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THE BASICS OF THE COMPETENCE-ORIENTED APPROACH TO THE CONTENT OF PRIMARY EDUCATION
R. G. Safarova
Improving the content of education in the Republic of Uzbekistan is connected with the determination of the level of students' competence. This article describes the key aspects of the content of subjects included in the curriculum for the initial stage of education, and sets the goals and objectives of primary school pupils training in terms of subject integration and implementation of comprehensive development of pupils, and continuity with the subsequent stages of training.
Key words: learning content, learning material, consistency, continuity, integration, competences, thinking development, communication skills, primary education.
One of the priority trends in personality-oriented primary education is the development and upbringing of students in the spirit of respect for universal human and national values. Spiritual and moral upbringing and physical development of a child takes the leading place at the initial stage of education. Moral and ethical norms and universal human values are mastered on the basis of the instruction material, offered in the form of educational texts, didactic exercises, learning activities and cognitive information. The period of schooling is characterized by the intense development of logical thinking in children. Whereupon the development of a child's imaginative thinking cannot be ignored. It is a propaedeutic, the simplest initial form of logical thinking. For the initial period of schooling, imaginative thinking is the principal form of intellectual development.
Special priority at the initial period of education is given to such subjects as native language (reading) and mathematics. Learning one's native language promotes the expansion of students' mental activity, shaping the ability to express one's thoughts in oral and written form, and to communicate freely with other people. Mathematical primary education must ensure the formation and development of the ability to think logically, the abilities to state and prove one's assertions, mastering of knowledge within the framework of curricular requirements, and to prepare students for continuing mathematical education at the next stage, that of regular secondary school. Proceeding from the concept of personality-oriented training, learning one's native language and mathematics at the lower grade is also focused on mastering spiritual and moral national and universal human cultural values, at the development of communicative culture, formation and development of mathematical thinking and language, and learning the fundamental principles of economic knowledge.
The curriculum for the lower grades provides for students' mastering reading and writing skills, the ability to compose simple sentences (based on everyday life realities), and shaping communicative abilities and skills. Students familiarize themselves with national traditions and the culture of the Uzbek people by reading folk tales and training texts.
Under the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Measures Aimed at Further Improvement of Foreign Language Learning Systems", a program focused on introducing modern pedagogical, information and
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communicative technologies into the training process is implemented, global information resources and the achievements of global civilization in the sphere of education are extensively used, and conditions are provided for international cooperation and inter-ethnic communication. Learning foreign languages (in particular, English) starts in school in the Republic from the 1st form (in the form of playing lessons and an oral conversation courses). Alphabet, reading and grammar are gradually taught from the 2nd form. The content of foreign language teaching in the lower grades is determined by the State educational standard. At the primary education stage, children are familiarized actively with the world around, its structure and nature, students' notions and the basics of scientific world outlook are shaped. Feelings of love and care for nature are awakened, and knowledge about reasonable use of natural resources is learned. This block of concepts and notions is realized in the process of learning the subjects "The World Around Us" (the 1st and 2nd forms) and "Natural Studies" (the 3rd and the 4th forms). Children get knowledge and concepts about the phenomena and objects of the world around them, and their variety and classification. They learn to apply their knowledge in practice. At the same time, students are prepared for changes over to the next stage of education: studying scientific disciplines - geography, biology, physics and chemistry. It is also pertinent to notice that at the stage of primary education optimum opportunities are created for the integration of the content of educational subjects. Apart from shaping generalized knowledge and the development of general scholastic abilities and skills, integration also comprises learning information about the history of one's country, about great memorable dates in the life of the Uzbek people, about labor and crafts, the way of the people's life, and about the geographic features of the native country.
The content of educational cycle subjects as a whole must be directed at the physical development of a child and the promotion of his/her health, forming of moral concepts and behavioral norms in children, upbringing esthetic feelings, the ability to see the beauty of the world around, and the labor and deeds of people embodied in color and sounds of music. Besides, it is necessary to provide shaping of the basic knowledge about family and its economic foundation. The introduction of students into the world of arts offers an opportunity to shape a number of psychological qualities in them. One of them is the development of imagination and fantasy. If a child's imagination is underdeveloped, it will be hard to shape creative thinking and even high moral standards afterwards. At the same time, mastery of imagination guarantees a person success in all spheres of activity. Thanks to the introduction to the pieces of arts, imagination and conceptualization skills are developed more intensely. Experience and observations have shown that 5th-9th form students experience great differences in learning because of underdeveloped imagination and conceptualization skills. The introduction of physical an aesthetical criteria into the content of education can condition primary school students' attitudes towards beauty. This is one of the principles of development of national consciousness. Studying works of art occupies one of the most prominent places in the teaching of ethics, pictorial art, musical culture, crafts and physical training.
The basic content of the subject-matter disciplines learned in primary school is determined in the state educational standards and supported by the developed
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competences. Such an approach creates a solid foundation for shaping a harmonious personality.
Bibliography
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4. Полуянов Ю.А., Матис Т.А. Формирование оценки на начальном этапе учебной деятельности // Психологическая наука и образование, 1996, № 4. - С. 38-44.
Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translastions Bureas
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