Features of communication in environmental education of preschool children. The concept of environmental education for preschool children. Methodology of environmental education

Svetlana Buyanova
The concept of environmental education for preschool children by S. N. Nikolaeva

« The concept of environmental education for preschool children» S.N. Nikolaeva(1996) is a normative and regulatory document in the field environmental education for preschool children. Concept allows you to determine the prospects for its development, create specific programs and technologies, organize the practical activities of various preschool institutions. As a starting point environmental education of preschool children has important social significance for everything society: the foundations are laid in a timely manner environmental culture in the human personality, at the same time a significant part of the adult population of the country - workers in the sphere to school education and parents of children, which, of course, matters for the general greening consciousness and thinking.

The initial stage of the whole environmental work with children C. N. Nikolaev highlights the process of transferring knowledge and information about the natural world to children. The final result of this activity, in her opinion, should be the formation in each child of a certain type of attitude towards the natural environment (cognitive, aesthetic or humanistic). Indicator E of education and good manners it is necessary to consider the practical actions of man in relation to the natural environment. The basic basis of EO preschoolers is a traditionally established system of familiarization children with nature.

CONTENT environmental education includes two aspect: transmission environmental knowledge and its transformation into attitude. Knowledge is a mandatory component of the process of forming principles ecological culture, and the relation is its final product. Truly environmental knowledge forms the conscious nature of the relationship and gives rise to environmental awareness. Biocentric approach to questions environmental education, which puts nature at the center of attention and considers man as part of it, puts forward the need to study the patterns that exist in nature itself. Only their thorough knowledge allows a person to correctly interact with it and live according to its laws.

The transformation of knowledge into relationships occurs if the teacher implements personality-oriented methods of working with children. The form of expression of a subjective attitude towards nature is independent activity.

The carrier of E culture in kindergarten should be considered teacher, it is a decisive factor in EV children. Three sides of his personality determine the result of his activities - promotion children on the path of gaining began ecological culture:

1) understanding of E problems and the reasons that give rise to them. Each teacher feels a sense of civic responsibility in the current situation and is ready to change it.

2) professionalism and pedagogical skill: mastery of EV techniques preschoolers, awareness by the teacher of the goals and objectives of this activity, systematic implementation of various development technologies, education and education in the practice of working with children.

3) the general orientation of the teacher in the practice of the new humanistic model EV: creating a favorable living atmosphere children in kindergarten, taking care of their physical and mental health, using person-centered work methods.

Real achievements in working with children are ensured by professionalism teacher, knowledge and practical mastery of methods environmental education. The following groups of METHODS can be distinguished, the integrated use of which leads to an increase in the level environmental education of children, development environmental orientation of their personality.

1. Joint activities teacher and children to create and maintain the necessary living conditions for living beings - the main method.

2. Observation is a method of sensory knowledge of nature. Provides direct contact with nature, living objects, and the environment.

3. The modeling method occupies a significant place in the system environmental education.

4. The verbal and literary method is distinguished as an independent method due to the great specificity of speech activity.

Methods are only conditional (theoretically) divided into groups; in practice environmental education of children they are used in combination within the framework of one or another specific technology.

Sensory perception of the surrounding world underlies the development in children of ideas not only about objects and phenomena, but also about the relationships and interdependencies that exist between them and environmental factors, that is, environmental ideas. Ideas about the characteristics and conditions of life of living organisms (plants, animals, humans), about the relationship of organisms with the environment, about the mutual influence of organisms on each other, about the interaction of humans and nature, form the basis of the science of ecology. In preschool age, children, in the process of purposeful organization of life activity, can master the initial foundations of ideas and elementary concepts of classical ecology, human ecology, social ecology, accessible methods environmental interaction with nature and people, gain value orientations.

The goal of environmental education for preschool children is to develop the foundations of an individual’s ecological culture. The goal of environmental education of preschool children is the formation of the principles of ecological culture - the formation of practical and spiritual experience of interaction between humanity and nature, which will ensure its survival and development. This goal is consistent with the Concept of Preschool Education, which, focusing on general humanistic values, sets the task of personal culture - the basic qualities of humanity beginning in a person. Beauty, goodness, truth in the four leading spheres of reality - nature, the “man-made world”, people surrounding themselves - these are the values ​​that preschool pedagogy of our time is guided by.

The nature of the planet is a unique value for all humanity: material and spiritual. Material, because together all these components constitute the human environment and the basis of his production activity. Spiritual because it is a means of inspiration and a stimulator of creative activity. Nature, reflected in various works of art, constitutes the values ​​of the man-made world.

The formation of the principles of ecological culture is the formation of a consciously correct attitude directly towards nature itself in all its diversity, towards the people who surround and create it, as well as towards the people who create material or spiritual values ​​based on its wealth. It is also an attitude towards oneself as a part of nature, an understanding of the value of life and health and their dependence on the state of the environment. This is an awareness of your abilities to interact creatively with nature.

The initial elements of ecological culture are formed on the basis of the interaction of children, under the guidance of adults, with the objective-natural world that surrounds them: plants, animals, their habitat, objects made by people from materials of natural origin.

The tasks of environmental education are the tasks of creating and implementing an educational model that achieves an effect - obvious manifestations of the principles of environmental culture in children preparing to enter school.

The main objectives of environmental education for preschool children are:

1. Development in children of the subjective experience of emotional and sensory generalization with nature and the sociocultural environment, ideas and elementary concepts about the surrounding world, interconnections and relationships in it, as the basis for the development of environmental consciousness and ecological culture of the individual.

2. Fostering an emotional and value-based attitude towards the natural and sociocultural environment.

3. Awareness of one’s own “A” as a part of nature, the development of the “A-concept” in each child.

4. Development of experience in practical and creative activities in the implementation and consolidation of knowledge and emotional and sensory impressions obtained through interaction with the natural and sociocultural environment, as well as in the reproduction and preservation of the natural environment.

To implement these tasks, it is necessary to highlight the leading principles of preschool environmental education: scientific character, humanization, integration, systematicity, regionalization.

The scientific principle determines the content of environmental education and is implemented through familiarity with the ecosystem structure of the habitat of living beings and humans, with the variety of relationships between organisms, organisms and habitats in nature.

The principle of humanization helps, based on the age, individual characteristics and needs of children, to determine the content of environmental education in terms of complexity. The personality of each child is a unique phenomenon, distinguished by an individual selection of qualities and its own development options. The principle of humanization makes it possible to build a “development vector” from the child to the determination of individual pedagogical influences that contribute to his upbringing and development based on the accumulation of subjective experience.

The principle of integration is to synthesize the content of the preschool component of environmental education with content from different areas of natural science, applied and human sciences, as well as to integrate the content, forms and methods of environmental education of children.

The principle of regionalization, in connection with age characteristics children and the need to use the immediate natural and sociocultural environment as a resource for the upbringing and development of children, is the fundamental basis for organizing the process of environmental education. It underlies the selection of content and planning of work on environmental education. The characteristic features of the population, seasons, extra-basic composition of animals and plants of Transbaikalia and the socio-natural environment of the kindergarten should form the basis for the selection of content. Based on the received sensory ideas about plants, animals of the Trans-Baikal Territory and their habitats, preschoolers can get acquainted with the inhabitants of other regions with the help of visual aids.

When planning work with children, the content of environmental education is consistently built in accordance with the regional characteristics of seasonal phenomena in Transbaikalia and the timing of their occurrence. The repeatability of forms of content implementation and the relationship of forms of direct generalization with nature (walks, targeted walks, excursions) with other forms of organizing children’s life activities (classes, daily activities, holidays) in different seasons of the year, at different age stages allows us to systematize the pedagogical process.

Familiarization with specific examples of plants and animals, their mandatory connection with a certain habitat and complete dependence on it allows preschoolers to form initial ideas of an ecological nature. Children learn: the mechanism of communication is the adaptability of the structure and functioning of various organs in contact with the external environment. By growing individual specimens of plants and animals, children learn the different nature of their needs for external components of the environment at different stages of growth and development.

The following must be considered as conditions for the implementation of the goals and principles of preschool environmental education:

2. Preparation of teachers and parents to realize the goal of environmental education of children, including social, special, psychological, pedagogical and methodological aspects.

3. Use of the natural and sociocultural environment surrounding the preschool institution as a resource for the upbringing and development of children.

4. Organization of developmental environments to ensure the pedagogical process of environmental education in a preschool institution.

5. Organization of a systematic pedagogical process of environmental education of children.

6. Carrying out constant monitoring of the results of environmental education.

Cognitive component - includes knowledge and skills:

About the diversity of living organisms, the relationships of plant and animal organisms in the process of growth and development with the environment, morphofunctional adaptability to it;

About their relationships and interdependencies with inanimate nature in the ecosystem;

About a person as a living being, as a part of nature, the environment of his life, ensuring health and normal functioning;

On the use of natural resources in human economic activity, the inadmissibility of environmental pollution, the protection and restoration of natural resources.

The value component includes knowledge and value orientations:

About the intrinsic value of life in all its manifestations, nature and man as a part of nature;

About the universal value of nature for human life and activity (cognitive, aesthetic, practical, etc.);

About the basic moral values ​​of human society;

About the creative, cultural value of human activity.

The regulatory component includes knowledge and skills:

On laws declaring the rights and responsibilities of children and adults, their implementation and observance;

About the norms and rules of behavior in public places and nature;

About the need and ways of showing personal involvement in relationships with people around you and nature.

Activity component - includes knowledge and skills:

About the variety of opportunities, types and forms of manifestation of creative activity in public places, kindergarten, family, natural environment;

About ways to carry out constructive and creative activities;

About the need to show personal initiative and participate in creative activities, etc.

Thus, environmental ideas underlie the development of environmental consciousness, children’s relationship to the world around them, to themselves - they contribute to the development of value orientations that determine behavior.

Preschool age is an important stage in the development of human ecological culture. During this period, the foundations of personality are laid, including a positive attitude towards nature and the surrounding world. At this age, the child begins to distinguish himself from the environment, an emotional and value-based attitude to the environment develops, and the foundations of the moral and ecological positions of the individual are formed, which are manifested in the child’s interactions with nature, in the awareness of inseparability with it. Thanks to this, it is possible for children to develop environmental knowledge, norms and rules for interacting with nature, develop empathy for it, and be active in solving some environmental problems. At the same time, the accumulation of knowledge in preschool children is not an end in itself. They are a necessary condition for developing an emotional, moral and effective attitude towards the world.

Kindergarten is the first link in the system of continuous environmental education, so it is no coincidence that teachers are faced with the task of forming the foundations of a culture of rational environmental management among preschoolers.

Fostering a caring attitude towards the natural environment in young children begins in the family and continues to develop in the preschool years in kindergarten.

Within the framework of environmental education, a preschool institution faces two important tasks:

1) instilling in children a love for their native nature, the ability to perceive and deeply feel its beauty, the ability to treat plants and animals with care;

2) providing preschoolers with basic knowledge about nature and forming on this basis a number of specific and generalized ideas about the phenomena of living and inanimate nature.

Environmental education is carried out in kindergarten through the entire pedagogical process - in everyday life and in class. In implementing the tasks of environmental education, the natural environment in kindergarten is of great importance. These are corners of nature in all groups, a nature room, a winter garden, a properly designed and cultivated area, providing the opportunity for constant direct communication with nature; organizing systematic observations of natural phenomena and objects, introducing children to regular work.

Environmental education of preschool children, from our point of view, presupposes:

· fostering a humane attitude towards nature (moral education)

· formation of a system of environmental knowledge and ideas (intellectual development)

· development of aesthetic feelings (the ability to see and feel the beauty of nature, admire it, desire to preserve it)

· participation of children in activities feasible for them to care for plants and animals, to protect and protect nature.

Environmental education of preschool children should be considered, first of all, as moral education, because the basis of a person’s attitude to the natural world around him should be humane feelings, i.e. awareness of the value of any manifestation of life, the desire to protect and preserve nature, etc.

The success of the implementation of all programs of this kind depends on the close cooperation of preschool teachers, administration and parents.

