14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers from Sweden have recently published a new scientific and psychological study that again emphasizes the importance of teachers and small children getting along well, and not necessarily as individuals. Rather, the research says that kids and their instructors need to find a common language, one that would not alienate the child from wanting to learn, and that would breach the communication divide that exists between the youngsters and the adults. University of Gothenburg in Sweden (UG) investigator Agneta Simeonsdotter Svensson shares the idea in her new thesis.
Following her study, which included video taping children in 15 preschools and interviewing 115 six-year-olds, Svensson says that the adopted official policy for these kids, which is to incorporate play in the learning process, is a bit off simply because the word “play” is interpreted through the adults' perspectives and not through the eyes of the youngsters.
This may give birth to conflicts that generally have a disastrous result, in that they lose their interest in learning. There is nothing more serious than that, she warns, as this means that those children will most likely continue like that throughout school.
She has it that many of the country's preschool teachers attempt to put the official line of educational policy in practice the wrong way, in that they seldom make sure that the kids have actually understood what is required of them.
And even if they have, the adults sometimes present the tasks that are supposed to be fun in such a way that the little ones' interest is not at all aroused. Also, instructors should engage more actively in explaining various tasks to the kids, rather than leave them to figure them out for themselves. This kind of approach works well in school, but not at six years of age.
Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries are renowned worldwide for their take on social issues such as these ones, and always attempt to regulate these problems in such a manner that the only ones to benefit are the children. They view this approach to education as the only one able to yield completely-functional members of society, and spare no expense or effort to ensure that, truly, no child is left behind. However, the differences between this policy and that in the US are immense.