FORMATION OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES OF 5–6-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN IN THE CONTEXT OF MENTAL EDUCATION OF PRESCHOOLERS

The article examines the results of an empirical study of the development of cognitive abilities in five- to six-year-old children. The development of general abilities of older preschoolers was assessed according to certain criteria: orientation of preschoolers to knowledge of the world; independence in the implementation of cognitive actions and operations; assessment of the achieved result, and cognitive, affective and behavioral were the structural components of cognitive abilities of older preschoolers. The authors of the article emphasize the general indicators of the cognitive abilities of children aged 5–6 years, which were the focus of preschoolers’ interest in cognitive activities, children’s satisfaction with the achieved results in learning. The study of the peculiarities of the formation of cognitive abilities of older preschoolers took place on the basis of the methodology developed by the authors, which consisted of the following methods: conversations with children; observation of children’s plays; survey of educators and parents. It was recorded that a significant number of older preschool children (30 %) are characterized by a low level of development of cognitive abilities, which are manifested in their cognitive activity, 50 % of older preschoolers have an average level of general abilities. Five-six-year-old preschoolers (20 %) who have a high level of expressiveness of cognitive abilities were found to be the least. In general, 80% of children of the older group of SEN are characterized by an insufficient degree of development of general abilities. Studying educational influences on the development of cognitive abilities revealed that educators do not sufficiently assess the cognitive potential of older preschoolers and use a limited arsenal of means of mental education in the educational process to improve it. The vast majority of teachers only sporadically help five- to six-yearold children master significant cognitive actions and operations, forming the mental abilities of preschoolers, and very few educators cooperate in this regard with children’s parents. Only a small part of teachers interacts with the families of pupils of the older group in this context. Also, not all educators correctly understand the essence of a child’s cognitive abilities: they emphasize their importance in learning about the world, but they are not sufficiently aware of how they need to be supported. The educational influence of parents on the cognitive abilities of 5–6-year-old children cannot be called purposeful. The vast majority of them are not interested in the development of children’s cognitive sphere: only half of adults show interest in expanding the cognitive means of their son or daughter; a small number of parents are willing to cooperate with teachers of special education in this area of mental education.