The tasks of teachers are as follows:

1. Create conditions for the formation of elementary biological concepts:

· introduce the development of life on Earth (talk about the origin, diversity of life forms: microorganisms, plants, animals, their origin, characteristics of life, habitat, etc.);

· provide the opportunity to master educational material in an accessible form;

· form an emotionally positive attitude towards nature.

2. Provide conditions for the development of environmental consciousness:

· introduce representatives of living and inanimate nature;

· talk about the relationship and interaction of all natural objects;

· contribute to the formation of a consciously correct attitude towards planet Earth (our common home) and towards man as a part of nature;

· introduce the problem of environmental pollution and personal safety rules;

· promote the development of a careful and responsible attitude towards the environment;

· create conditions for independent activities to preserve and improve the environment.

Active assistance from the preschool administration and adherence to the sequence of the main stages of work (goal setting, analysis, planning, selection of programs and technologies, practical activities, diagnostics) are the key to the effectiveness of solving the problem of introducing environmental education into the pedagogical process.

The success of implementation is ensured by the following pedagogical conditions:

1. Creation of an ecological environment in preschool education.

2. The teacher’s readiness to implement environmental education for children.

3. Personality-oriented interaction between an adult and a child in the process of mastering the program.

4. Active participation of parents in the educational process.

5. Establishment of connections by the teacher with the school, public organizations, and institutions of additional education.

It is very important to show children that in relation to nature they occupy the position of the stronger side and therefore must patronize it, must protect it and take care of it, and also be able to notice the actions of other people, peers and adults, give them an appropriate moral assessment and, as appropriate, their strengths and capabilities to resist inhumane and immoral actions.

It must be remembered that children’s often careless and sometimes cruel attitude towards nature is explained by their lack of the necessary knowledge. That is why the education of empathy and compassion occurs in inextricable unity with the formation of a system of environmental knowledge accessible to preschoolers, which includes:

· ideas about plants and animals as unique and inimitable living beings, about their needs and ways to satisfy these needs;

· understanding the relationship between living beings and their habitat, the adaptability of plants and animals to living conditions;

· awareness that all living beings on Earth are connected to each other by a complex system of connections (everyone needs each other, everyone depends on each other, the disappearance of any link breaks the chain, i.e. biological balance) and at the same time each of them has its own ecological niche, and all of them can exist simultaneously.

Of course, knowledge alone is not enough to develop a humane attitude towards nature in children - it is necessary to include it in practical activities feasible for their age - to create conditions for constant and full communication between children and living nature. And the creation and maintenance of a positive emotional state of children (joy from work completed, praised by the teacher, a blooming flower, a recovered puppy, etc.) contributes to the further development of feelings of compassion and empathy.

An active humane attitude towards nature is supported and strengthened when children develop an awareness of the aesthetic value of natural objects, their enduring and unfading beauty, which is why the education of aesthetic feelings is one of the necessary conditions for environmental education, which includes a love of nature.

But constant communication with nature alone is capable of awakening and developing an aesthetic attitude towards it. It is necessary to draw children's attention to the beauty of nature, teach them to observe the state of plants and the behavior of animals, getting pleasure from it and noticing the beauty of life, to realize that beauty is in no way determined by a utilitarian approach (many children believe that what is harmful is ugly). The main thing is to always remember: before teaching children to see beauty and understand the essence of beauty as an aesthetic category, it is necessary to develop them emotional sphere, because the feelings of preschoolers are not yet stable and deep enough, they are selective and subjective.

A feature of environmental education is the great importance of a positive example in the behavior of adults. Therefore, educators not only take this into account themselves, but also pay significant attention to working with parents. Here it is necessary to achieve complete mutual understanding.

Parents must realize that they cannot demand that their child follow any rule of behavior if adults themselves do not always follow it. For example, it is difficult to explain to children that they need to protect nature if the parents do not do this themselves. And the different demands made in kindergarten and at home can cause them confusion, resentment, or even aggression. However, what is possible at home does not necessarily have to be allowed in kindergarten and vice versa. It is necessary to highlight the main things that will require joint efforts from teachers and parents. It is necessary to consider and discuss the results obtained and make a joint decision on the final list of vital rules and prohibitions.

It is possible to cultivate a positive attitude towards nature in children only when the parents themselves have an environmental culture. The effect of raising children is largely due to the extent to which environmental values ​​are perceived by adults as vital. A noticeable influence on the upbringing of a child is exerted by the way, level, quality and style of life of the family. Children are very sensitive to what they see around them. They behave like the adults around them. Parents need to realize this.

In preschool age, the child’s imagination rapidly develops, which manifests itself especially clearly in play and in the perception of works of art. Parents often forget that the most accessible, most enjoyable and most useful of all pleasures for a child is when they read aloud to him. interesting books. This must start in the family. Interest in the book arises long before the start of school and develops very easily. The book plays an important role in the aesthetic education of children. A lot depends on what this first book will be like. It is very important that the books that a child gets acquainted with are accessible to the young reader not only in terms of subject matter and content, but also in the form of presentation. The specificity of literature makes it possible to form a love of nature based on the content of works of art.

So, instilling in children a love for nature and the ability to perceive its beauty is one of the important tasks of a kindergarten. In this work, his first assistants should be his parents.

When working on environmental education of children, it is necessary to use different forms and methods in a complex and correctly combine them with each other. The choice of methods and the need for their integrated use is determined by the age capabilities of the children, the nature of the educational educational objectives, which are decided by the teacher. The effectiveness of solving problems of environmental education depends on their repeated and variable use. They contribute to the formation of clear knowledge in preschoolers about the world around them.

The definition of environmental education is usually associated with the first conference on this topic, held in 1970 in Carson City (USA, Nevada). The following formulation was adopted there: “Environmental education is the process of human awareness of the value of the environment and clarification of the basic principles necessary to obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and recognize the mutual dependence between man, his culture and his biophysical environment. Environmental education also includes the development of practical skills in solving problems related to interaction with the environment, developing behavior that contributes to improving the quality of the environment.”

This definition partly incorporates not only the principles of environmental education, but also education and enlightenment. Let's try to figure out where the line is between them. Let's make a simple analogy: what is medical education? In its most general form, this is the acquisition of knowledge and skills that allow treating people. Pedagogical education – allows you to effectively train people. What about environmental?

According to this analogy, environmental education is the acquisition of knowledge about environmental patterns, which makes it possible to reduce damage to wildlife during human economic activities. Thus, any person who has received at least a minimal environmental education is able to organize their actions in such a way as to reduce or even eliminate this damage. It doesn't matter what he does specifically. Maybe this is the director of a plant who purchases not only a bus for a workers’ village, but also a purification filter. Or this is an astronaut who returns garbage from orbit so as not to litter space. A farmer who keeps the copses from being plowed up so that the birds nesting there destroy pests. A visitor to the forest, making sure that not even the slightest spark remains in the cigarette butt.

What are “ecological patterns”? This is not so much scientific information about the adaptation of living forms, but rather the idea that 1) all living beings are interconnected, 2) the biosphere is the same for everyone, 3) any changes in it affect humans.

The scientific orientation of traditional environmental education has become a certain disadvantage, because it alienates students from practice, from real life. In classes they prefer to be introduced, for example, to consumers and ruderals, benthos and phytoplankton. However, few people know that, for example, when the soil is contaminated with salts and petroleum products, fungi and bacteria die in it, without which large trees dry out. Therefore, if urban soil is not protected from dirty snow from roads, expensive plantings die. Or that old mattresses contain trillions of mites and fungal spores that trigger allergies and asthma. Therefore, people began to use mattresses with a fireproof plastic shell. Or that street dust carried by the wind contains helminth eggs from dried dog excrement. And to prevent them from getting into your eyes and mouth, in many big cities the streets are washed with soap, and dog walkers are forced to walk around with bags and dustpans. A street cleaner setting fire to garbage fills the air with highly toxic substances, so it causes targeted damage to health. Few people think about these facts, but they determine the standard of living.

Modern environmental education is moving away from the study of classical ecology, because it may be useful to rare specialists. But each of us needs to find out how environmental patterns are reflected in our real practice. We can afford not to study medical practice in secondary school, but only the basics of anatomy and physiology, because there are doctors, and self-medication is even dangerous. We study Ohm's law there, but not how to repair equipment, because there are workshops. However, ecology is a unique area where there are no workshops or clinics, but almost every person is involved in environmental practice, be it a driver, a chemist, a vacationer on the beach, or even just an apartment dweller shaking out a rug. And here no specialists help him; decisions - positive or negative - he makes at his own peril and risk. However, practice-oriented environmental education is still very rare. As in learning a foreign language, there are few schools where students learn real spoken language.

Environmental education is facilitated by environmental education, which helps to attract attention, interest, saturate with knowledge, give an emotional coloring to the emerging ideas of people, and helps to ensure mass resonance for environmental ideas. But unlike education, it does not strive to provide systemic knowledge and skills that can be qualified and assessed.

A separate tool is environmental propaganda, which allows you to disseminate concrete ideas, for example, about the danger of forest fires at a given time of year. Extreme environmental propaganda is often justified, but it may not only have good intentions. For example, when it is organized to create anti-advertising for a competing enterprise or to achieve its closure. Or to attract scandalous attention to your organization, in order to gain funds, gain influence, or even receive “compensation” money. In this case, they talk about the facts of “ecological terrorism”.

A special form of influence on the individual is environmental education. This is by no means synonymous with environmental education. If education forms the cognitive sphere, understanding of cause-and-effect relationships and the ability to manage them, then education creates a system of values ​​and goals, motivation and evaluation of activities. Their assimilation is more important than memorizing specific information. In upbringing, the high role is played not by educational institutions, but by informal communication within the family or reference group, and free observation of others. In general, environmental education forms the moral and ethical basis of a person’s relationship with nature.

In the process of environmental education, upbringing and enlightenment, an environmental culture is formed. Just as musical culture allows us to create music and navigate its diversity, ecological culture gives us an understanding of the value of living nature, allows us to understand the environmental consequences of our activities and choose the path of least damage to the environment. This is not an easy choice! What is better, leaving the forest untouched and alive, or selling it as boards, sawdust, resin, cones and ginseng preparations? What is better, to sharply limit the fish catch in the Black Sea - or to exceed the catch plan, processing most of the fish for fertilizers and livestock feed? People who do not have an environmental culture usually settle on the second option, which is more profitable at the moment. But after some time they are faced with consequences - desertification of the land and impoverishment of the sea, which are difficult or even impossible to correct. Or rather, it is not they who are facing each other: environmental damage usually goes to the population, especially new generations, and short-term profits go to business executives. The ability to prevent such management is also an element of the ecological culture of society.

Environmental education and training develops several basic attitudes in the mind:

1. Man is a living being, he depends and needs the world of living nature. By fencing himself off from it with an artificial environment and materials, he loses a lot. Negative changes in nature inevitably affect people's health and living standards. The anthroposphere is a dependent part of the biosphere.
2. The cultivation and destruction of wild nature worsens the condition of the biosphere, and therefore the human world. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve part of it in its original form - as nature reserves and parks. Wildlife has the same right to exist on Earth as humans. Neighborhood with wild nature does not worsen, but, on the contrary, enriches the human world.
3. Living and nonliving elements of nature, including humans, have complex relationships. Impact on one element or distortion of the connections themselves leads to changes in the entire natural system.

The assimilation of these attitudes forms environmental consciousness. This process is based on a variety of information flows that develop the personality. A love of nature can be instilled not only by reading E. Seton-Thompson's books and watching the movie "Bambi", but also at a football stadium - where a rare animal is the mascot of your favorite team, or at a graffiti competition. The behavior of parents at a picnic, friends on a hike, pedestrians and passengers - everything here has educational significance. A person can be instilled not only with love, but also with disgust for nature, the desire to destroy and spoil it! This is a very important point: there are powerful forces in society that do not so much hinder the formation of environmental consciousness (or greening), but rather purposefully create ecophobic attitudes. Let me give you an example. Young people exposed to the outdoors tend to gravitate toward more “adult,” “independent,” and “barbaric” behavior that challenges conventional norms. They smoke a lot, drink alcohol, light fires, break branches or benches, and make noise. This is not so much their whim as a stable social tradition: “it’s how it’s supposed to be.” Those who do not follow it are perceived as outsiders. Collecting garbage, lighting a fire on an equipped (or at least old) fire pit, monitoring the safety of the forest, behaving quietly so as not to disturb animals - on average, is regarded as an inappropriate, “uncool” activity.

