The literacy preparation in Turkish preschool education

The purpose of this study is to reveal the views and recommendations of the preschool and primary school teachers on the literacy preparation in Turkish preschool education. The study is designed as phenomenological research. The participants of the study are 12 preschool and 9 primary school teachers who have been teaching actively in the western part of Turkey. The qualitative data was collected through face-to-face interviews and analyzed through content analysis. The findings of the study show that preschool teachers have some confusion on literacy preparation and readiness. While preschool and primary school teachers are of the same opinion about the need for literacy preparation in preschool education, they have different opinions about the literacy preparation activities conducted in preschool education. While preschool teachers think that they get preschoolers ready for literacy, primary school teachers think that first graders in their classes do not come literately ready from preschool education. Teachers participated in the study; think that the lack of collaboration among preschool and primary school teachers, some deficiencies in preschool education curriculum and in the education system, and the preschool teachers’ imperfect knowledge in the literacy readiness are the possible reasons of inadequacy of readiness for literacy in preschool education. They recommend systematic collaboration among teachers, review of preschool education curriculum and providing professional support for preschool teachers to support literacy readiness in preschool education.

Prevalence of Allergy Symptoms in Schoolchildren of Chechen Republic (ISAAC Questionnaire Results)

Background. Rising prevalence of allergic diseases is a major medical and social problem.Objective. The aim of the study is to study the prevalence of allergy symptoms in schoolchildren of Chechen Republic according to the ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood) questionnaire.Methods. We have surveyed 3,398 schoolchildren from 26 randomly chosen schools located in 2 urban and 2 rural areas of Chechen Republic. The first age group (7–8 years old) included 1331 first graders, the second group (13-14 years old) — 2067 eighth graders.Results. The prevalence of allergic diseases symptoms according to the questionnaire was the following: bronchial asthma (BA) — 18.4% (625 children), allergic rhinitis (AR) — 16.6% (565 children), atopic dermatitis (AD) — 4.7% (160 children), while medically verified diagnosis was established in dramatically less cases. Analysis of BA, AR, AD symptoms prevalence has revealed significant correlation between studied parameters and age. Symptoms of BA, AR prevailed in the older age group, AD in the younger one. There were no gender differences identified. Higher prevalence of BA and AR symptoms was recorded in urban residents, while the prevalence of AD in urban and rural areas was quite the same. Moreover, estimation of allergy symptoms prevalence revealed mild course of these diseases in schoolchildren of Chechen Republic.Conclusion. The study, conducted with ISAAC questionnaire, demonstrates high prevalence of allergy symptoms in schoolchildren of Chechen Republic, exceeding the official statistics. It requires particular attention from the healthcare system and improved diagnostic methods for allergies.

Explosive Leg Power and Flexibility in School Children Aged 6–8 Years

This pilot study has been carried out on a sample of 51 participants – children aged 6–8 years, pupils in grades 1 and 2 at Elementary School Dimkata Angelov-Gaberot in Vatasha, Kavadarci, Republic of North Macedonia. The main objectives were: 1) to assess explosive leg power and flexibility of lower back and hamstring muscles; 2) to compare these parameters by age and sex. Measurement of anthropometric characteristics (height, weight and BMI) and assessment of explosive leg power and flexibility of lower back and hamstring muscles were performed in the school. In order to examine whether data have a normal distribution, skewness and kurtosis values and Kolmogorov–Smirnov test were used. Basic mathematical and appropriate statistical methods were used to calculate descriptive statistical parameters. Student’s t-test was applied to test the difference between groups formed based on age and sex. Boys in grades 1 and 2 showed better results than girls in standing long jump (SLJ) test, while girls in Grade 1 performed better in flexibility test (FT). Second graders who have been involved in Physical Education classes longer than first graders, have shown better results in SLJ test than first graders. The reason for this outcome is that second graders have practiced more and have a better performance technique that influenced the jump distance.

