoja jezika i komunikativnosti kod dece, vaspitači treba da koriste fonološke aktivnosti, prepoznavanje slova u neposrednoj okolini ili pričanje i čitanje priča (Brock & Rankin, 2008; Pelletier, 2011; Roskos, Christie & Richgels, 2003). U toku intervjua, vaspitači su upravo tako i opisivali svoje aktivnosti. Uglavnom je postojala korelacija između pričanja priče, korišćenja knjige i ilustacija, kao i materijala iz neposredne okoline. Kao način da se sa decom razvije otvorena komunikacija i da se rešavaju nesporazumi, jedan od vaspitača pominje tehniku „Sokratovih dijaloga”. Vaspitač ističe da su deca monogo otvorenija i opuštenije diskutuju o problemima kada su oni predstavljeni u obliku priče. Dauli i Meknami komentarišu „Sokratove dijaloge”, koji su predstavljeni u Pejlijinom programu, kao pozitivan pristup rešavanju problema kroz otvorenu komunikaciju. Priče se u ovom istraživanju kometarišu i u obliku glasnika. Vaspitači smatraju da se putem priča, poruke mogu poslati deci, roditeljima i vaspitačima. Kroz poruke koje primaju putem priča, deca uče o svojoj kulturi i društvu u kome odrastaju. An i Filipenko smatraju da priče utiču na to kako deca vide svet koji ih okružuje, kao i svoje mesto u tom svetu (Ahn & Filipenko, 2007). Po mišljenju vaspitača, roditelji i vaspitači mogu mnogo da nauče o deci ukoliko više obrate pažnju na dečje narative. Vaspitači dalje daju primere, u kojima deca kroz priču pokušavaju da komuniciraju sa okolinom. Ovo stanovište podražava i Endžel koja smatra da su priče koje deca pričaju od velike važnosti u njihovom životu i da odrasli iz njih mogu mnogo da nauče (Engel, 1995).


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Kreativnost u kontekstu priča Cilj predškolskog obrazovanja je holistički razvoj dece koji podrazumeva kognitivni, socio-emocionalni i razvoj motorike i kreativnosti. Parmling Samuelson i dr. smatraju da su deca najkreativnija u predškolskom periodu kada su i izraženo radoznala (Pramling Samuelson et al., 2009). Vigotski objašnjava ljudsku kreativnost kroz dva osnovna tipa, reproduktivni i kombinatorni (Vygotsky, 2004). U toku ovog istraživanja, vaspitači ističu bitnost kreativnog razvoja kod dece, kao i veliku ulogu priča u tom razvoju. Vaspitači ističu da deca svoju kreativnost ispoljavaju kroz mnoge aktivnosti, ali posebno kroz igre uloga, pričanje priča i crtanje. Vaspitači navode primere u kojima deca kombinuju crtanje i pričanje priča. Ponekad su priče ili crteži rezultat dečjeg ličnog iskustva, a ponekad rezultat dečje mašte. Kreativna teorija Vigotskog može da se primeni u slučaju ovih primera. Vaspitači vide niz mogućnosti u kojima mogu da povežu pričanje priča sa aktivnostima crtanja i bojenja. Deca su uglavnom jako zainteresovana da čuju priče sa upečatljivim sadržajem i likovima, koje posle vole da crtaju i boje. Osim već poznatih priča, lične priče koje deca pričaju su takođe pogodan materijal za crtanje. Po mišljenju vaspitača, priče i crteži povezani na ovaj način su dobro obrazovno sredstvo, ali i dobar materijal za upoznavanje dečjeg sveta. Grifits i Rajt smatraju da su pripovedanje i crtanje tehnike pomoću kojih deca mogu da prilagode kompoziciju crteža ili priče svojim ličnim potrebama (Griffiths, 2010; Wright, 2010). Vigotski smatra da mašta i kreativnost idu zajedno i da ne postoji striktna linija između fantazije i realnosti. Sve ono što mašta stvara ima svoje korene u realnosti. Dalje, on smatra da je nečija mašta bogata onoliko, koliko su mu bogata i životna iskustva. Zato Vigotski insistira da odrasli treba da stvore stimulativnu okolinu za dečji razvoj. U takvoj okolini, deca prihvataju različite elemente realnosti koji se kasnije obrađuju kroz imaginativne operacije (Vygotsky, 2004). Vaspitači ističu priče kao koristan materijal koji upotrebljavaju da bi deci predstavili realne i fiktivne događaje. Oni dalje ističu da priče mogu da posluže kao dobar materijal za stvaranje stimulativne sredine za dečji razvoj. Još jedna oblast koja podupire razvoj dečje kreativnosti je igra uloga (Vygotsky, 2004). Vaspitači komentarišu priče kao odličan materijal za dramske aktivnosti i igre uloga. Gupta smatra da igre uloga pružaju deci bogat prostor za kognitivno, emocionalno i kreativno sazrevanje (Gupta, 2009). Ova izjava se podudara sa praksom vaspitača u kojoj se priče koriste ciljano, u aktivnostima, i spontano u toku dečje igre. Tehnološka budućnost priča Nova tehnološka sredstva pružaju vaspitačima mogućnost da njihova praksa bude inovativna i interesantnija za decu. Svedoci smo toga da danas deca veoma vešto rukuju modernim tehnološkim uređajima. Moderna tehnološka sredstva bacaju drugačije svetlo na fenomen priča, kao jedno od najstarijih načina za oblikovanje ljudskog iskustva. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da neki vaspitači podržavaju primenu novih tehnologija, dok drugi smatraju da će tehnološki uređaji potpuno istisnuti pripovedanje iz prakse. Takođe, jedna grupa vaspitača opominje da uređaje treba koristiti savesno i umereno, dok drugi ističu da je bitno raditi na tehnološkom opismenjavanju dece.


