EXPERT EVALUATION OF THE PECULIARITIES OF IMPLEMENTING A MINUTE OF SILENCE (COMMEMORATION) IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS OF KYIV AS OF THE END OF THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE FULL-SCALE WAR

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the state of implementation of the minute of silence (commemoration) by educators in preschool education institutions of Kyiv as of the end of the fourth year of the full-scale war. The research is based on the principles of an author-designed questionnaire and includes an examination of the effectiveness of introducing the minute of commemoration as well as the difficulties faced by specialists. The issue of the influence of preschool children’s age on understanding the meaning of holding a minute of commemoration and their psychological ability to endure it is raised. Behavioral reactions and features of children’s emotional state during the implementation of the minute and the return to educational and/or play activities are described. Particular attention is paid to the announcement and completion of the minute of commemoration by educators through “a unique ritualization.”
Three tendencies in announcing the minute of commemoration have been identified: the first one is a timely advance notice aimed at psychological preparation of preschoolers, providing instructions for actions, and additional explanation of the meaning; the second tendency is an avoidance of advance notice, with children being gathered directly for the procedure; the third one is through an external stimulus (a special verbal signal or an announcement of the beginning via loudspeaker, phone sound, alarm, etc.). It has been found that preschoolers in the early, younger, and middle age group compared not only to older children who are more psychologically mature but also to those who have family members in the military and/or those who have experienced the loss of a family member find it more difficult to understand the significance of a moment of remembrance and to sustain it, which once again underscores the importance of taking age-related psychological characteristics into account when implementing such events, which undoubtedly have a sacred nature. Emphasis was placed on reorienting the semantic aspects of the previously used term “minute of silence” toward the more appropriate term “minute of commemoration”, which encompasses a solemn act aimed at honoring the memory of the heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war.