Environmental education for preschoolers

Environmental education for preschool children is understood as a continuous process of training, education and development of the child, aimed at the formation of his environmental culture, which is manifested in an emotionally positive attitude towards nature, the environment, a responsible attitude towards one’s health and the state of the environment, and compliance with certain moral norms, in the system of value orientations.

The environmental education of a preschool child should begin with the children’s assimilation of knowledge that has a generalized, fundamentally theoretical nature. More specific and specific knowledge, including various kinds of empirical knowledge, must be derived from generalized theoretical knowledge as from its single genetic basis. It is necessary to introduce basic scientific, environmental and moral-ecological concepts into the consciousness and thinking of schoolchildren at the initial stages.

The pedagogical value of this approach is determined by the fact that in this case the child develops a holistic and fundamentally correct idea of ​​the subject being studied, its real state and its problems, and a strong orientation and motivational foundation is laid for all subsequent stages of the formation of environmental responsibility: Thanks to this approach, in thinking and in the consciousness of preschoolers, a certain “framework image” is formed, which will subsequently be purposefully and gradually differentiated and onto which more specific theoretical and empirical knowledge, as well as specific examples confirming them, will subsequently be “strung”.

The specifics of the preschool stage as the first stage of the system of continuous environmental education are determined by the psychological and physiological characteristics of the preschool child, which is taken into account when selecting content and methodology.

When selecting the content of environmental education for preschoolers, three groups of principles should be taken into account.

General didactic principles: scientific character and accessibility (familiarity of preschoolers with a set of elementary scientific environmental knowledge, which serves as the basis for the formation of motivation for a child’s actions, the development of cognitive interest, and the formation of the foundations of a worldview); humanism (raising a person with new values, who knows the basics of consumer culture, cares about his health and wants to lead healthy image life; having an idea of ​​the diversity of nature’s values: aesthetic, moral, cognitive, practical, etc.); consistency (reflected in the nature, logic, sequence of presentation of material, organization of work in a preschool institution, in the study of living objects as systems of different levels).

Principles specific to the environmental education of preschool children: integrity (reflects, first of all, the preschooler’s holistic perception of the world around him and the child’s unity with the natural world); constructivism (ecological education of preschool children is based only on neutral, positive or negative-positive information).

The main criteria for choosing methods in the process of environmental education are:

Providing opportunities for mastering a system of environmental ideas, environmental and moral-ecological concepts, intellectual and practical skills.
. Providing a scientific approach to the consideration and analysis of modern environmental problems.
. Aimed at developing new environmentally responsible models of behavior and activity in preschoolers in the natural environment, and introducing interaction with nature into their daily practice.
. Involving preschoolers in the process of their active learning, providing opportunities for independence, cooperation, responsibility and the ability to make environmentally responsible decisions.
. Developing the willingness and ability to constantly discover and explore the natural environment, ensuring a real contribution to maintaining its environmentally favorable condition.
. Providing direct contacts of preschoolers with the natural environment for their emotionally rich communication with nature.

Methods of environmental education should encourage preschoolers to be active, to independently raise questions about the natural environment, and to search for answers to these questions.

Environmental education for children

Environmental education of preschool children has always been an important area of ​​work for preschool institutions. However, the introductory nature of the process of environmental education, the focus on formal memorization, and not on analysis, reflection, assessment of environmental situations and the actions of people in the environment, the loss of ways of living in nature, isolation from nature, which is reflected in the child’s lifestyle, his actions, does not allow us to speak about the high effectiveness of environmental education.

Environmental education should cover both the rational and emotional spheres of the child. Experience convinces us that slogans and even the most good books and films are not sufficient for the formation of active environmental consciousness. Consciousness is formed in the process of activity. If a boy or girl fences off anthills and saves fry, they seem to be participating in the work of nature itself. It is not just mercy that is being cultivated here, but something more is happening that has no name, which is only weakly reflected by the term “formation of consciousness.”

However, new regulatory documents regulating the activities of preschool educational institutions introduce additional restrictions on the organization of interaction with nature. In SanPiN 2.4.1.2660-10, paragraph 6.13 reveals the requirements for the organization of corners and rooms of nature, herbal garden, herbal bar, according to which, they “can only be organized in separate rooms or in separately designated places. Cleaning up animals and caring for plants can only be carried out by preschool staff. Children can only water plants. Placing aquariums, animals, and birds in group premises is not permitted.” Considering that currently there is an acute problem of lack of places in preschool institutions, the allocation of separate areas for organizing nature rooms becomes problematic. Thus, the search for strategies and technologies, methods of working with preschoolers that are effective in conditions of limited opportunities for children to communicate with nature becomes relevant.

Order of the Ministry of Education and Science No. 655 “On the approval and introduction of federal state requirements for the structure of the basic general education program of preschool education” (hereinafter referred to as FGT), dictates new requirements for the work of preschool educational institutions.

The main directions of preschool education are:

Cognitive-speech;
- physical;
- social and personal;
- artistic and aesthetic.

Each direction corresponds to educational areas:

Cognitive-speech direction - “Cognition”, “Communication”, “Reading fiction”;
- social and personal direction “Safety”, “Socialization”, “Labor”;
- artistic and aesthetic direction – “Artistic creativity”, “Music”;
- physical direction – “ Physical culture", "Health". Each educational area (with the exception of Health, Safety) is aimed at the development of children's activities, for example, “Physical education” - motor;
- “Socialization” – gaming; “Labor” – labor;
- “Communication” – communicative;
- “Cognition” – cognitive-research and productive;
- “Artistic creativity” – productive.

It provides:

Formation of a holistic picture of the world around the child;
- development of interest in objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality, habitats of humans, animals, plants;
- the formation of environmental ideas, the value foundations of the relationship to the surrounding world, satisfying children's curiosity without suppressing interest in recognizing nature, instilling the first skills of activity and independent thinking.

The fundamental difference between the model of organizing the educational process in accordance with FGT and the “old” model is: the exclusion of the educational block (but not the learning process); increasing the volume of the block of joint activities between adults and children; changing the content of the concept of “joint activity of adults and children”, taking into account its essential features. At the same time, a new concept of “direct educational activity” is introduced, and requirements for its planning and organization in a preschool institution are provided. How do classes differ from direct educational activities? Thus, SanPiN 2.4.1.2791-10 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for the design, content and organization of the operating regime in preschool organizations» No. 164, amends clause 12.16, where the word “classes” is replaced with the words “directly educational activities”.

Thus, the structure and forms of organization of the entire educational process are being updated, towards its individualization, changing the position of the teacher in relation to children.

In accordance with FGT, the main models of education for preschool children are: joint activities of adults and children and independent activities of children. Joint activity of an adult and children in the process of direct educational activities and routine moments, as noted by N.A. Korotkov, is characterized by the teacher’s involvement in activities on an equal basis with the children; voluntary participation of preschoolers in activities (without mental and disciplinary coercion); free communication and movement of children during activities (subject to the organization of the workspace); open time end of activity (everyone works at their own pace). The author also proposes to replace the division “game - educational activities”, which is usual for modern preschool pedagogy, leading to a break in the integrity of the educational process, with a more suitable structure from the point of view of psychology and age-appropriate: play and related activities. At the same time, the main form of work with preschool children and the leading activity for them is play. A feature of new approaches to preschool education is the final results of children’s mastery of the basic general education program of preschool education, which describe the integrative qualities of the child.

The emergence of FGT is natural - they reflect the changes that have occurred in society. And most importantly, society itself has changed, in which new challenges and new situations constantly arise. This forces us to move from simply transferring knowledge to children to developing the ability to learn, obtain and analyze knowledge ourselves. No less important is the emphasis on the implementation of educational objectives in different types children’s activities (play, communication, work, cognitive-research, productive, musical-art, reading) and during routine moments,” and not just in special classes. Thus, today, more than ever, questions related to the development of a child’s personality, his activities, and ways for a child to master different aspects of reality, including nature, are relevant.

In recent years, design and research activities of children and adults, problem-based, thematic learning have become very popular. As emphasized in all studies of cognitive activity, the main reason causing cognitive activity is subjective uncertainty: uncertainty of an object, situation. The objects of children's cognitive activity are extremely diverse - the child strives to explore everything that is in his near and distant, physical and social environment.

Thus, in conditions of high novelty and uncertainty, the child is required to have such means of cognition that allow him to collect a maximum of primary, “raw” data about the situation. The broadest possible orientation of the child to all the diversity of manifestations of reality acquires greater importance here. It is well known that a child’s questions are of great importance for his development. At the age of 3-4 years, questions make up a quarter of all child’s statements. As N.N. showed Poddyakov, the basis of children’s questions is unclear, indefinite problem knowledge, which forms a significant part of the child’s psyche. This kind of knowledge of children, their questions, guesses and assumptions create a problematic vision and problematic attitude towards the world; they are an integral part of the heuristic structure of the child’s personality. The effectiveness and success of the process of environmental education for children depends on a number of pedagogical conditions. Pedagogical conditions are understood as those that are consciously created in the educational process and that should ensure the most effective formation and flow of the necessary process.

A.I. Savenkov calls “problem-based learning” one of the conditions. It must be organized according to the laws of scientific research; it must be built as an independent creative search. Then learning is no longer a reproductive, but a creative activity; then it contains everything that can captivate and interest, awaken a thirst for knowledge.” V.T. Kudryavtsev suggests actively using “laboratory corners” that would encourage the child to observe and experiment. All materials and equipment of the “laboratory” should be at the complete disposal of children; many materials should be universal: scraps of fabric, paper, pieces of wood, pebbles, nuts, bolts and other valuable things that often fill the pockets of young researchers. These items serve as a source of new ideas and at the same time material for creating a variety of projects. Stimulation and self-regulation of cognitive activity in these conditions is carried out due to the curiosity of children and its constant stimulation by the teacher and the child’s subject-spatial environment.

One of the conditions for the formation of a holistic picture of the world and broadening the horizons of preschool children is the organization of children's environmental and subcultural practices.

The environmental activities of preschoolers are imitative in nature, since they model life practice and are aimed at mastering specific practical skills. In this regard, it would be more correct to designate it as an environmentally oriented activity, the content of which includes cognitive, practical, value-oriented environmental activities. Cognitive environmentally-oriented activities include observation, experimentation, modeling, and collecting. Practical environmentally oriented activities in preschool educational institutions are associated with the formation of strategies for non-pragmatic interaction with nature. It includes: work in nature, nature management, environmental activities, organized as environmentally oriented, gaming, speech, and artistic activities. Value-oriented activities in nature are aimed at acquiring experience of value orientations and value judgments (critical assessment of the state of the environment; discussion of the consequences of human activity, choice of decisions, behavior. The formation of an environmental attitude begins with the accumulation of experience in the emotional-perceptual sphere through direct contact with natural environment (“empathy”) Thanks to ecological-subcultural practices, the child develops a circle of environmental interests and cultural-ecological needs, which he seeks to satisfy independently, or with the help of peers or adults. In environmental education, widespread diagnostic options should also change, aimed primarily at them. to test the child’s knowledge, and not to develop his cognitive interest and research activities.

Thus, in modern conditions, environmental education is closely connected with the development of the child’s personality, his activities, with the child’s ways of mastering different aspects of reality, including nature; creating conditions that take into account the developmental characteristics, interests of children, and the characteristics of the educational process in a preschool educational institution. The goals of environmental education are the formation of an initiative, active and independent child; refusal to copy school technologies and forms of educational organization; organizing children's ecological and subcultural practices.

Development of environmental education

Most European countries have adopted national education strategies for sustainable development, the implementation of which is coordinated at the state level and assessed according to international ESD indicators. According to the international Assessment of the implementation of the objectives of the UNECE Strategy for ESD in the countries of Europe and Central Asia, the group of advanced countries in ESD includes Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, with the Baltic countries, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine occupying an intermediate position. According to updated data, the Russian Federation is included in the third and last group, ahead only of Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan. State policy in the field of environmental education in the interests of sustainable development should be implemented at the federal, regional and local levels, affecting all levels of the educational system (preschool, school, secondary vocational, higher, additional).

