From the moment of entering the school, the child opens a wider world, consisting of classmates, teachers and other adults and children living in the neighborhood. With the admission of the child to the school, changes occur in his relationships with the surrounding people. First of all, the time allotted for communication increases significantly. Most of the time children spend in contact with parents, teachers, other children. The content of communication changes. If in the early childhood the main theme of communication was the game, now special business communication with adults stands out. In the first classes of the school, children communicate more with the teacher, showing more interest to it than to their peers, since the authority of the teacher is very high for them. The choice of the communication partner in the first grades of the school is determined in the same way mainly by the assessments of the teacher, by success in teaching. Only to grades 3 to 4 there are signs of a different motivation for interpersonal elections, connected with the independent evaluation of the personal merits and behaviors of the communication partner on the part of the student.
In the initial period of schooling, at the age from 6 to 8 years, for the first time informal groups of children with certain rules of behavior in them are formed. However, these groups exist for a short time and are usually not stable enough in their composition. Children of primary school age still spend a lot of time in various games, where peers become their partners in the game. In children's groups, during the game, their specific relationships are established with more or less pronounced motives of interpersonal preferences.
As N. Shvaleva notes, «in groups of different levels of development, interpersonal choice is characterized by a specific content». At the same time, the following sequence of development of the content of motives is planned at the stage of formation of the collective: «the initial stage is characterized primarily by motivation associated with the emotional sphere, external attractiveness, communication; At higher levels of the team's development, the orientation toward business qualities, the depth of knowledge, erudition, the ability to provide assistance and support, the collectivist orientation of the individual is strengthened, the specific gravity of the motives associated with the group's activity, the possibility of intimate relations and the ability to empathize. "
From the moment of acquaintance of children in the group the process of role differentiation begins. There are common values and interests. The mutual expectations and influence of the members of the group are growing on each other, group traditions are being formed. This development of events can be considered almost universal.
In each children's group there are popular and not popular children. This difference in the position among peers is affected by a number of factors. Already in the first graders fixed the rationale for the choice, associated with an indication of the attractive moral and psychological traits of a peer. As the reason for the reluctance to choose a peer, for the first graders, according to the materials of the Schwaleva study, there is evidence of poor schooling, behavior peculiarities that are directly manifested in the sphere of communication («teases», «fights», «offends»); An indication of bad behavior in the classroom; Low level of development of sanitary and hygienic skills and features of appearance.
According to RF Savinykh, first-graders put forward motives related to the content side of communication, common interests and joint leisure activities. Among the qualities of personality and behavior, the most frequently mentioned features associated with study and behavior in the classroom; Further, such qualities as willingness to help, friendliness, responsiveness, kindness, finally, features of appearance, neatness, neatness.
According to AB Shirokova, in the first class for children with high status, the most significant were the following features: beautiful appearance, belonging to a class asset, willingness to share their things and sweets. In second place — success in teaching and attitude to it, as well as the qualities that characterize relations with peers, on the third — for boys — physical strength.
For the «unaccepted» first-graders the following characteristics were most characteristic: non-participation in the class asset; Untidiness, poor study and behavior; Unstable in friendship, friendship with violators of discipline, tearfulness
Approximately the same traits of first-graders with high and low status are noted by other authors. In the work of RF Savinykh as common to the most popular first-graders, such qualities as: they study well, are sociable, affable, calm. It is interesting to note that it emphasizes the great role played by the qualities manifested in the joint games of children, which, as the author notes, are the main content of the joint activity of the seven-year schools outside the lessons. Unpopular children showed such common unattractive features as poor academic performance, lack of discipline, affective behavior, inaccuracy.
Adoption of a child by peers is often associated with his good general adaptability — enthusiasm and active participation in common affairs, the ability to cooperate with other children and responsiveness to attempts to engage with him acquaintance. This kind of adjustment to the social environment (or lack thereof) tends to be fixed in the form of a cycle due to its influence on self-esteem and confidence in its social competence. The good adaptability of those who like other children is maintained by their popularity, while socially inept children become even more uncomfortable when the group does not notice or reject them. The popularity among peers is also influenced by academic progress and sporting achievements. As a rule, popular children have abilities above the average and are good at school. Weak pupils are often the object of ridicule or they are simply ignored. Sporting data are especially important, for example, in summer camps or on playgrounds, where groups turn into competing sports teams.