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Sve u svemu, vaspitači su mišljenja da tehnološka sredstva čine dečje okruženje stimulativnijim i izazovnijim za rad i učenje. Po njima, okruženje igra veoma važnu ulogu u procesu učenja. Ovo viđenje je podržano i od strane Vigotskog, koji takođe ističe sredinu kao bitan faktor u procesu učenja (Vygotsky, 2004). Kolbert i Jeland smatraju da tehnološka sredstva stimulišu decu da istražuju svoju okolinu, kao i da pričaju i izmišljaju priče (Colbert, 2006; Yelland, 2011).

Zaključak

Od kada su ljudi ovladali jezikom kao sredstvom komunikacije, počeli su da oblikuju svoja iskustva u formi priča. Pripovedanje kao oblik prenošenja kulture, tradicije i znanja, postoji vekovima. U ljudskoj istoriji priče imaju veliku vrednost u očuvanju istorije i kulturnog nasleđa. Predškolski period je doba kada se deca razvijaju i uče kroz rad, posmatranje i slušanje. Tradicionalni oblik pripovedanja ima svoje zasluženo mesto u predškolskoj praksi. Priče su sastavni deo dečjeg života i evidentno je da su benefiti prakse, koja je bazirana na pričama, veliki. Priče se koriste u razvoju govora i komunikativnih veština. One utiču na dečje poimanje sveta u kome žive, kao i njihove uloge u njemu. Kao deo obrazovnih aktivnosti priče mogu da se koriste i u razvoju kreativnosti i motorike. Ova studija je sprovedena kao intervju istraživanje, malog obima. U istraživanju je učestvovalo osam vaspitača iz švedskih i internacionalnih vrtića. U toku intervjuisanja dali su svoja mišljenja u vezi sa pričama i ulozi koju priče imaju u predškolskom obrazovanju. Dobijeni podaci su analizirani i dali su neke interesantne detalje vezane za praksu, baziranu na pričama. Vaspitači su istakli da su svesni vrednosti koje priče imaju, kao i da ih često koriste kao obrazovno sredstvo ili za zabavu dece. Kao metod, vaspitači ističu da vole da čitaju priče iz knjiga, ali da isto tako ponekad i pričaju priče ili ih dramatizuju sa decom. Vaspitači komentarišu važnu ulogu priča u razvoju govora, matematike, upoznavanja okoline i razvoju kreativnosti. Što se tiče modernih tehnoloških uređaja, vaspitači vide dobru vezu između priča i kompjutera, ali izražavaju i zabrinutost da će tehnološka sredstva u potpunosti istisnuti tradicionalni način pričanja priča iz predškolske prakse.

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of Early Childhood, 36 (2), 4.

Biografska nota

Dragana Gnjatović je diplomirala na Visokoj školi strukovnih studija za vaspitače „Mihailo Palov”, u Vršcu. Nakon toga, radila je kao vaspitač u predškolskoj ustanovi „Ljubica Vrebalov” u Požarevcu. Od 2005. godine bila je zaposlena u kompaniji „Montenegro Stars Hotel Group” u Crnoj Gori, kao organizacioni menadžer Dečjeg kluba, Hotel ,,Splendid”. Dobitnik je Erazmus Mundus stipendije zahvaljujući kojoj je 2014. godine završila internacionalni master predškolskog obrazovanja i vaspitanja.