In Federal Law No. 7-FZ “On Environmental Protection” Art. 71, ch. XIII “Fundamentals of the formation of environmental culture” of the law states that in order to form an environmental culture and professional training of specialists ... a system of general and comprehensive environmental education is established, which includes preschool and general school education, secondary and higher vocational education, postgraduate education and professional retraining, advanced training of specialists, as well as dissemination of environmental knowledge, including through the media, museums, libraries, cultural institutions, environmental institutions, etc.

In Art. 72, paragraph 1 of the law states that teaching the fundamentals of environmental knowledge is carried out in preschool, school general education institutions and institutions of higher and additional education, regardless of their profile and organizational and legal forms. In Art. 74 defines the need for general environmental education of the population, in which all levels of government of the Russian Federation, local governments, the media, etc. should take part.

Thus, universal compulsory environmental education and training of the younger generation, students and environmental education of the entire population of the Russian Federation has been established by law.

This was undoubtedly due to Russia’s entry into the European educational space. The signing of the Bologna Agreement at the level of ministers of education of 29 European countries has necessitated profound changes in the education system associated with the search for strategies for its modernization.

The decision of the Parliamentary hearings of the State Duma of the Russian Federation “On the participation of the Russian Federation in the implementation of the Strategy of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe for Education for Sustainable Development” notes that in Russia favorable preconditions have developed for the development of this new direction of education, based on existing scientific schools in the field of environmental education.

Dmitry Medvedev approved the “Fundamentals of state policy in the field of environmental development Russian Federation for the period until 2030”, in which he set a number of specific tasks related to the development of environmental education and awareness, including:

Ensuring that the process of education and training in educational institutions is focused on the formation of environmentally responsible behavior, including through the inclusion in federal state educational standards of relevant requirements for the formation of the foundations of environmental literacy among students;
development of a system of training and advanced training in the field of environmental protection and ensuring environmental safety of managers of organizations and specialists responsible for making decisions when carrying out economic and other activities that have or may have a negative impact on the environment;
inclusion of issues of the formation of environmental culture, environmental education and upbringing in state, federal and regional programs.

Level of development of environmental education in Russia

If we talk about the state of development of environmental education in Russia, then one gets the impression that the current low level of organization of environmental education in the country, which in no way corresponds to the severity of environmental problems, is not a consequence of the absence or insufficiency of the legislative framework. Most likely, this is the lack of state policy in the field of environmental education, training and enlightenment at the federal level.

For example, the projects of the National Strategy of Education for Sustainable Development in the Russian Federation and the Action Plan for the formation and development of education for sustainable development in the Russian Federation have not found adequate support from the executive and legislative authorities of the country and have remained virtually outside the educational field of the Russian Federation.

In addition, the problems hindering the development of environmental education for sustainable development include the extremely low status of the problem of forming environmental education for sustainable development in society in general and, in particular, in comparison with the situation in Western countries; the dissemination of environmental innovations in education for sustainable development mainly in higher education, with almost negligible presence in school education and other sectors.

Based on the foregoing, in recent years, despite certain recognized successes, the spread of environmental education has turned out to be a complex, contradictory process, encountering not only organizational, administrative, political obstacles, but also difficulties associated with a superficial understanding of the importance of environmental knowledge in ensuring the necessary quality of life. Direct economic interests continue to take precedence over environmental needs. There is still a fairly low awareness of the general population about the state of the natural environment, low ecological culture, which means that in modern conditions basic social institutions are not able to fully create the level of environmental literacy necessary for the transition to a co-evolutionary (sustainable) path development.

Environmental education and upbringing

In a non-specialized form, “ecological education” was already carried out in the ancient civilizations of the West and especially the East. The ecological component was part of the general picture of the world of the founders of philosophy - Confucius, Lao Tzu, Democritus, Aristotle. In modern times, environmental education in a non-specialized form accompanies the emergence and development of environmental science.

Ecology arose in the depths of biology in the form of knowledge about the connection of a living organism with the natural environment. The idea of ​​the need for a special study of the connections between species and their natural environment arose when the understanding came that living organisms evolve and that the external environment plays the most important, determining role in this process. This understanding, as we know, found its completion in Charles Darwin’s idea of ​​the “struggle for existence” in living nature.

A closer connection between the science of ecology and environmental awareness and education began to form simultaneously with the introduction of the term “ecology” into scientific circulation by E. Haeckel in 1866. The object of environmental knowledge is no longer only living organisms and their communities, but also the biosphere as a whole. Finally, a decisive shift in the development of environmental education occurs with the emergence in the 70s of the 20th century. social ecology, the most important priority of which is environmental education.

Our Russian environmental education has a long tradition of developing knowledge about the relationship between man and nature. Initially, it was formed on the basis of natural science, which was established as a subject in Russian schools at the end of the 18th century. This was followed by the inclusion of natural science among the subjects studied by students at the teachers' seminary. Thanks to the efforts of such luminaries of Russian natural science as A.N. Beketov and K.A. Timiryazev, their pedagogical works in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. the natural science foundation of environmental education was created. Subsequently, environmental education and upbringing in our country have evolved significantly.

Already, the programs and instructions of the People's Commissariat for Education set the school the task of studying the local region and carrying out work on nature conservation, to develop useful skills in the students of the school in this nationally important matter. In the 20-30s, forms and methods of work began to be introduced into mass practice, activating the cognitive and practical activities of schoolchildren to study and protect the natural environment, especially when studying natural science and in extracurricular activities. In the 1930s, environmental knowledge was included in biology and geography curricula, many of which remained unchanged until the end of the 1970s. In the post-war years, a number of resolutions on nature protection were adopted with the participation of public education authorities in improving work in the study of nature, reasonable and love relationship to her and her guards. In the 50-60s, environmental education and education of youth grew rapidly throughout the world, this also applies to our country; laws on nature protection are adopted in all republics of the USSR; environmental issues are being strengthened in the educational process; In elementary school, an independent subject is “natural history.” In the 70-80s, special attention was paid to issues of education in the field of rational environmental management and nature conservation. In 1972, one of the world's first environmental education laboratories was created as part of the Research Institute of Content and Teaching Methods of the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences. In the same year, a long-term comprehensive research program on environmental protection of the member countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was approved. What is new in environmental education is the development of elective course programs on nature conservation.

Environmental education has received a new meaning since the early 90s. The construction of an environmental education system was based on a number of methodological principles formulated back in the 80s by such scientists as S. N. Glazachev, A. N. Zakhlebny, I. D. Zverev, E. S. Slastenina, I. T. Suravegina . The starting point was the idea that humanity is connected with nature by its origin, existence and its future; human history is part of the history of nature; the integrity of the natural environment is the natural basis of life in the biosphere; the quality of an ecologically healthy environment, along with social conditions, is the basis of human physical and spiritual health; labor is the basis of interaction between man and society with nature, a factor in its change; change in the natural environment is inevitable, but it has limits, therefore the goals of reasonable human activity must comprehensively take into account the manifestation of the laws of nature, etc.

Scientists have developed specific principles of environmental education: the principle of the unity of cognition-experience-action; principle of continuity; the principle of interrelation between global, national and local history approaches to the analysis of environmental problems and ways to solve them; the principle of interdisciplinarity, etc., which, along with those widely used in didactics, formed the basis of environmental education.

The first principle from the “specific” group guides teachers towards combining rational knowledge of nature and man’s place in it with the sensory and emotional impact on the student of both direct communication with the natural environment and artistic and figurative means of art. Underestimation of this principle, believes I.D. Zverev, leads either to pure intellectualism, or to unsubstantiated daydreaming, or to calculating “narrow” practicality. The principle of continuity is considered as an organizational and pedagogical condition that ensures the process of formation and development of a responsible attitude towards the environment among schoolchildren of junior, middle and senior age in the system of classroom and extracurricular activities, as well as all types of socially useful work.

During these years, the content of environmental education was identified, the main components of which were knowledge and value orientations. As the core of the environmental education system, A. N. Zakhlebny identifies four interrelated components: cognitive - basic ideas about the nature of the interaction between nature and society, about global environmental problems and ways to solve them, etc.; value - value orientations about the multilateral social and personal significance of nature; normative - the basics of moral and legal norms of environmental management, rules of behavior in the environment; activity-based - types and methods of schoolchildren’s activities aimed at developing cognitive and practical skills of an environmental nature.

At present, along with the strengthening of the positions of the new humanistic type of ecological culture, the question of which ideas about the biosocial system “man-society-nature” should first of all be introduced into environmental education and upbringing is becoming increasingly important, and which principles of the previous consumer culture should be subject to critical revision.

The fact of the global environmental crisis requires the consolidation in the education and upbringing of the younger generation and in the education of the population as a whole of a new worldview, namely, the replacement of the idea of ​​the “nature and society” system with the idea of ​​​​the objective existence of another “nature-society” system. The scientific and technological revolution, the powerful strengthening of man's technical equipment in a rigid form, reveals his complete dependence on the resources of living and inanimate nature. This dramatic situation should be the focus of both teacher and students.

Nowadays, all the living nature of the planet is involved in human activity, in the very life support of human society. This state of affairs conceals another major priority of modern environmental education, which should be paid special attention to. The fact is that the impoverishment of the gene pool, irreversible losses of animal and plant species are gradually destroying living nature. And this destruction is not so obvious; it doesn’t seem to concern us. If, say, the consequences of polluting water bodies with industrial waste are completely clear, then this allows us to consider this topic already in elementary school. It is more difficult to understand that the purity of natural waters, the gas composition of the atmosphere, the processing of household and industrial waste, their return to the biological circulation system, and the restoration of disturbed biosphere communities are provided by living organisms. Inclusion in the educational process of the idea that the main condition for the effectiveness of these processes is the diversity of life forms is a very difficult task, requiring a high ideological level and pedagogical skill, but an absolutely necessary task of modern environmental education.

Further, the most important aspect of modern environmental education is the scientific propaganda that environmental laws concern both material and spiritual culture and, thus, influence social processes. Nature conservation, through feedback, returns to us by protecting human well-being. Adhering to such an unambiguous formulation, one cannot, however, allow oneself to fall into the “new anthropocentrism” and miss the problem of humane care for nature. What is needed is a broad approach to the topic “man-society-nature” and knowledge of not only general ecology, but also social ecology, and the inclusion of this subject in the entire scope of the educational process.

Due to the vital importance of environmental issues, the mandatory principle of the methodology of environmental education should be the principle of its continuity. Environmental education is currently considered to be a unified system, the main components of which are formal (preschool, school, secondary specialized and higher) education and non-formal education of the adult population.

V. M. Nazarenko highlights various models environmental education organizations currently characteristic of secondary secondary school. These are the inclusion of environmental information in traditional subjects; studying environmental issues in a specially designated subject; the formation of environmental knowledge in various academic subjects, and then their integration into a separate subject; complete reform of the educational process. However, the majority of schools in the country (98%) operate according to the first model.

V. M. Nazarenko argues that the creation of a system of continuous environmental education requires a new paradigm: environmental education is not part of formal education, but its new meaning, its goal. The ideological basis of environmental education consists of two interrelated approaches: biocentric and anthropocentric, which allow us to form ideas about the unity of nature and man, about ways to harmonize their interaction, about the co-evolution of nature and society as the only possible path for the development of modern civilization, as well as about the personality structure that meets the requirements environmental ethics.

Let us now turn to the central link of environmental education and upbringing - to the school.

Leading experts in school pedagogy, in our opinion, rightly believe that a teacher engaged in environmental teaching constantly needs to have a certain super-task in front of him: the knowledge of a young person - a school graduate - must correspond to the advanced achievements of science, combined with ecological culture, with its humanistically integral economic, legal, moral, aesthetic and practical attitude of man to nature.

