THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF USING PROJECT-BASED AND VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES IN THE NATIONAL-PATRIOTIC EDUCATION OF PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

In the context of the modern development of Ukrainian society, the issue of national-patriotic education of children and youth is becoming increasingly relevant due to the need to form civic responsibility, social activity, and national consciousness of the individual. Particular importance is attached to ensuring continuity between preschool and primary education, which contributes to the continuous development of a child’s value system. One of the promising means of implementing this process is project-volunteer activity, which combines educational, upbringing, and socially significant components.
The purpose of the article is to theoretically substantiate project-volunteer activity as an effective means of ensuring the continuity of national-patriotic education of preschool and primary school children.
The methodological basis of the study includes activity-based, competence-based, and personality-oriented approaches. The research methods used in the study include theoretical analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, systematization, and pedagogical modeling. The source base consisted of scientific works of Ukrainian and foreign scholars, international educational recommendations of UNESCO, OECD, and the Council of Europe, as well as modern studies on national-patriotic education, project activity, and volunteering.
The study reveals the essence of project-volunteer activity as an integrated form of educational work that ensures children’s active involvement in socially significant activities. The peculiarities of implementing project-volunteer activity in preschool and primary school age according to children’s psychological and pedagogical characteristics are determined. The pedagogical conditions for the effective implementation of project-volunteer activity are substantiated, including the integration of educational and upbringing activities, support for children’s initiative,  interaction with the community, and involvement of families in the educational process. A structural-functional model for ensuring the continuity of national-patriotic education through project-volunteer activity is proposed. It has been proven that the use of project-volunteer activity contributes to the formation of patriotic values, civic responsibility, social activity, and cooperation skills.
It is concluded that project-volunteer activity is an effective pedagogical tool for ensuring the continuity of national-patriotic education of preschool and primary school children, as it integrates cognitive, emotional-value, and activity-based components of the educational process.