The desire to meet peer group standards can be a normal, natural and even desirable form of behavior. Every day, children have to adapt to the demands of the peer group, as well as the expectations of adults. But sometimes children are too eager to comply with group norms, even when the group's requirements cannot be considered useful for either a particular child, or for the group as a whole, or for others. Highly conformal children have a number of characteristic features. They suffer from a «complex of inferiority» and have insufficient «power of the Ego». They are more dependent or anxious than other children, and are sensitive to the opinions and hints of others. Children with such personality traits are inclined to constantly control their behavior and speech. They are especially concerned about how they look in the eyes of others, and often compare themselves with their peers. Constant observation of what others are doing and what others are saying, and then adapting to the group's standards so defined, is precisely the case for children with a high level of self-control.
Adoption of a child by peers is directly dependent on the development of his self-esteem. Self-esteem means seeing yourself as a person with positive qualities, that is, a person capable of achieving success in what is important to him. At the younger school age, self-esteem is largely due to confidence in their academic abilities (which, in turn, correlates with school performance). Children who study well at school have a higher self-esteem than poor students. However, not always self-esteem can depend on confidence in their academic abilities: many children who can not boast of academic success, nevertheless manage to develop high self-esteem. Depending on the attitude of parents and the opinion of classmates, children who have not achieved success in one can find something else that will allow them to stand out among others. The development of self-esteem is a cyclical process. Children usually achieve success in any business if they are confident in their abilities and abilities — and their success leads to a further increase in self-esteem. At the other extreme are children who fail because of lack of self-esteem, and as a consequence, it continues to fall. Personal success or failure in various situations can cause children to look at themselves as leaders or outsiders. By themselves, these feelings do not create a vicious circle, so many children who start with failures in the social or educational sphere, eventually find something in which they are able to succeed.
Given the close relationship between self-esteem and achievement, many teachers tend to praise their students more often in order to build their self-respect. However, too much praise, not related to real achievements or moral actions, forms children who lack a realistic idea of their strengths and weaknesses. They can start to think that in any business they have no equal. And this can create complications and problems in dealing with peers and teachers. Therefore, in order to develop realistic self-esteem in children, teachers (and parents) are encouraged to correlate the children's praises with the actual achievements and behavior of children.
The situation of children in the peer group depends on their general adaptability. Especially popular among peers are sociable, cheerful, responsive and inclined to participate in common affairs children. High intelligence, good academic performance and success in sports can also contribute to the popularity of the child in the group, depending on the nature of the group's priorities and values. If a child has some characteristics that distinguish him from his peers, he very often does not enjoy popularity in the group, which, in turn, can negatively affect his self-esteem. The most susceptible to pressure groups of peers are children with low self-esteem, anxious, constantly controlling their behavior.
The role of the family in the development of the child is obvious. Family is an important factor in the socialization of children. It is in the family that children first of all acquire vital values, social expectations and behaviors. Successful family relationships form a child's sense of self-respect and self-esteem, which in turn contribute to increasing the popularity of the child in the circle of peers.
Contribute to the popularity of the child among peers presence of such qualities of personality as sociability, cheerfulness, responsiveness and inclination to participate in common affairs, as well as adequate self-esteem. The popularity of the junior schoolchildren (in particular) is influenced by his academic performance at school, sports achievements, and so on.
As a rule, children of those parents who remind their children about the possible consequences of their actions for other people (oriented towards another induction) are more popular.
References:
- Bozhovich L. I. Personality and its formation in childhood. (Psychological research). — M., Education, 1968.
- Kon I. S. Child and Society. (Historical and ethnographic perspective). — M., Science, 1988.
- Satir V. How to build yourself and your family. — M., Pedagogika-Press, 1992.