Modern ideas about variable education in both primary and secondary schools correlate well with the teaching of ecology, a relatively new subject: both of these circumstances require from the teacher himself and from his student a creative attitude to teaching, the main result of which should be the education of human responsibility towards nature .

Further, it is no less important that a school graduate enters adult working life, having stable values ​​of caring for living and inanimate nature, truly learning what can and cannot be allowed in both production and ordinary, everyday relationships with her. At the same time, an ecology teacher should not be shy high style presentation of his subject, conveying to the student’s consciousness that his subject is really really connected not only with his personal well-being and the well-being of his loved ones, but also of all humanity. An emotional, artistic, imaginative approach to the soul of a person, even if he is still very young, is an indispensable element of the entire system of environmental awareness, education and upbringing.

In the system of continuous education, preschool education is its first stage. At this stage, preschoolers develop hygienic habits, develop simple practical skills, and become aware of basic environmental problems.

In the primary grades, knowledge about the natural and social environment acquired by the student in the family and in preschool institutions is consolidated and developed. Teaching is conducted strictly and logically; figurative forms of teaching and reference to art and fiction are also required. At this age, the foundations of ecological culture and a holistic understanding of nature are laid, a scientific attitude towards the natural environment is formed, the need for its protection is recognized, norms of behavior in the environment and the skills of basic environmentally literate actions are acquired. Each subject studied in primary school (native language, drawing, music, labor training, etc.) reveals natural history material in a new way, enriches and helps develop communication skills with natural objects. At the secondary school level, the main role in environmental education is given to the topic “Natural Science” with the involvement of environmental tasks, games, as well as some types of practical communication with nature. In these classes it is recommended to develop “green” moral values ​​accessible to adolescence. The goal of raising children of this age (11-14 years old) is to develop a positive attitude towards the environment. This happens in geography, biology, literature, and physics lessons.

In middle and high school, when studying integrated courses “Health and the Environment”, “Biosphere and Man”, “Fundamentals of Ecology”, “Human Ecology”, “Nature and Culture”, “Environmental Protection”, the student’s moral orientation in his relationship with nature. Here the foundations of a dialectical understanding of the unity of nature and society are laid, and nature protection is considered as part of the general human culture. At this stage, a modern worldview is formed, built on integrative knowledge about the world around us and manifested in responsible, active behavior based on the conviction of the need to protect the natural environment. The role of environmental practice is important.

School environmental education specialists also pay attention to the planned sequence of teaching educational material. Thematically and methodologically, this is formed approximately and in general in this way: clarifying the student’s specific experience of communication with nature; familiarization with the history of the emergence and development of environmental problems; formation of the problem in the modern understanding; clear identification of difficulties in solving it; instilling legal and ethical standards of communication between man and nature and specific environmental practices corresponding to this. At the final stage of learning, independence and a creative attitude to the subject and, finally, as already emphasized earlier, responsibility to nature become crucial.

The level of modern school education largely depends on the introduction into constant practice of new original methods and techniques of teaching and education. Among them we can name the widespread and continuous computerization of environmental education, from junior to senior classes. It is also necessary to introduce extraordinary pedagogical techniques, such as a “summer ecological camp” or, starting from elementary grades, project lessons, such as: “The forest is my friend”, “The city of my dreams”, “Eco-shop”, “Eco-theater”, “ Nature and art."

Currently, many alternative secondary educational institutions of additional environmental education have appeared in connection with the creation of a modern environmental information culture (farm schools, correspondence environmental lyceums for students of rural schools and small towns, camps and schools in certain areas of environmental and biological education, etc. .). As an example, let’s take the Lyceum of Environmental Information Technologies (“Noosphere School”). The basic principles of the educational process here are based on an understanding of the unity of man and the rest of the world; The philosophical basis was the concept of unity, developed by the beginning of our century by Russian thinkers and sophiologists V. Solovyov, P. Florensky, S. Bulgakov and others. The natural philosophical basis was the scientific and philosophical concept of the biosphere and its transition to the noosphere by V. Vernadsky. This concept was developed by a group of scientists from Irkutsk - Yu. Abramov, M. Aleshkevich, A. Burovsky, A. Kostin - and introduced into the innovative educational institution of the second additional career guidance education.

The goal of this educational program is to foster an ecological culture that ensures the progress of society in the harmony of man and nature, the formation of civic maturity and responsibility towards nature, man, society, and oneself.

Objectives of the educational program:

1. To combine and systematize disparate knowledge on subjects of the natural, social and humanitarian cycle, revealing the nature of the relationship and interaction of nature and man both in the distant historical past at the present stage and in the future for the 21st century.
2. Analyze the causes of the consequences and ways to overcome the environmental crisis.
3. To form in students a personal attitude towards preserving the environment and an active life position.

The structure of the educational program is built on a block-modular principle, which makes it possible to design a new curriculum with an environmental focus.

Environmental education is an organic and priority part of the entire education system, giving it a new quality, forming a different attitude not only to nature, but also to society, to man (eco-humanism). Greening education means the formation of a new worldview and a new approach to activity, based on the formation of noospheric, humanitarian and environmental values.

Moving on to university environmental education, we must state that appropriate school education and upbringing, their progressiveness and modernity depend primarily on the organization of training for the future school teacher within the walls of a pedagogical university.

The level of such training is given a certain idea by quantitative data taken from selective expert assessments of specialists in this field. Thus, when studying the readiness of university graduates for environmental education of schoolchildren, up to 30% of them showed a high degree of both knowledge and methodological preparation. An assessment of the work of specialists in various educational institutions revealed that 27% of teachers teaching social ecology have improved their qualification category. At the same time, there is data from recent years of a different, negative nature. Studies of the level of professional competence of 1,300 teachers and applicants to pedagogical universities showed that about 25% of teachers do not sufficiently master the technique of relaying environmental knowledge, are not able to fit the content of environmental education into the framework of general natural science knowledge, up to 50% of school graduates - applicants to pedagogical universities - do not master modern environmental culture and continue to adhere to consumer views on the natural environment.

The above statistics indicate that, despite many negative external objective factors and insufficient mastery of the methods of environmental education, undoubted changes are being observed here. There is a constant expansion of environmental topics, including its social component in higher education; the importance of environmental education is enshrined in legislative acts covering both school and vocational education.

The volume of scientific research in the field of theory and practice of environmental education has increased significantly, the principle of continuous environmental education has been approved, the sequence of such education in school has been developed, textbooks for schoolchildren and teaching aids for teachers have been written, and the greening of all preschool and school education and upbringing is underway. As a result, we can probably say that environmental education is becoming an important factor in reforming and modernizing Russian education as a whole.

The insufficient degree of development of environmental education in universities is, of course, understandable: environmental education, especially in its modern version, is still very young by historical standards; in fact, it is just in its infancy; many pedagogical universities do not yet have a full-length course on ecology, including its social aspect; in many areas of ecology as a subject of science and teaching, there remain more problems than solutions; The general social background also has a clear effect - an underestimation of the depth of the environmental crisis in our society, which is gripped by a crisis of a different kind.

As a result, the effectiveness of environmental teaching in school, the main link of environmental education and upbringing, is not yet satisfactory.

As for the immediate intra-university problems of environmental education, we believe that many of them are quite well known to teachers and students themselves: lack of teaching aids, far from being fully equipped with the latest research technology, etc. Here we will only point out some of the shortcomings in the formulation environmental education may not be so obvious.

It should probably be recognized that the methodological basis necessary for applied research on environmental education of students and specific methodological developments has not yet been sufficiently developed; the general secondary education system does not have established principles of environmental education; there is a certain gap between the fairly good level of general school environmental education and the level of development of environmental and pedagogical education; There has been an intensification of the opposition between humanitarian, natural science and technical cultures, in particular, in connection with this, natural science content is extensively represented in environmental education, but the humanities lag significantly behind, including social ecology, which is largely deprived of attention.

Today, the introduction of such specialties and additional qualifications as a teacher-specialist in social ecology, a teacher of additional environmental education, a teacher of preschool environmental education, a manager of environmental education, which are not only relevant, but also designed for the future, which is important for a university, is only at the initial stage. teacher education. Curriculums on ethnoecology, ecological-pedagogical practice, and environmental local history are not being actively implemented enough - they are also timely and promising. In university training, the traditions of different peoples and their ecological culture are poorly mastered, and sustainable interaction between pedagogical universities and schools has not been established.

The solution to these and other similar problems, further attention to environmental education could contribute to the formation of its holistic scientifically based structure.

Such a structure, according to leading experts in this field, should include a number of elements:

1. Environmental education of a student at a pedagogical university as a component organically inherent in his general culture.
2. Formation of a humanistic environment at the university as a condition for the development of environmental culture and practical readiness of graduates for school environmental education and upbringing in their modern and progressive understanding.
3. Training of an environmental teacher for education at a professionally qualified level.

Based on this structure, a scheme of consistent environmental education at a pedagogical university is being built. At the initial stage, the student’s personal development and self-development occurs, his assimilation of cultural and natural priorities and values, initially at the figurative and emotional levels. In accordance with this dominant, training is organized throughout the general environmental program. At the second stage, the necessary educational and methodological knowledge is acquired, and the professional competence of the future specialist is developed. As a result, a number of subjects of fundamental environmental education are being formed: general ecology, social ecology, applied ecology, etc. At the third stage, conditions are created for the student’s professional identification and for choosing a qualification. At the fourth stage, students acquire worldview ideas about the “man-society-nature” system, and integration of research and scientific-pedagogical activities in this area is carried out; situations are created that stimulate his creative self-development.

An important role in the formation of the ecological culture of society is assigned to social institutions. Thus, N.N. Khramenkov identifies four main types of environmental social institutions, which, depending on their functions, are divided into practical, scientific, pedagogical and managerial. Great importance is attached to the media (print, radio, television).

It is also worth noting the final document of the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro - the “Agenda for the 21st Century” program, which provides a generalized assessment of the evolution of civilization and, most importantly, a fundamentally justified conclusion about the vital need for a transition of humanity towards sustainable development.

Understanding the specifics of sustainable development begins with understanding that at the center of such development is a person who has an inalienable right to a healthy and fruitful life, that environmental protection should really become the most important element of the sustainable development process, that society will move to a co-evolutionary way of interacting with nature, when the efforts of the collective mind will be aimed at ensuring the security of humanity in all respects and realizing human aspirations for personal and social well-being.

To achieve these goals, it is necessary to activate the full potential of culture, carry out a radical, humanistic reorientation of its entire system of values, and fully reveal the enduring significance of nature for human existence.

Methodology of environmental education

A) massive
b) group,
c) individual.

1. Clarity and specificity of the goals and objectives of observation. At the same time, the tasks should be cognitive in nature and stimulate the development of children’s mental activity.
2. For each observation, a small amount of information should be selected. Ideas about objects and natural phenomena are formed in preschoolers gradually, in the process of repeated “meetings” with them (in the process of the teacher using cycles of observations of the same object). Each subsequent observation should clarify, consolidate and specify, and expand the received ideas.
3. When organizing observations, you should think through the system and their interrelation, which will ensure that children understand the processes and phenomena that they observe.
4. Observation should stimulate children’s interest and cognitive activity.
5. The knowledge acquired by children as a result of observing objects and objects of nature should be reinforced, clarified, generalized and systematized through the use of other methods of environmental work with children (verbal and practical).

clarity of the artist's intention;

In preschool pedagogy, play has always played a big role in introducing nature.

The gaming direction is actively developing in the environmental education of preschool children. There are three main approaches to gaming methods: creation of new games with environmental (environmental) content, greening of traditional games and adaptation of folk games.

Recently, many teachers and educators have noted that due to the active spread of television and video equipment, computers, preschoolers have begun to play much less independently. Creating conditions for independent play requires special attention from the teacher. A positive result of the teacher’s work is the moment when children develop independent games with an environmental focus.

As part of the implementation of elements of developmental education in the practice of working with preschoolers, it is proposed to use elementary research activities (L.M. Manevtsova) and modeling activities (T.R. Vetrova).

1. Subject models that reproduce the structure and features, external and internal relationships of real-life objects and phenomena.
2. Subject-schematic models. In them, essential features, connections and relationships are presented in the form of mock-up objects.
3. Graphic models. They convey in general (conditionally) the characteristics, connections and relationships of natural phenomena.