Gnjatović: STORIES IN DIFFERENT DOMAINS OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

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Dragana Gnjatović1

Child care facility Original scientific paper University of Malta UDK: 37.022

DOI: 10.17810/2015.07

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STORIES IN DIFFERENT DOMAINS OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Resume: This article is based on the results gained from the research about the perception teachers have about stories. The study was conducted in Sweden and the main purpose was to partially fulfil the requirements for Erasmus Mundus joint degree “International Master of Early Childhood Education and Care”. In accordance with previous research that are based, on the benefits of story-based practice for the child development, this research analyzes and discusses teachers’ perceptions of the stories in their practice. In order to get the answers to the research question, a small-scale interview study was conducted. Data was collected in four preschools in South-western Sweden, including one international and three Swedish preschools. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The questions were designed as open-ended in order to gain broad and deep information about the teachers’ perceptions on stories in preschool practice. The study adopted Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory as a theoretical framework. The study showed that the new technological era, brings innovative approach to teaching and learning though the teachers still appreciate and value a good story. They argue that storytelling should be part of early childhood practice and preschool curriculum. This study looked at the teachers and their perception of stories since studies about teachers' perspectives are not in abundance. Certainly, the understanding of the importance of the stories, would be more evident, if some of the future studies would consider the views of children regarding stories in their childhood. Key words: early childhood education, developmental areas, storytelling.

Introduction

Child development implies many aspects, but what lately has become the focus of attention is literacy development and readiness for school on one side and art and creativity development on the other. Preschool activities are expected to be governed by children’s needs and interests and the time children spend in free play becomes very important. All of this is followed by new age technologies that bring new approaches in teaching and learning processes. Where do the stories fit into this diversity of educational needs and pedagogical approaches?

1 1 [email protected]


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A great deal of research discusses the role stories have on child development and addresses benefits children have from storytelling practice. Isbell, Sobol, Lindauer and Lowrance (2004) argue that through stories children acquire language, vocabulary development and they develop communication skills. Engel (1995) argues that children, who lack storytelling in their life, cannot be fully literate. Dowley and McNamee (2005) argue about Paleys’ statement that through children’s narratives, the adults can reach children’s thoughts and concerns. Ahn and Filipenko (2007) argue that storytelling and children’s narratives affect the way children form the picture of self and construct an understanding of the world. Opposed to the traditional storytelling, Boltman and Druin (2003) argue that storybooks did not outplay new technologies and that children are eager to engage in technology. By discovering children as important users of technologies, stories got a significant place in technology designs. Famous story characters are digitized and used for educational programs for children.

Theoretical Framework of the Study

In order to provide high quality service and meet the needs of children, teachers face many challenges when choosing pedagogical and methodological approaches and teaching philosophy. In the light of contemporary views on teaching practice, the approach should be child centered and play based. At the same time, the teacher is an active observer who gives the support and stimulates the child to reach his highest developmental potentials. Different developmental theories like psychoanalytic child development theories, cognitive, behavioural and socio-cultural theories, give wide scope of approaches and definitions that can help teachers in their understanding of children’s behaviour and developmental capabilities. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of human learning refers to learning and development that occurs at two levels, first, on the social level and later on the individual level. Social environment and interactions with other humans are of the main importance for Vygotsky, who saw the development as the transformation of socially shared experiences into internalized processes (Rogoff & Morelli, 1989). According to socio-cultural approaches, humans act in a social environment where their actions and interactions are presented through language and other symbols (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996). Vygotsky (1978) argues that, human’s higher mental functions have to be treated in the social sphere, before they are internally integrated through thinking and the use of language. Lutz and Huitt (2004) argue about the principles that underline Vygotsky’s theory and state that the importance of social interactions for cognitive development is related to what is learned, where, and how the learning process occurs. This principle highlights the importance of the fact that the learning process should be a result of social interactions, where the learner’s use of language and symbols brings complexity to the thinking process. Socio-cultural theory focuses on the social and cultural context of child development and language as a cognitive tool. Vygotsky (1986) argues that when mastering the ability of external speech, humans start with one word and slowly proceed towards sentences that are more meaningful. Language and imagination give to the humans an ability to express their feelings. Vygotsky (2004) argues that imaginative images give internal language of human emotions. All life experiences are coloured with emotions. People use language to shape the experiences and to socially interact and communicate their stories to others.


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While discussing child development, Vygotsky (2004) also gives his opinion about creative development. Vygotsky explains human creativity through two basic types. First one, Vygotsky calls reproductive type of human behaviour and explains it as the human ability to recall memories from the past and reproduce them through words, drawings or other expressive mediums. Here, Vygotsky notices that humans are not producing anything new and original. Second one, Vygotsky names combinatorial or creative human behaviour. In this case, humans use their imagination to picture things from the past or future that are not part of their personal experience. This kind of human activity is creative and produces new things. Further, Vygotsky argues that creativity is essential for human existence and that first trace of creativity can be noticed in the early childhood period, especially in children’s role-play.