Collective Classes in a Group of Different Ages Based on the Integration of the Content of Different Academic Subjects

The article proposes to consider the initial stage of the transition to such a form of training organization as collective classes in different-age groups of younger schoolchildren according to the methodology developed by the talented teacher A.G. Rivin. They are held at the Moscow secondary school named after Ivan Yarygin of the Krasnoyarsk region on the integrated content of academic subjects “Literary Reading”, “Fine Arts”, “Technology”. The specificity of the texts compiled by teachers for use in the process of paragraph-by-paragraph elaboration of the text using the technology of A.G. Rivina. Particular attention is paid to the issues of including first-graders (some of whom do not yet know how to read and write) in classes where younger schoolchildren of an older age participate. In this regard, multilevel algorithms of educational interaction are described. It highlights the difficulties that may arise with this form of training, as well as ways to overcome them.

PSYCHOLOGICAL READINESS OF FIRST GRADERS TO LEARN SEMANTIC READING AT SCHOOL

The article examines the readiness of first graders to learn semantic reading. A semantic reading is an activity, it is based on reading technique. We identified two groups of students: average readd highly ready ang to learn semantic reading. The article presents the main areas of assistance in the formation of psychological readiness for learn semantic reading.

The Combined Effects of Regular Classroom and Remedial Learning Programs on the Reading Achievement of First Grade Pupils

In 2003, two school-based programs for teaching reading in English were introduced in Québec: the Accelerated Development of Reading (ADOR) program for first graders and, for ADOR pupils with weak reading skills, the Intensive Intervention in Reading (IIR) support program. Explicit and direct instruction provides the framework for ADOR and IIR. Two quasi-experimental studies were conducted to measure the effects of the ADOR and IIR programs compared to regular reading instruction and remediation. In both studies, the combined effects of ADOR and IIR were measured on two separate cohorts of grade 1 pupils over a full school year. This study shows that the ADOR and IIR programs result in superior reading performance and the largest effects were on subtests measuring reading comprehension.

Relationships between Socioeconomic Indicators and Motor Performance of Schoolchildren in Slovakia

Physical inactivity is currently a significant problem in Western societies. Among the many factors that affect the amount of physical activity in children, socioeconomic status, the type of school, and the area where they live can play a major role in physical development. A total of 31,620 children (6.3 ± 0.53 years; 15,726 boys; 15,893 girls), representing 55.6 % of the entire Slovak population of first graders, participated in eight motor performance (MP) tests, the results of which were correlated with somatic parameters (body height, body weight, and body mass index (BMI)) and socioeconomic indicators (SEIs) within the children’s respective territorial regions. The largest correlations were observed between MP and unemployment rate (r = −0.802) and between MP and economically active population with primary education (r = −0.807). Other correlations between MP and SEIs were also found at the level of self-governing regions (r = 0.995) and districts (r = 0.551). SEIs and MP were strongly correlated, indicating that children who grow up in better socioeconomic environments display greater MP. Therefore, national and local governments should provide tangible and intangible resources to enable the proper development of children’s MP {XE “Rodina”}.

The Combined Effects of Regular Classroom and Remedial Learning Programs on the Reading Achievement of First Grade Pupils

In 2003, two school-based programs for teaching reading in English were introduced in Québec: the Accelerated Development of Reading (ADOR) program for first graders and, for ADOR pupils with weak reading skills, the Intensive Intervention in Reading (IIR) support program. Explicit and direct instruction provides the framework for ADOR and IIR. Two quasi-experimental studies were conducted to measure the effects of the ADOR and IIR programs compared to regular reading instruction and remediation. In both studies, the combined effects of ADOR and IIR were measured on two separate cohorts of grade 1 pupils over a full school year. This study shows that the ADOR and IIR programs result in superior reading performance and the largest effects were on subtests measuring reading comprehension.

The Combined Effects of Regular Classroom and Remedial Learning Programs on the Reading Achievement of First Grade Pupils

In 2003, two school-based programs for teaching reading in English were introduced in Québec: the Accelerated Development of Reading (ADOR) program for first graders and, for ADOR pupils with weak reading skills, the Intensive Intervention in Reading (IIR) support program. Explicit and direct instruction provides the framework for ADOR and IIR. Two quasi-experimental studies were conducted to measure the effects of the ADOR and IIR programs compared to regular reading instruction and remediation. In both studies, the combined effects of ADOR and IIR were measured on two separate cohorts of grade 1 pupils over a full school year. This study shows that the ADOR and IIR programs result in superior reading performance and the largest effects were on subtests measuring reading comprehension.