To increase the effectiveness of the results of labor activity, the requirements imposed by the teacher on the child in the process of work must take into account the capabilities of the child of a particular age, that is, work in nature must be feasible for each specific child.

It is extremely important, before starting work, to develop in the child an emotionally positive attitude towards the object, to show that this object is alive, that it needs the careful attitude of this particular child (“without your help, the plant can dry out, and the guinea pig will die if it do not give water or food").

The problem of taking into account gender characteristics in preschool pedagogy began to arise only in recent decades. Experts have proven that girls and boys have significant differences in their perception of the world around them, motivation for behavior, etc. These differences are clearly manifested in the attitude to work in nature, but are practically not taken into account by teachers. Thus, according to the observations of educators, girls are more prone to long-term care of plants, they are happy to wipe leaves, replant, and water plants, while boys prefer more dynamic activities and more often choose animals rather than plants for care.

Taking this into account, the teacher should approach the organization of the child’s work activity from the perspective of variability, offering children various types of it:

Cognitive development of the child (creating conditions for cognitive activity, experimenting with natural materials, systematic observations of objects of living and inanimate nature; developing interest in natural phenomena, searching for answers to questions that interest the child and asking new questions);
- ecological and aesthetic development (attracting the child’s attention to the surrounding natural objects, developing the ability to see the beauty of the surrounding natural world, the diversity of its colors and shapes; preference for natural objects over artificial objects);
- child health improvement (use of environmentally friendly materials for interior design, toys; assessment of the environmental situation of the territory of a preschool institution; competent design, landscaping of the territory; creation of conditions for excursions, activities on fresh air);
- formation of the child’s moral qualities (creating conditions for regular care of living objects and communication with them, fostering a sense of responsibility, desire and ability to preserve the natural world around them);
- formation of environmentally literate behavior (skills in rational environmental management; caring for animals, plants, environmentally literate behavior in nature);
- greening of various types of child activities (creating conditions for independent games, experiments with natural materials, use of natural materials in arts and crafts classes, etc.).

The principle of positivism involves raising and teaching children using positive examples. Thus, in the practice of environmental education, prohibitions are widespread, which teachers introduce children to. First of all, these prohibitions are related to the study of the rules of behavior in nature. It is also important to remember that for a preschool child, learning slogans and rules is not particularly difficult, but the effectiveness of this approach from the point of view of environmental education is zero. The task of getting to know the rules is to create in the child the motivation for a certain type of behavior in nature, but independent behavior, independent of the fear of punishment or praise from an adult, is not achieved in this way. In order for a child to follow certain rules, he must understand their meaning and emotionally feel the consequences of non-compliance.

Environmental education system

The essence of the concept of “ecological education”. In recent years, in Russia and throughout the world, education has been viewed as a fundamental category that performs the function of reproducing social intelligence - science and culture in general.

Education can be considered both as a process, and as a result, and as a system. It reflects the process of a person’s mastering a system of knowledge, abilities, skills, experience of practical, cognitive and creative activities, as well as the process of forming value attitudes, views and beliefs.

The concept of modernization of Russian education and the National Doctrine of Education in the Russian Federation determine the focus of education on the preservation, dissemination and development of national culture, on fostering a careful attitude towards the historical and cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia. In addition, these documents clearly indicate the orientation of education towards raising Russian patriots, citizens of a legal, democratic state, respecting individual rights and freedoms, possessing high morality and showing national and religious tolerance.

In Russia, as in other countries, in accordance with the decision of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, the development of a strategy for the country's sustainable development began. Among the main directions of Russia's transition to sustainable development, along with the creation of its legal basis, the development of a system for stimulating economic activity and establishing the limits of responsibility for its environmental results, the formation of an effective system for promoting the ideas of sustainable development and the creation of an appropriate system of education and training are indicated.

The Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of the Natural Environment” (Article 73) states: “In order to improve the environmental culture of society and the professional training of specialists, a system of universal, comprehensive and continuous environmental education and training is being established, covering the entire process of preschool, school education and training , professional training of specialists in secondary and higher educational institutions, improving their qualifications using the media.”

The resolution of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of the Russian Federation “On environmental education of students in educational institutions of the Russian Federation” clearly outlines its priorities:

Creation of infrastructure to provide a system of continuous environmental education;
transforming all training courses from a green, sustainable development perspective;
filling the concept of “citizen of the planet” with real content;
addressing environmental issues of global significance;
creating a system of practical activities for students to improve the environment;
coordination of school and out-of-school education systems; primary, secondary and higher professional education, environmental and educational activities of non-governmental organizations;
training and advanced training of teaching staff on environmental education issues.

The uniqueness of environmental education is that it sets educational goals in a new way. The most important goal of environmental education is the formation of an ecological culture of the individual and society.

Currently, environmental culture is becoming not something desirable, but a strictly mandatory requirement of life in the global community. Involvement in environmental culture is strictly necessary not only for citizens of each country, but also for humanity as a whole. Ecological culture is a part of culture that determines the compliance of social activities with the requirements of the vital suitability of the natural environment.

A developed ecological culture presupposes the ability to appreciate each component of nature and becomes a necessary condition for the preservation and development of modern civilization. It manifests itself as a set of ideological, moral and political attitudes, social and moral values, norms and rules that ensure sustainable environmental quality, environmental safety and rational use of natural resources.

In environmental education, educational content is selected in a new way, since it is characterized by the principle of “new synthesis”, which has a special methodological significance (i.e. the synthesis of all human knowledge about nature, knowledge on the conservation and optimization of the environment).

Environmental education should be prognostically oriented, related to caring for nature and preserving living conditions for future generations of people; it re-evaluates the effectiveness of educational systems. In addition to knowledge, abilities, and skills, the assessment of the results of environmental education must include actions to preserve and improve the quality of the environment, as well as students’ value attitude toward nature.

Environmental education as a system is a set of educational programs, state educational standards and educational institutions implementing them.

The structure of the environmental education process. Currently, the structure of the environmental education process is conventionally divided into:

Environmental education is a purposeful process that includes the formation of a system of general environmental, socio-ecological and applied knowledge, as well as the development of methods and types of environmental activities and the ability to apply this knowledge in practice;
environmental education - the formation in students of attitudes, views, beliefs and norms of behavior, characterized by an emotional, moral, careful and responsible attitude towards nature;
environmental education is a continuous process of forming social consciousness of an environmental type based on the activation, expansion and maintenance of interest in environmental problems in society. This is the process of disseminating environmental knowledge and environmental information, increasing the environmental literacy of the population in matters of environmental safety and environmental protection.

Continuous environmental education. It should be noted that in the modern understanding, education should accompany the existence of every person throughout his life. Therefore, the concept of “continuing education” has come into scientific use, including “continuing environmental education”, aimed at mastering systemic environmental knowledge, skills and abilities in environmental activities and the formation of an environmental culture.

Currently, environmental education is carried out in many educational institutions through the introduction of various forms and types of training. The activities of environmental clubs are becoming increasingly important, training centers and clubs in the system of additional education for schoolchildren.

Continuous environmental education involves not only training and education of the individual in educational institutions in the system of preschool, general, secondary and higher professional education, but also advanced training of specialists. In Russian, along with the concept of “environmental education,” other names are used, such as “environmental education” or “environmental education.”

In general, applied environmental education includes:

1) study of possible adverse consequences of economic activities for nature and people themselves;
2) training the population in ways to reduce the negative consequences of anthropogenic impacts;
3) the study of ecology itself as one of the fundamental principles of rational environmental management.

In the modern understanding, the content of a complete environmental education should include the following sections:

Basic information on general ecology (responses of organisms, populations and communities to environmental factors, as well as intrapopulation processes and patterns of community development);
the doctrine of the biosphere, the cycle of substances, the evolution of the biosphere;
demographic patterns of human population growth;
the main stages of the evolution of human economic activity;
familiarization with the main scientific forecasts for the further development of mankind in connection with the limited natural resources and the danger of reducing the stability of the biosphere as a result of significant anthropogenic disruption of natural self-regulation mechanisms and a decrease in biological diversity;
analysis of the problem of exhaustibility of non-renewable resources, the possibilities of resource-saving technologies;
energy resources and the problem of global climate change as a result of a further increase in energy consumption; energy saving strategy;
the problem of environmental pollution, adverse effects on ecosystems and human health; ways to reduce environmental pollution; low-waste technologies;
legislative, economic and organizational methods of preventing the environmental crisis and ensuring environmental safety;
the importance of international cooperation, education and awareness, public participation and the role of each person in solving environmental problems;
the concept of sustainable development of humanity, a harmonious combination of economic growth, environmental sustainability and social well-being.

All of the above sections of environmental education are built in a strict logical sequence so that each next one builds on the previous ones and answers the main questions that arise during the training. For example, to clarify the nature and strength of humanity’s impact on the biosphere, it is necessary, first of all, to have a clear understanding of the patterns of population change. Then about the rate of depletion of natural resources as humanity develops. Then separately about possible reserves of energy resources, thanks to which it is possible to significantly compensate for the lack of one or another material resource. After this, the question arises about the transformation of consumed resources into waste and their impact on living things. Trying to then get answers to the questions: what to do? How to conserve resources, get rid of dangerous pollution, ensure environmental safety, and the sustainability of the biosphere? - let's move on to the organizational, economic and legal aspects of improving environmental management.

The order and basic content of environmental education have been structured gradually and in parallel in different countries over the past forty years. In Russia, environmental education is carried out comprehensively - through various disciplines that are directly related to the study of nature and all possible impacts on it. The corresponding sections, after long discussions, were included in the programs of courses in natural history, biology, geography, chemistry, ecology, life safety, etc. Environmental education has a positive effect provided that theoretical training is supplemented with practical exercises for the purpose of skills of everyday self-control and moderate use of natural resources, electricity, agricultural and industrial products.

In the process of environmental education, it is necessary to overcome the barrier of the traditional wasteful (consumer) lifestyle and active avoidance of collective responsibility for the dangerous consequences of anthropogenic impact on the environment. Environmental education is not limited to natural science and technical aspects, but includes a variety of humanitarian issues: human rights, responsibility to future generations, choosing priorities in life, attitude towards other living beings, etc.

In a number of countries, for example in the USA, there are special laws regulating and supporting environmental education. In Russia, much attention is paid to the theoretical aspects of the development of environmental education: there are special programs, educational literature is published, environmental Olympiads for schoolchildren, special conferences, and public events are held; The journals “Bulletin of Environmental Education in Russia” and “AsEko” are published. Educational standards for training specialists in the field of environmental protection have been developed. Many universities have created departments of the corresponding focus. However, environmental education is still in its infancy. Neither society as a whole nor the new generation of youth in Russia yet have a clear idea of ​​the necessary rules for ensuring environmental safety and environmental protection, although in advanced countries this goal has already been achieved. In Russia, it is necessary to more actively train qualified teachers and develop training programs in more detail, especially in terms of the practical application of acquired knowledge.

Each person must clearly understand:

How through his actions he can contribute to the purposeful preservation (or unconscious destruction) of the natural balance, starting from his home and ending with the entire biosphere;
how to act in the event of an environmental hazard and what standards must be observed by those organizations that deal with potentially hazardous substances;
who is responsible for ensuring environmental safety in the country, region, district.

Environmental education alone is not enough for this, since the entire population of the country must be taught to act correctly at the same time. All forms of transmission are used for this purpose. important information, seeking to educate the population and promote the growth of their environmental awareness.

Forms of environmental education

All work on environmental education is carried out in two directions: in the classroom and in everyday life. The knowledge, skills and abilities acquired by children in classes are reinforced in everyday life.

Based on leading didactic principles and analysis of the interests and inclinations of preschool children, scientists have developed various forms of environmental education.

They can be classified into:

A) massive
b) group,
c) individual.

Mass forms include children’s work on landscaping and landscaping the premises and territory of preschool educational institutions, mass environmental holidays; conferences; environmental festivals, role-playing games, site work.

For group classes - film lectures; excursions; hiking trips to explore nature; environmental workshop.