Stories in different areas of child development

In recent years, there have been many discussions about the right pedagogical approaches and reconciliation between play based and structured pedagogies as well as literacy and numeracy development and creativity (Martlew, Stephen & Ellis, 2011; Prentice, 2000; Rao, Ng & Pearson, 2010). Stories and storytelling as a phenomenon certainly have its place in different domains of child development. Hendy and Toon (2001) argue that teachers should take the stories seriously in their practice and not only as an entertainment session at the end of a learning activity.

Stories and Language Development of Preschool Children Early childhood period is a time when children develop oral language as well as literacy skills like reading, writing and listening. Language development is important because it is inseparable part of the learning process, communication and social interactions (Wells, 1981). Having positive experiences in that period is of huge importance in order to develop these and many other skills, as far as possible. Brock and Rankin (2008) argue that every child eventually acquire a system of symbols that is used in communication. The quality of the language development depends on many factors like the home environment, language-rich experiences, child’s well-being, physical health and intellectual development. In order to help children with their literacy development, parents and teachers should be supportive and responsible for creating conditions for enriching conversations. Strategies like phonological and alphabetical activities, play as a natural environment for language development, recognition of print in the immediate environment and storytelling and reading, can help teachers in supporting children in their language development (Pelletier, 2011; Roskos, Christie & Richgels, 2003). Different pedagogical approaches in preschool practice can help improve children’s literacy. Nicolopoulou, McDowell and Brockmeyer (2006) argue for a balance between teacher-directed and child-centered approach because studies showed that children’s styles for grasping and understanding adult’s instruction, are various. Further, they argue that for literacy development, stories have great importance because they help children realize the symbolic potential of the language. Listening to and telling the stories challenge children to build pictures of the real and imaginary world. When discussing children’s capability to acquire language and learn to read and write, Miller and Pennycuff (2008) argue that many children struggle to become literate. They see storytelling as a good way to address literacy development because of the interrelated nature of processes involved in storytelling, reading and writing. Further, they argue that literacy learning occurs easier through social interactions


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and storytelling is a perfect way for children and adults to be socially active. Isbell, Sobol, Lindauer and Lowrance (2004) did a study of the impact storytelling has on language development of children ages three to five. Two groups of children heard the same stories. One group had a storytelling session, while the other one heard the stories read from the book. The results showed that, the group, who had stories being told to them, was more able to identify the characters and the setting of the story as well as the moral messages of the story. Many other studies show that children enjoy any form of story presentation and that those activities help language development (Collins, 1999; Isbell, 2002; Isbell et al., 2004; LaFlamme, 1975; Malo & Bullard, 2000).

Stories and Creative Development of Preschool Children Teaching in a holistic manner or pedagogical approach of teaching the “whole” child implies developing children’s abilities in affective and psychomotor domains, as well as in cognitive (Edwards, 1990). Pramling Samuelsson, Asplund Carlsson, Olsson, Pramling and Wallerstedt (2009) argue that children are most creative in the early childhood period when they are curious and playful. The children are perceived as creative in telling stories and inventing songs and stories, painting and drawing, acting, dancing and expressing their feelings through different body movements. Further, they stress the importance of the role of parents and caregivers in supporting children’s creativity. In the document of the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum (1999), studies done in the field of creativity show how different expressive arts can be combined with greater success and benefits for children. One of the case studies took place in the gallery where children had a chance to see watercolour pictures of the book characters. Children were encouraged to create their own stories, for the mentioned book characters, by using body movements. They worked with dancers who were supporting them in their dancing performances. Later, children met a sculptor who helped them to manipulate clay and make characters from their own stories. The purpose of this study was to create a creative workshop, where the children will be able to learn and try different art techniques.

Stories and Play in Child's Development Play is very important in a child’s life and even though sometimes it is perceived as separate from learning, a great body of literature advocates that playing is a child’s way to learn and meet the world (Bodrova, 2008; Gupta, 2009; Pramling Samuelsson & Asplund Carlsson, 2008). Role-play or make-believe is a very common way for children to engage in play activities. Role-playing gives them a possibility to act and imitate the situations they face every day and in that way understand them better. Hendy and Toon (2001) argue that in make-believe play children manipulate identities and ‘play out’ features of their culture and environment. Gupta (2009) argues that make-believe play gives children a space to mature in areas of cognitive, emotional, kinesthetic and creative development. Further, she argues that while role-playing, every time when storytelling takes place, children are able to express their emotional needs, improve their language and enhance their vocabulary. Nicolopoulou (2007) sees make-believe play and storytelling as complementary modes. In her research on three to five years old children in the preschool context, storytelling and story


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acting were ordinary components of the curriculum. Every day, children dictated their stories to the teacher and later those stories were read aloud and performed by children. These activities enabled children to compose and direct the story and take part in acting. The results showed that children were very imaginative in picking themes and characters for their stories. Elements of familiar stories, fairy tales and their own experiences were often part of their stories. At the same time, they showed selectiveness and the ability to adjust the elements to their story plots.

