CREATIVE IMAGINATION AS A COMPONENT OF SENIOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S PSYCHOLOGICAL READINESS FOR LEARNING IN THE NEW UKRAINIAN SCHOOL
Authors:   National Pedagogical Drahomanov University, Kuzmenko Vira , Karabaeva Irina ,   G.S. Kostiuk Institute of Psychology, National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine
Published: June 2021

The article analyzes the role of creative imagination in preschoolers' psychological readiness for learning. Creative imagination being the leading new formation of preschool childhood and an essential sign of a new type of thinking, is, therefore, an evidence of the transition from preschool to primary school age and an indicator of intellectual readiness to learn at school. The authors present the results of a theoretical study of the development of senior preschoolers' creative imagination. Despite numerous works on preschool childhood, only recent years have seen increased scientists' attention to the problem of developing creativity, creativity, ingenuity and creative imagination as an important part of preschool education and a component of first-graders' psychological readiness for learning. It is the creative imagination that should be an integral component (and an indicator) of senior preschoolers' readiness to learn in a new Ukrainian school. The authors discuss the assessment, development, and control stages of the experimental part of scientific research, as well as the goals and content of each stage. The express-method used by the authors to diagnose children's creative imagination included a special "Magic transformations" technique, which asks children to finish the drawings of standard (and thus familiar to children) geometric figures. The children's drawings were assessed as creative products in its narrow meaning, that is, as the results of solving a creative problem. The senior preschoolers' creative imagination criteria were found to include the focus on creating a mental image, independence in creating a mental image, the initiative in creating a mental image, and the desire to create a new mental image. Analysis of the obtained experimental data revealed the need for a special program and favorable conditions for the development of senior preschoolers' creative imagination. The authors describe in detail the method of development of creative imagination by teaching the basics of literacy. Children's activities are considered as the leading means for the development of children's creative imagination. According to a popular opinion, a leading means for developing senior preschoolers' creative imagination is speech activity, in particular, reading and writing. The authors note that the developmental effect of the method is due to the promotion of children's imagination and creativity, not only their mastering of operational activities, i.e. reading letters. A detailed statistical analysis allowed concluding that the development of children's creative imagination by teaching them the basics of literacy was quite effective. The authors believe that further research may focus on expanding the range of creative tasks for the development of senior preschoolers' creative imagination, taking into account children's individual characteristics, as well as on clarifying the creative imagination criteria. Besides, preschoolers' psychological readiness for school, peculiarities of preschooler's imagination as well as the experimental and statistical confirmation of the leading role of preschoolers' creative imagination in their psychological readiness for learning may also be the subjects of new scientific research.