Individual forms involve observations of animals and plants; making crafts, drawing, modeling.

Let us consider possible options for using various types of child activities for the purposes of environmental education using individual examples.

Along with identifying specific tasks of working with children, which are solved in the process of introducing them to the natural world, and defining a system of knowledge about nature, a number of studies are devoted to the study of methods for introducing preschoolers to the natural environment. One of the leading methods is observation (B.G. Ananyev, V.T. Loginova, A.A. Lyublinskaya, P.G. Samorukova).

In modern psychological and pedagogical science, observation is proposed to be considered from different positions. Teachers talk about it as a method of introducing children to the natural environment. Psychologists propose to consider observation as one of the mental processes, and also talk about observation as one of the types of cognitive activity. Method, observation is a purposeful, systematic, more or less long-term perception of objects, objects, phenomena of the surrounding reality. Perception is seen as the main component of observation. The systematic nature of purposeful perception allows us to trace the phenomenon in development and note its qualitative and quantitative changes. Active thinking included in observation helps to separate the main from the unimportant, the important from the random.

Scientists have identified a number of requirements for organizing and conducting observations with preschool children:

Clarity and specificity of goals and objectives of observation. At the same time, the tasks should be cognitive in nature and stimulate the development of children’s mental activity.
. For each observation, a small amount of information should be selected. Ideas about objects and natural phenomena are formed in preschoolers gradually, in the process of repeated “meetings” with them (in the process of the teacher using cycles of observations of the same object). Each subsequent observation should clarify, consolidate and specify, and expand the received ideas.
. When organizing observations, you should think through the system and their interrelationship, which will ensure that children understand the processes and phenomena that they observe.
. Observation should stimulate children's interest and cognitive activity.
. The knowledge acquired by children as a result of observing objects and objects of nature should be reinforced, clarified, generalized and systematized through the use of other methods of environmental work with children (verbal and practical).

In the process of developing observation skills, children learn to see and notice objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality in all their diversity, richness of properties and qualities, connections and relationships. The development of observation is also one of the conditions for children to master a system of knowledge about the natural world.

Along with the use of observations, visual illustrative material is widely used as visual methods in the practice of preschool educational institutions. Visual illustrative material helps to consolidate and clarify children’s ideas obtained during direct observations. With its help, you can form in children ideas about objects, objects, and natural phenomena that are impossible to observe at the moment (or in a given area). In the process of using visual illustrative material, children can become familiar with long-term phenomena in nature (seasonal changes). The use of this material helps children generalize and systematize information of natural history content and nature.

There are certain requirements for visual and illustrative material used in practice with children:

Realism of depicted objects and phenomena;
clarity of the artist's intention;
artistic expressiveness of the material, presented in unity with the educational value of its content.

In preschool pedagogy, play has always played a big role in introducing nature. The gaming direction is actively developing in the environmental education of preschool children. Three main approaches to gaming methods can be distinguished: the creation of new games with ecological (environmental) content, the greening of traditional games and the adaptation of folk games.

According to the features of the content and rules, the following games can be distinguished among environmental games:

Role-playing games assume the presence of natural history, environmental or environmental content and the existence of certain rules. When greening traditional role-playing games, it is important to adhere to the principles of scientific and accessible content selection. Research by I.A. Komarova showed that the optimal form of including role-playing games in the process of introducing preschoolers to nature are game-based learning situations (GES), which are created by the teacher to solve specific didactic problems of natural history classes and observations. Three types of IOS have been identified.

The main characteristic of the first type of IOS is the use of analogue toys that depict various natural objects. The toy helps to distinguish between ideas of a fairy-tale-toy and realistic nature, helps to understand the specifics of living things, and develop the ability to act correctly with a living object.

The second type of ITS is associated with the use of dolls depicting characters from literary works that are well known to children in order to arouse interest and attract children’s attention to the didactic goal of the lesson. At the same time, it was discovered that the role of unknown game characters in training is extremely small: they mainly perform an entertainment function, and in some cases even interfere with solving the program tasks of the lesson.

The third type of IOS is various versions of the travel game: “Trip to an exhibition”, “Expedition to Africa”, “Excursion to the zoo”, “Journey to the sea”, etc. In all cases, this is a plot-based didactic game included in the lessons, observations, labor.

Didactic games with environmental content are currently very diverse. Many of these games are developed by teachers themselves. Among them are object games that involve the use of natural materials: cones, pebbles, shells, etc. Natural material allows you to organize a number of games that promote the development of a child’s thinking. For example, objects can be classified according to different characteristics (color, size, nature of origin, shape). It is important that children also participate in collecting natural materials.

Intellectual games are also very popular among teachers - “KVN”, “Brain-ring”, “What? Where? When?". They can also be successfully used for the purposes of environmental education for older preschoolers, however, subject to their adaptation to the preschool level (in some cases, such games turn not into creative competitions, but into children’s mechanical reproduction of various pre-prepared texts).

Recently, many teachers and educators have noted that due to the active spread of television and video equipment, computers, preschoolers have begun to play much less independently. Creating conditions for independent play requires special attention from the teacher. A positive result of the teacher’s work is the moment when children develop independent games with an environmental focus. As part of the implementation of elements of developmental education in the practice of working with preschoolers, it is proposed to use elementary research activities (L.M. Manevtsova) and modeling activities (T.R. Vetrova).

The fundamental difference between this activity is that the image of the goal that defines this activity is itself not yet ready and is characterized by uncertainty and instability. During the search, it is clarified and clarified. In our opinion, search activity from the point of view of the process of environmental education is one of the main types of child activity. As the main type of search activity N.N. Poddyakov singles out a special children's activity - experimentation, emphasizing that this “truly childish activity” is leading throughout the entire preschool age, starting from infancy. In it, the child acts as a kind of researcher, independently influencing in various ways the objects and phenomena around him in order to more fully understand and master them. N.N. Poddyakov identifies a special type of so-called “social experimentation of preschoolers in various life situations,” when children (consciously and unconsciously) “try out” various forms of their behavior on adults or peers in search of the most acceptable options. The greening of this type of activity can be manifested through the involvement of children in various situations of environmental content. This approach is of great importance for developing the skills of environmentally literate and safe behavior child.

A model is a material substitute for real-life objects, natural phenomena, reflecting their characteristics, structure, relationships between structural parts or individual components.

When organizing work on environmental education in preschool age, teachers can use the following types of models:

Subject models that reproduce the structure and features, external and internal relationships of real-life objects and phenomena.
. Subject-schematic models. In them, essential features, connections and relationships are presented in the form of mock-up objects.
. Graphic models. They convey in general (conditionally) the characteristics, connections and relationships of natural phenomena.

The use of model material is of great importance for the development of children’s mental activity and the ability to abstract the essential features of objects and natural phenomena. Demonstration of models makes it possible to teach a child to identify the essential features and components of observed natural phenomena, to establish connections between them, and, therefore, provides a deeper understanding of the facts and phenomena of the surrounding reality. The accessibility of modeling activities for a preschool child has been proven in studies by L.A. Venger, A.V. Zaporozhets, L.M. Manevtsova, N.N. Poddyakova, I.A. Khaidurova and others.

It is impossible not to note this form of working with children as work in nature. This type of activity, like no other, contributes to the formation of a consciously correct attitude towards nature in preschoolers.

In the process of work, a preschooler has the opportunity to put his knowledge into practice, acquire new ones, and clearly see the existence of various relationships in nature (plant, animal, and environment). He develops the necessary care skills and a sense of responsibility for living organisms.

The work activity of a preschool child always contains an element of play, imitation of the life of adults. In any case, “work in nature” is traditionally considered an integral part of preschoolers’ familiarization with the outside world, and in recent years, the environmental education of preschoolers, and is actively used in the practice of kindergartens. In the process of working in nature, a preschooler learns to subordinate his activities, his desires to certain social motives, to understand that his work will benefit people and preserve animals and plants.

But the organization of children’s work activities must be carried out on the basis of a person-oriented approach and taking into account gender characteristics. Firstly, the teacher must take into account the individual characteristics of the child (one child likes to water plants, another likes to feed animals, etc.). First of all, the child must realize the necessity of his work and make his own choice.

To increase the effectiveness of the results of labor activity, the requirements imposed by the teacher on the child in the process of work must take into account the capabilities of the child of a particular age, that is, work in nature must be feasible for each specific child. It is extremely important, before starting work, to develop in the child an emotionally positive attitude towards the object, to show that this object is alive, that it needs the careful attitude of this particular child (“without your help, the plant can dry out, and the guinea pig will die if it do not give water or food").

Caring for pets, ornamental animals and indoor plants;
work in various types of gardens;
planting trees and shrubs;
maintaining the territory in order;
feasible and safe cleaning of areas (forest, park, river bank);
repair, restoration of books, toys, etc. (economical use of natural resources);
feeding birds and other animals taking into account their biological characteristics;
creation of feeders and additional habitats for animals, taking into account their natural characteristics.

Traditionally, in preschool pedagogy it was assumed that human work in nature has only positive results. However, this does not always correspond to reality. Many modern environmental problems are generated precisely by people’s illiterate approaches to their work activities. Thus, the same agriculture, the mass organization of unauthorized vegetable gardens, the illiterate use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers have created a lot of environmental problems. Therefore, a child’s work activity should be organized in such a way that from childhood he develops elementary, but environmentally literate ideas about agricultural work.

Artistic and verbal activities also play a positive role in environmental education: drawing, appliqué, modeling and design, performing performances on natural history topics, reading fiction - all this contributes to the formation in children of a consciously correct attitude towards nature and attracts them to environmental activities. One of the goals of the “Praleska” program is to awaken in a child a feeling of joy from realizing oneself as living, a part of living nature; to form the basis for his understanding of his unity with nature; to cultivate respect, interest and caring attitude towards living things, the ability to see the beauty of nature, the desire to experience it. It is artistic and speech activity that contributes to the implementation of this task.

Currently, there is a certain contradiction between the child’s natural need to communicate with nature as a living being and his alienation from nature, which plays a negative role from the point of view of environmental education. This alienation can be partially overcome through the greening of the developing subject environment. This process must correspond to the goals of creating a developmental subject environment as such, that is, contribute to the development of the child as a whole, his formation as an individual, and satisfy his needs in various types of activities. The main task is to create conditions for the formation in the child of elements of environmental culture, environmentally literate behavior, and the implementation of new ideas about the universality and intrinsic value of nature.

The concept of a developing subject environment was developed by S.N. Novoselova, who defines it as a system of material objects of a child’s activity, functionally modeling the content of the development of his spiritual and physical appearance; an enriched environment presupposes the unity of social and natural means of ensuring a child’s varied activities.

From the point of view of environmental education, the environment in a preschool institution should contribute to:

Cognitive development of the child (creating conditions for cognitive activity, experimenting with natural materials, systematic observations of objects of living and inanimate nature; developing interest in natural phenomena, searching for answers to questions that interest the child and asking new questions);
ecological and aesthetic development (attracting the child’s attention to the surrounding natural objects, developing the ability to see the beauty of the surrounding natural world, the diversity of its colors and shapes; preference for natural objects over artificial objects);
child health (use of environmentally friendly materials for interior design, toys; assessment of the environmental situation of the territory of a preschool institution; competent design, landscaping of the territory; creation of conditions for excursions, outdoor activities);
formation of the child’s moral qualities (creating conditions for regular care of living objects and communication with them, cultivating a sense of responsibility, desire and ability to preserve the natural world around us);
formation of environmentally literate behavior (skills in rational environmental management; caring for animals, plants, environmentally literate behavior in nature);
greening various types of child activities (creating conditions for independent games, experiments with natural materials, using natural materials in activity classes, etc.).

Any developmental environment consists of a variety of elements, each of which performs its own functional role. From the point of view of environmental education, we can distinguish traditional and non-traditional elements of a developmental subject environment for preschool institutions. In a group room, plants and animals must be kept in accordance with natural conditions. The main thing is that they are involved in the educational process and are absolutely safe for the life and health of children. In a corner of nature, it is recommended to have natural and waste materials for making crafts. It should be stored in aesthetically designed boxes and displayed as needed. It is advisable to create a nature room in a preschool institution (a specially designated room for living nature objects), as well as a nature (ecology) room, which has the necessary conditions for conducting classes. You can arrange a mini-garden there: plant onions, oats, peas in boxes with soil; tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers; marigolds, asters, zinnias (in environmentally unfavorable conditions, seedlings should not be planted in open ground: children will not be able to try the grown vegetables).