Stories and New Technologies in the Child’s Development Another way to be engaged in playful activities and at the same time be creative and innovative, is to be open to the challenges and possibilities brought by new technologies. It looks like for children that is the least problem due to their curious nature. Yelland (2011) sees new technologies as a good way for children to play and explore the world that surrounds them. With cameras, children can make photographs and later create their own stories of playful adventures. The technological devices give new dimensions to the stories, while stories make those devices more appealing for children. Colbert (2006) argues that information and communication technologies inspire children to write or tell stories that are complex in the selection of themes, characters and actions. He also sees advantages for teachers who can create a multimodal representation of any story and in that way make any educational activity more interesting for children. Ryokai and Cassell (1999) give the example of a completely innovative approach in supporting children’s storytelling play by computer. The main technical support to their study was a StoryMat. StoryMat is a soft play mat and a system designed to support children’s fantasy play and emerging stories. Except for the language development and play, this StoryMat mediates natural cooperation between peers. While the child plays and tells a story on the mat, the mat records the story as well as the movements the child produces with the toys. When the story is over, the mat compares the story with all the other recorded stories. The most similar one is then repeated. The child can collaborate with the other child with the similar story, and together they can make a different ending for a story, for example. The study showed that this technological innovation provides a place for children to foster their storytelling and develop their language. This and many other innovative technological tools make technological equipment a desirable asset in the learning and teaching process.

Methodology A great body of literature and research done about the impact of stories on child development, made me think about the place of stories in preschool practice. Children’s interest in stories and the way stories are part of children’s upbringing is not a new research phenomenon. However, studies done about teachers, as storytellers, are not in abundance. The moment of uncertainty when I myself was preparing to introduce the story to children, made me think about the quality teacher should have or need to develop, in order to become storytellers. The story based practice refined my way of working with children. That is why the aim of this study was to gain insight into how teachers perceive and argue about the way they use stories in their work. The research question that guided this study is:

• How do teachers perceive stories in preschool practice?


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Regarding the design of the study, after considering the facts that the research question is descriptive in nature and that I expected textual data coming from the discussion, I have decided to use small-scale qualitative interview research. Flick, von Kardorff and Steinke argue: “Qualitative research claims to describe life-worlds ‘from the inside out’, from the point of view of the people who participate. By so doing, it seeks to contribute to a better understanding of social realities and to draw attention to processes, meaning patterns and structural features” (cited in Flick, von Kardorff & Steinke, 2004, p. 3). Qualitative research as such, gave options to start from the inside of the researched phenomenon, the teachers. It was a possibility to hear and learn about their arguments, meaning patterns and structural features regarding story-based practice. Sampling strategy was non-probability, purposive sampling. This type of sampling suggests that the participants are chosen with a specific purpose and that they already have a certain level of knowledge regarding the research topic (Fossey, Harvey, McDermott & Davidson, 2002; Teddlie and Yu, 2007). Data was collected through semi-structured interviews (Dicicco- Blum and Crabtree, 2006). The method used for analyzing the data, was meaning analysis (Kvale, 1996). The interviews were transcribed, read and coded. The meanings that emerged were condensed and interpreted. This process of data analysis allowed me to narrow down the large amount of information, compare the answers, condense their meaning and interpret the results in accordance with the existing literature and theoretical framework.

Results The analyzed data gave some interesting insights into the teachers’ views about stories. Their comments also showed the place of the stories in different areas of child development.

Stories as a Tool for Language Development Teachers report that they use different approaches when presenting a story. Whatever the approach, telling or reading, analyzing or dramatizing the story, teachers argue that it affects language development by introducing the children with new words and meaning concepts.

The sooner you start to read stories aloud to children that affect their language development. When you read stories to children, you might use some words that are not used in your daily communication with children. In that way, there are new words coming to children’s vocabulary. (Teacher A)

Further, the teachers argue that the stories are full of unknown words for children and those words should not be avoided or replaced, but explained by teachers. That approach will help children build their vocabulary. By reading and telling stories and letting children see the texts, children learn the structure of the sentences and recognize the letters and words. This will later help them to learn how to read and write more easily.


