Experimental study of the older preschool children’s vocabulary development while acquainting with professions

Abstract

The paper mainly highlights the features of older preschool children’s acquaintance with the professional activities of adults. The theoretical and methodical bases of the researched issue are generalized. The structural components of the formation of preschoolers’ ideas about professions are highlighted. The results of a pilot study to determine the level of older preschool children’s acquaintance with the occupations of adults are presented. The influence of the place of residence on the depth of children’s knowledge about the professional activity is found out. It is revealed that older preschool children understand the meaning of words that characterize the adults’ professional activities but rarely use them in their active speech. Based on the results obtained, it is stated that children in urban areas are more familiar with the professions that have emerged in recent years (beautician, blogger, baker, manager, cameraman, photographer, cashier, president and taxi driver), but ignore the agricultural and factory professions. Preschoolers in rural areas are more inclined to occupations related to technology and agriculture. The influence of gender on children's preferences for choosing a particular profession is analyzed. It is observed that girls prefer professions related to care, service (doctor, cook, hairdresser and veterinarian), for boys the most desirable professions are heroic, courageous and professional (policeman, firefighter and driver). It is concluded that the professions well known to children in the 20th century are hardly known to modern children (astronaut and postman).

Keywords

• Children’s acquaintance
• Preschool age
• Vocabulary enrichment
• Education