We can identify a number of principles that need to be taken into account when choosing methods and forms of work on environmental education. They include: general pedagogical principles (humanism, scientificity, systematicity, etc.), principles specific to environmental education (predictiveness, integration, activity, etc.), and principles specific to the environmental education of preschoolers (formulated by Ryzhova).

The principle of science. The teacher in his work uses only scientifically based forms and methods of work that correspond to the specific age of children, taking into account their psychophysiological characteristics.

The principle of positivism involves raising and teaching children using positive examples. Thus, in the practice of environmental education, prohibitions are widespread, which teachers introduce children to. First of all, these prohibitions are related to the study of the rules of behavior in nature. It is also important to remember that for a preschool child, learning slogans and rules is not particularly difficult, but the effectiveness of this approach from the point of view of environmental education is zero. The goal of getting to know the rules is to create in the child the motivation for a certain type of behavior in nature, and independent behavior, independent of the fear of punishment or praise from an adult, is not achieved in this way. In order for a child to follow certain rules, he must understand their meaning and emotionally feel the consequences of non-compliance.

The problem-solving principle involves the teacher creating problematic situations in which the child is involved in solving them. An example of such situations could be children’s elementary search activities, experimentation, and active observation. A problem situation is characterized by the following features: the child has a need to solve a problem, there is an unknown that needs to be found and which has a certain degree of generality; The child’s level of knowledge and skills is sufficient for an active search.

Systematic principle. The most effective is a systematic organization of work with preschoolers. Consistency is also manifested in the organization of work with parents, in the coordination of the work of the kindergarten with various institutions, and in the simultaneous implementation by the kindergarten of all the main components of the environmental education system.

The principle of visibility allows us to take into account the visual-figurative and visual-effective thinking of a preschool child. The use of this principle assumes that in order to solve the goals and objectives of environmental education, the teacher selects objects and processes that are accessible to understanding and mastery by a child of a certain age, which he can observe directly in his environment. The principle of visibility also means the constant use of visual material when working with children: illustrations, manuals, video materials, paintings, posters, models, layouts, etc.

The principle of humanism is manifested, first of all, in the choice of teachers of a humanistic model of education, which implies a transition from authoritarian teaching and upbringing to personality-oriented, to a pedagogy of cooperation between an adult and a child, a dialogical form of education, when the child becomes an equal member of the discussion, and not just a learner. This approach is especially important for preschool pedagogy, since it is difficult for a child to recognize himself as a partner in communication with an adult without the help of an adult. In the process of environmental education, the teacher should give preference to methods of work that are aimed not at the mechanical reproduction of knowledge (simple memorization of certain facts), but at developing the ability to think independently, evaluate the relationship between man and the environment, and understand the (elementary) relationships existing in nature. Thus, the principle of humanism presupposes a transition to a new type of relationship between teacher and child, when they both participate in educational process, while the child is given as much independence as possible to express his feelings, thoughts, and independently explore the world around him through experimentation. With this approach, the child has the right to make mistakes and can express any point of view. And one more important point: the teacher should not be afraid of children’s questions (after all, it is impossible to know absolutely everything!). Together with the child, he and the child can find answers to unexpected questions from children (and there are more and more of them today) in literature.

The principle of consistency is associated with the principles of systematicity and problematic nature. For example, environmental studies should be conducted in a certain logical sequence. This principle is also reflected in the system of sequential development of knowledge - from simple to more complex. It is applicable both to teaching children of different ages (for example, the sequence of presentation of material to children from 3 to 7 years old), and to teaching children within the same age.

The principle of safety assumes that the forms and methods of work used by the teacher must be safe for the child. The practical activities of preschoolers should exclude areas and work methods that are potentially dangerous for them. The principle of safety also implies that the teacher does not forget about the call “Do not harm nature!” That is, in the process of observations and experiments organized by him, natural objects should not suffer.

The principle of integration. An integrated approach involves close cooperation between all preschool teachers.

Operating principle. In the process of introducing a child to nature, much attention is traditionally paid to caring for indoor plants, animals of a corner of nature, and work in the garden. However, from the perspective of environmental education, it is necessary to expand the scope of such activities through the participation of children together with adults (especially parents) or older children in various environmental activities, assessing the condition of their home, yard, kindergarten territory, group (for example, what plants grow around us, whether there are enough of them, how water is used at home, etc.). This approach makes it possible to make the child’s activities more meaningful and necessary for him personally.

Methodological techniques bring results in cases where the teacher applies them systematically, takes into account the general trends in the mental development of children, the patterns of the activities being formed, if the teacher knows and feels each child well, and follows the principles of selecting methods and forms of work in environmental education of preschoolers.

Modern environmental education

Modern environmental education is moving away from the study of classical ecology, because it may be useful to rare specialists. But each of us needs to find out how environmental patterns are reflected in our real practice. In other words, ecology is a unique area where almost every person is engaged in environmental practice, be it a chemist or just a driver. Environmental education is facilitated by environmental education, which helps to attract attention, interest, saturate with knowledge, give an emotional coloring to the emerging ideas of people, and helps to ensure mass resonance for environmental ideas. But unlike education, it does not seek to provide systemic knowledge and skills that can be qualified and assessed.

Modern environmental education involves a continuous process of training, education and personal development, aimed at developing a system of scientific and practical knowledge and skills, as well as value orientations, behavior and activities.

The environmental education system contains the following principles: humanization, scientificity, integration, continuity, systematicity and interconnectedness of the disclosure of global, regional and local aspects of ecology.

Environmental education plays an integrative role in the entire system of general secondary education. It performs the following pedagogical functions:

Promotes the formation and development of a unified picture of the world in the minds of students;
- is an essential component of the humanization of all school education;
- forms general educational and general human skills to predict one’s own activities and the activities of other people;
- expands possibilities moral education in the learning process.

In world and domestic practice, 3 possible models of environmental education are considered:

1. Single-subject - an integrated academic discipline with an environmental focus is introduced.
2. Multi-subject - the greening of traditional educational courses and disciplines is carried out.
3. Mixed - a new course with an environmental focus is being introduced with the simultaneous greening of traditional academic subjects.

The majority prefer a mixed model, the implementation of which requires the development of the content of the Ecology curriculum, the greening of traditional educational subjects, as well as the development of a series of workshops on environmental studies.

From the point of view of psychologists, the attitude towards the environment is formed in the process of interaction between the emotional, intellectual and volitional spheres of the human psyche. Only in this case a system of psychological attitudes of the individual is formed. Consequently, the implementation of the tasks of modern environmental education requires a revision of not only the content of education, but also the forms and methods of teaching.

It is necessary to give preference to such methods, forms and methodological techniques training that will:

Encourage students to constantly expand their knowledge about the environment (lessons - business or role-playing games, lessons - conferences, seminars, conversations, student reports, debates and quizzes);
- promote the development of creative thinking, the ability to foresee the consequences of human nature-forming activities (these are methods that ensure the formation of intellectual skills: analysis, synthesis, comparison, establishment of cause-and-effect relationships; these are also traditional methods: conversations, observations, experience, laboratory work with a predominance of a heuristic nature cognitive activity of students);
- ensure the development of research skills, abilities, teach how to make environmentally sound decisions and acquire new knowledge;
- involve students in practical activities to solve environmental problems of local and regional significance (identifying rare and endangered species, protecting nature from destruction, identifying risk factors in areas of residence, promoting environmental knowledge: lectures, conversations, leaflets, drawings, posters).

The introduction of a system of continuous environmental education requires the development of practical skills in assessing environmental quality. The main contribution to the practical environmental activities of students is made by environmental research and work on assessing the state of the environment, which are an important part of the content of education and are widely introduced into the practice of environmental education of schoolchildren.

Environmental studies allow students to summarize acquired knowledge, apply information acquired from studying other subjects, express their own point of view and propose solutions to this or another environmental problem.

11 Additional partial programs.Program “Our home is nature” by N. A. Ryzhov. for 5-7 years Basic. The goal is to educate a humane, socially active, creative person from the first years of life. a person capable of understanding and loving those around him. peace, nature and care for them. content base component, cat. is specified taking into account local conditions: ecological-geographical, national-cultural. consists of 10 blocks. Every. includes teaching and educating. components - knowledge about nature and the development of children from different aspects of their relationship to it (concerns, the ability to see beauty, etc.) 5 blocks examine the area of ​​inanimate nature (water, air, soil, etc.), 3 blocks are devoted to living things . nature - plant, belly. and the forest ecosystem, 2 – human interaction with nature. Particular attention is paid to the formation of a holistic view of the nature and place of people. in it. Children form their first ideas about creatures. in nature's relationships and on this basis - the ecologist began. worldview and culture, responsible. attitude towards the environment, towards one’s health. Large importance is attached to the moral aspect: the development of ideas about the intrinsic value of nature, emotional. positive attitude towards it, developing the first skills of being environmentally literate and safe. behavior in nature and everyday life. Children acquire the beginning. skills that allow them to participate in practical activities. activities to protect the nature of the native land. has methodological support for creating a developmental environment in preschool educational institutions, recommendations for familiarization. det. with water, air. The author draws attention to the waste that people produce in > quantity. and, cat. constitute a real danger to nature."Young ecologist" S. Nikolaev, created on the basis of its own Concept of environmental education of preschools. aimed at the formation of environmental principles. culture for children 2-7 years old in preschool settings. Consists of 2 subprograms: “Ecologist. "Registration of preschool"; "Improving the qualifications of preschool. work on environmental will educate children.” The content of the 1st subprogram is based on children’s sensory perception of nature (the “see-hear-touch” triad), emotional interaction with it (any contact with nature necessarily evokes some emotions), basic knowledge about life, growth and the development of living beings. Basic goals of the subprogram: familiar. children with the surrounding world: diversity of growth, life, seasonal phenomena, human activities. in nature; formation in children conscious and humane attitude towards natural phenomena, objects and living beings; formation of skills in caring for the inhabitants of the corners of nature. Ecologist. The approach to introducing children to nature is based on the main pattern of nature - the adaptation of living organisms to their environment. The main components of the program:

transfer of KNOWLEDGE about the surrounding world formation of ATTITUDE towards nature

The program includes: conceptual scientifically based psychological and pedagogical. look at the environmental problem preschool education;

an environmentally sound approach to the construction of content and teaching methods, selection of forms of work, both in preschool educational institutions and in the family;

training of personnel, especially educators and ecologists (increasing the level of environmental culture, environmental literacy and environmental-pedagogical readiness to work with children); the formation technology was started by an ecologist. cultures in all age groups. Getting started with ecology. raising children in a preschool proper organization natural area, that part of the premises and area of ​​the dhow where plants grow, and any animals are kept.

PROGRAM “ECO-SCHOOLS/GREEN FLAG”aimed at environmental education, management and certification of schools. appeared in 1994 in response to the tasks set by the International. conference on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro (1992). At the beginning. At this stage, the program was carried out only in Europe and with financial support from the European Commission. The decision to award the Green Flag is made at the national level. level, based on the report on the work done by the school, and approved by the international coordinator. The flag is awarded for one year. He gives the image to everyone. establishment who successfully work under the program, for their outstanding contribution to improving the quality of the environment and promoting sustainable development. A standard certificate is issued for the flag. 7 STEPS OF THE PROGRAM.Creation of Ecological. school council. Environmental research situations in the school and its immediate environment. Developing an action plan. Monitoring and evaluation of plan implementation. Inclusion of ecology. topics in school courses.Providing information and cooperation.Formulation and adoption of Ecol. code. The program has 4 mandatory topics: “Water”, “Energy”, “Garbage”, “Climate Change”. Contributes to the education of teenagers. a generation aware of its responsibility for preserving the environment. environment and increasing its wealth, able to work in a team and participate in decision making