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Social aspect of stories One of the important aspects of child early development is socialization and development of communication skills. By spending time in the preschool, surrounded by adults and peers, children are exposed to different social conditions that make them adjust and learn how to communicate and develop their language. The interviews show that stories, especially the personal ones, that children tell spontaneously, are perceived as valuable for development of communication skills and delivering of messages, through which children communicate with adults.

Stories as a Means of Communication

Teachers find it very important to help children learn how to express themselves and how to have a dialog with their peers. When a story is included in peer interactions, the conversation between them is usually joyful, but at the same time serious. One of the examples is ‘Socrates dialogs' technique that one of the teachers discussed in the interview.

I also use 'Socrates’ dialogs' in my work. It is the philosophical form and in that kind of conversation, we have some rules we all agree about. To have Socratic dialog I can use the story or picture, poetry, article from the newspaper, but the start of everything is a story. (Teacher B)

This Socrates’ dialog enables the children to discuss concerns and issues in their surroundings, what makes them active agents in the formation of knowledge about social interactions. The basis of the dialog is the story and the teachers argue that it is usually personal stories, where children share their experiences and learn from them.

The Story as a Messenger

In their discussion about stories and their purpose, teachers see stories also as messengers. The stories can deliver messages to children, teachers and parents. From this point of view, the stories can be seen as social and cultural tool that proclaims humans as cultural beings, who share their experiences through stories. If we look for messages that stories bring to the teachers, we can talk about personal stories children tell spontaneously. Teachers argue that, that kind of stories could help teachers to meet the children and learn what is important for them in that moment of development. In addition, teachers argue that they have to deal carefully with personal children's stories, because the stories present children's perception of life events at a given moment. When looking from the child’s perspective, teachers argue that stories send many different messages to children. By repeating the same story over and over again, children learn about the content and the structure of the story. That is the way children construct the meaning and receive the message of the story. Teachers have to be very cautious when choosing a story to tell. The teachers always have to check what kind of messages the story will bring to the children. Personal stories children tell are something the teacher in this study value very much. The teachers perceive children’s personal stories as a good source for parents to be involved in their child’s inner life. It is not important where children share their stories, at home or in


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preschool, good cooperation between parents and teachers enables that they receive the message the child expresses in the shape of the stories.

Stories as a Cornerstone of Creativity Through my discussion with teachers, I found that they see every aspect of child development important and present in the curriculum, though sometimes, the number of children and teachers’ resentment towards “messy job” as stated by one of the teachers, can be seen as a reason why creative activities are not so present. Teachers found imagination very important and stories as a source of ideas and creative thinking. When discussing creative activities, teachers mostly refer to painting with colours, acting and imagining new stories with children.

Stories as a tool for understanding children’s drawings

When discussing stories in connection to drawing, the interviews show that stories are used as a medium for drawings’ interpretation and the other way around. Drawings and stories present very rich material, which allows the teachers to organize activities where children’s creativity will be fully employed. One of the ways that is always interesting for the children is to tell them a story with the striking character and then enable them to present that character while experimenting with different art techniques. During the interview, one of the teachers showed me a drawing from a five-year-old girl. The teacher described the drawing as the story in itself. The story is about the goddess of the sea who had a man and he left and never came back. However, one day he came back to wipe her tears and they stayed together forever. The teacher writes children’s stories behind the drawings and later discusses them with the children. The story about the goddess together with the painted presentation has a great power for the teacher because already, thanks to the stories and drawings, the teacher knows the inner and outer world of this child. One of the teachers explains an activity that is in her opinion, very interesting for the children. Each day one child has his turn to tell the story. Other children hear the story and later they draw different parts of the story that were interesting for them. During the circle time, the teacher and the children connect the drawings in one big story and the child has a chance to tell the story again in front of the peers. This technique is interesting for many reasons. First, every time the children draw, they produce a picture book. The teacher staples the drawings that present the story and keep it as a book. Children like to go back to the picture books they made and tell the stories again. Second, there is always an interesting possibility that the first version of the story is upgraded, thanks to the drawings. Third, this correlation between stories and drawings, teachers can use to develop collaborative work among children.

Stories as a Path to Imagination

The teachers find imagination as very important for young children because it gives them a way to understand reality, think about the future and see things from other people’s perspective. Imagination is also something that teachers like to present to children as their own world, where nobody can interfere. That is why they teach children to develop and value their own imagination. Stories, together with other media, like theatre and film are a good way for children to be involved in an imaginative world.


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Even though imagination is perceived as important, teachers see some children often living too much in their fantasy world. Teachers’ opinion is that computer games give a wrong view of reality. In this case, the teacher considers stories as useful for children to face the reality and make the difference between unrealistic events of computer games and real life. Stories also can be unreal, but the teachers argue that storytelling is an activity where children and adults interact and children can always get the immediate explanation from the adults.

Using technology for storytelling Stories have found their place in new technological devices too. It looks like digital stories are very popular among teachers and children. Devices like computers, tablets and interactive white boards are story friendly and stories are now more popular in the form of cartoons. Opinions regarding storytelling and new technological devices are divided. Some teachers think that stories and new technologies should go together and that new devices improve the quality of the stories. Others argue that new technologies are taking over and that traditional way of storytelling loses its places in preschool practice. All the teachers agree that children should be technologically literate, but that computer devices should be used consciously. In their work, teachers use computers and tablets. The teachers report that children enjoy combining different pictures on computers in the form of a story. They recognize colors, learn letters and numbers, and all that is be placed in the form of a story. While most of the teachers report that children enjoy looking and hearing stories on tablets, there is also a concern coming from some teachers that in that way, since the story is presented through cartoons, children do not have time to reflect on the events in the story. Children perceive it more as a fun activity and they do not think too much about the story, unless the teacher discusses the cartoon with them.

Discussion The results of this study suggest that stories are part of preschool teachers’ practice. Teachers perceive stories as educational tool useful in different domains of child development, like mathematics and language development, science, musical and motor skills development. Teachers see stories as valuable for creative expression and imaginative development and they find stories as a good asset in the process of mastering new technologies.

Stories as a Frame for Language Development and Communication Early childhood period is a time when children acquire language and by being socially active, they develop communication skills. When discussing the development of thought and language, Vygotsky (1986) argues that those two processes are different, but they intervene at a certain point of the cognitive development. During the cognitive development, children develop language that brings the possibility to express their thoughts more clearly. The immediate environment where the child grows and develops affects both, language and thoughts. The teachers in this study argue that stories comes as a good tool for language development and that they use stories for that purpose a lot. The stories open a completely new world of words that children do not hear in daily communication. By hearing and telling the stories,


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children become aware of the sentence structure and the symbols that are used in storytelling and in communication in general. Their engagement in seeing the text and pictures, gives them possibility to see and recognize the letters, what helps them later in reading and writing process. Miller and Pennycuff (2008) argue that storytelling is a good way to address literacy development because of the interrelated nature of processes involved in storytelling, reading and writing. Further, they argue that literacy learning occurs easier through social interactions and storytelling is a perfect way for children and adults to be socially active, what is in a way suggested by Vygotsky (1986). Regarding language development, Brock and Rankin (2008) argue that child eventually acquire a system of symbols that is used in communication. For that purpose as well as for language development, Pelletier (2011) and Roskos, Christie and Richgels (2003) argue that strategies like phonological and alphabetical activities, recognition of print in the immediate environment and storytelling are good assets in teachers’ practice. During the interviews, the teachers described their activities in the similar way. Usually, it was correlation between storytelling and reading, book illustrations and materials in the surroundings. As a way to develop open communication in a problem-solving situation, one of the teachers mentions the Socrates’ dialogs technique. The teacher argues that children are more relaxed and open for honest dialog, when group issues are presented in the shape of a story. Dowley and McNamee, (2005) discuss the Socrates’ dialogs method, that is suggested in Paley’s storytelling curriculum as a positive approach, that encourages the children to discuss the issues they have through open communication. Stories are perceived as a messenger and the teachers argue that those messages can be directed to children, teachers and parents. Through the messages received from stories, children learn about the culture and the society they live in, but also about other people, their culture and history. Ahn and Filipenko (2007) argue that storytelling and children’s narratives affect the way children perceive others and how they perceive the world and their place in it. The teachers argue that parents and teachers can learn a lot about children, their interests or problems by paying attention to the stories children tell. Further, they give examples of the situations where children tried to communicate by telling a story. Engel (1995) finds stories children tell or listen, important for the development, especially in the period between the age of one and eight. Further, she argues that adults can learn a lot about children from the stories children tell.

Creativity in the context of stories The goal of preschool education is holistic development of children, which includes cognitive, socio-emotional, motor skills and creative development. Pramling Samuelson et al. (2009) argue that children are most creative in the early childhood period when their curiosity and playfulness come to the fore. Vygotsky (2004) explains human creativity through two basic types, reproductive and combinatorial. During this study, the teachers stress the importance of creative development and argue that stories play a significant role in creative development of the children. The teachers argue that children express their creative side through many activities, especially through role-play, storytelling and drawing. The teachers explain how children draw and tell stories. Sometimes the stories and drawings are the product of something that the child experiences and sometimes it is the product of the child’s very rich


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imagination. Vygotsky's approach to the creative development can be applied in the case of these examples. In their practice, the teachers see many opportunities to connect stories to drawing and coloring activities. The children are usually interested to hear the stories with striking characters that later, they like to present through drawings and make books out of it. Another type of stories that are very well connected to the drawings are children’s personal stories. The teachers argue that except for educational and entertaining purpose, this kind of stories presented through drawings, can serve for better understanding of the children’s world. Griffiths (2010) and Wright (2010) argue that storytelling and drawing are two techniques that allow children to alter the drawings or story compositions to their own needs and feelings. Those two media are also suitable for the teachers to meet and understand the children. When discussing creativity, Vygotsky (2004) argues that imagination and creativity go hand in hand and that it is important to understand that there is no strict line between fantasy and reality. Everything that imagination creates has its roots in reality. Further, he argues that how rich somebody’s imagination is, depends on how rich and fulfilling his real life experiences are. That is why he argues that it is important to offer a stimulating learning environment for children. In stimulating environment children adopt different elements of reality and those elements are later processed through the imaginative operations. The teachers in the study argue that the stories are a good material for teachers, because they use them to explain to the children fictional and real life events. The teachers find stories as a good tool to create a stimulating learning environment for children, what is in accordance with Vygotsky’s attitude towards the learning environment in connection to the development of creativity and imagination. Another site for creative development, according to Vygotsky (2004) is children’s role-play. The teachers in the study find the stories as a great plot for drama activities or children’s role-play. Gupta (2009) argues that make-believe play gives children a space to mature in areas of cognitive, emotional, kinesthetic and creative development. This corresponds to the teachers’ statements that stories are used for dramatizing, but also children use them spontaneously in their play. In both cases, every aspect of children’s development is included.

Technological futures of stories New technological devices bring opportunities for teachers to make their practice innovative and more interesting for children. Nowadays, it is evident that children are prone to operate computer devices very skilfully. Every activity that includes some new technologies is more appealing for children. The new technologies shed new light on stories and storytelling as one of the oldest ways of shaping and transferring human experiences. The results of the study show that some of the teachers have concerns that new technologies will take over and completely exclude storytelling. While some express doubt and stress that technological devices should be used consciously, others find both stories and computers important in a child’s development. In general, the teachers argue that technological devices make the learning environment more provocative for the children. They argue that stimulating environment is crucial in learning process. This view is supported by Vygotsky’s (2004) argument that stimulating


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environment is important for learning processes. Colbert (2006) and Yelland (2011) argue that technological devices help children to explore the world around them and stimulate them to tell stories.

Conclusion

From the time when humans have mastered language as a means of communication, they began to shape their life experiences into narratives. Storytelling as a way of passing wisdom, knowledge and culture, exists for centuries and humans were always fascinated by stories. In human history, stories have great value in saving historical data and preserving cultural heritage of different societies. Early childhood is a period when children develop and learn by doing, observing and listening. Traditional way of storytelling has its place in preschool practice. The stories are part of a children's life and it is evident that the benefits of story-based practice are huge. Stories are used in language and communication skills development. The stories can affect how children see and understand the world that surrounds them. As a part of other activities, the stories can be a good asset in socio-emotional and motor skills development. This study was conducted as a small-scale interview research. Eight teachers from Swedish and international preschools participated in the interviews and gave their opinion and views about the stories. The data that was collected were analyzed and gave some interesting insights into teachers' practice regarding storytelling. The teachers reported that they are aware of the benefits stories bring and they use them in different situations. Sometimes that is only to amuse children and sometimes to educate them. When using stories, the teachers prefer to read from the books, but also to tell stories, dramatize them or organize activities where children will draw parts of the story they like the most. The teachers perceive that stories are a valuable asset in their work on language development, self-regulation and motor skills and creative development. New technological devices are mostly welcome, though some teachers expressed their concern that new technologies will take the place of traditional storytelling.

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Biographical note:

Dragana Gnjatovic graduated at Preschool Teachers Training College of Applied Studies, „Mihailo Palov“, in Vrsac. After that, she worked as a preschool teacher in preschool institution „Ljubica Vrebalov“, in Požarevac, Serbia. Since 2005, she has been employed at the company “Montenegro Stars Hotel Group” in Montenegro, as organizational manager of the Children’s Club in Hotel Splendid. Dragana won Erasmus Mundus scholarship and graduated International Master in Early Childhood Education and Care in 2014.

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