Humanitarization of Natural Science Education of Elementary School Children: Challenges and Opportunities

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

J. Environ. Treat. Tech.

ISSN: 2309-1185

Journal web link: http://www.jett.dormaj.com

Humanitarization of Natural Science

Education of Elementary School Children:

Challenges and Opportunities

Natalya P. Nesgovorova*, Vasily G. Savelev, Galina V. Ivantsova, Marina Yu. Prokopieva,

Tatyana A. Fedorova, Elena A. Tebenkova

Kurgan State University, Kurgan Oblast, Russia

Received: 05/08/2019

Accepted: 20/11/2019

Published: 20/12/2019

Abstract

On the one hand, the state of the problem of natural science education of elementary school children (NCE) includes a trend

towards humanitarization, and on the other hand, a complex of efforts is required to implement it. The purpose of this paper is to

develop a theoretical underpinning for humanitarization of NCE of elementary school children as a complex and open education

system, and the rationale for its methodological system and results. The key methods were the methods of diagnostics and evaluation

of the experimental pedagogical work. The paper provides the background for the requirements to humanitarization of NCE of

elementary school children, namely the need to develop a variable subject and character formation content and to actualize the

subjective reflective and creative position in its absorption. The paper demonstrates the methodological system of natural science

education of elementary school children based on the idea of humanitarization of the education system and its procedures, its

structure, the conditions for its implementation, including the cluster approach to the organization of the education process. The key

major purpose of education is to comprehensively develop personal, metasubject and subject-specific results of absorption of the

contents of humanitarized natural science education, which are reflected in the personal qualities of the elementary school children.

Keywords: Natural Science Education Of Elementary School Children, The Humanitarization Principle, Humanitarization Of

Natural Science Education Of Elementary School Children, Personal Identity

However, the results of a survey of elementary school

Introduction

teachers and teachers of natural science disciplines regarding

the functional significance of their disciplines indicated that

teachers underestimate the humanitarian functions of the

courses they teach, including the character formation

function. In accordance with their understanding of the

functions, the teachers mostly use the methods of developing

knowledge and skills, which does not allow to fully actualize

the humanitarian potential of the contemporary paradigm of

natural science. Students' personal achievements in absorbing

the content of The World Around Us course indicated such

deficiencies as the lack of understanding of universal human

values and ways to manifest them in relation to nature in 37%

of the students.

.1 The rationale of the problem

In this study, the humanitarization-based natural science

education (NCE) of elementary school children is a complex

system that includes a number of subsystems, namely:

a) Teaching the basics of natural science within The World

Around Us course, where the main performance indicator

is the level of literacy in the natural science field among

elementary school children;

b) Moral and environmental nurturing; and

c) Moral and environmental development, where the success

criterion is the integrative personal result (moral and

environmental identity of the student's personality)

(

Nesgovorova, Savelyev, Tebenkova 2018).

This suggests a contradiction between the changes in

paradigm of contemporary natural science education in the

humanitarian aspect and the tradition of object- and

knowledge-based structure of natural science education in the

elementary school, which makes it impossible to achieve the

objective of harmonious development of students.

This approach implies greater significance of

developing students' values system within the natural science

education, starting with The World Around Us course.

In the current Educational Standard, the objective of

harmonious development of students is defined as their

achievement of personal, subject-specific and metasubject

Corresponding author: Natalya P. Nesgovorova, Kurgan

State University, Kurgan Oblast, Russia. Email:

natali_348@mail.ru.

915

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

educational outcomes. Meanwhile, humanitarization makes it

possible to combine all three groups of outcomes in a unity.

At the same time, the authors have not found any specialized

publications that would suggest new approaches to

humanitarization of natural science education in the primary

school in the context of actualization of the 2009 Educational

Standard.

N. S. Purysheva, N. A. Khomuttsova, N. V. Sharonova,

O. A. Yavoruk.

Trends towards humanization in the society and science

humanitarization in the late 20th century determined the need

for humanitarization of natural science education (NCE) in

the elementary school, which was understood as the

integration of natural, cultural and humanitarian aspects of its

content. A variety of methods for humanitarization of natural

science education within The World Around Us course can

be found in the teaching materials by A. A. Pleshakov,

N. F. Vinogradova, G. G. Ivchenkova, I. V. Potapov. In

Russia, the idea of the integration was implemented in the

authorial curricula of N. F. Vinogradova's The World Around

Us course, which was included in the Federal State

Educational Standard of General Elementary Education in the

early 1990s.

Methodological support of authorial curricula of The

World Around Us course suggests

number of

humanitarization options, but there is still no methodological

system that would allow reconciling the contents of natural

studies and humanities, and the ways of perceiving nature in

the classroom and extracurricular activities.

The authors' analysis revealed a lack of effectiveness of

authorial methodologies in achieving all the groups of

educational outcomes. For example, 60% of 4 -grade

students have a low level of skills of explaining phenomena,

describing observations and experiments that are required for

TIMSS tests.

Another contradiction emerged between the objective of

natural science education in line with the requirements of the

Standard and the lack of a concept or methodological system

for humanitarization-based education.

In the new generation Standard (2009), the concept of

humanitarization of NCEs is associated with personal

development in the course of learning the discipline's content

by students through participating in a system of various

activities. This is the essence of the learner-centered approach

to NCE.

The contemporary elementary school child lives in the

two worlds: the empirical world of popular culture and

nature, and the theoretical world of science and education

based on abstractions, concepts, and logical frameworks; this

is why the key objective of humanitarization of education is

to harmonize the relationships between those two worlds. It is

noteworthy that all the The World Around Us authorial

Materials and methods

The methodological system of humanitarization of the

natural science education of elementary school children was

developing 11 years. It involved about 300 education system

specialists and more than 800 school children and students.

The procedural aspect of the methodological system is

represented by the technique of developing personal identity

in elementary school children. It includes three stages:

introductory and value-developing; nature-focused and

cognitive- and activity-related; and human-centered and

regulatory- and activity-related stage.

At the initial stage in the 1 and 2 grades, education is

aimed at developing the value component of the personal

identity, and is actualized through value developing methods,

including methods of contemplation, reflection on wisdom,

the methods of cognitive development (brainstorming),

identification methods (being in silence, reflection games).

curricula are aimed at developing

a comprehensive

worldview. HOWEVER, the ways of perceiving nature are

limited to abstractions and artificial models that make up the

basis of theoretical thinking skills, often to the prejudice of

the empirical thinking.

Another

understanding of humanitarization as

development process that requires

contradiction

emerges

between

personality

comprehensive

the

perception of nature, and the fragmented humanitarian

component within the authorial curricula.

The study of deficiencies in the outcomes of natural

science education of school children revealed that they are

associated with the fact that primary school teachers are not

yet ready to implement the humanitarization principle in

practice. About 88% of teachers understand the need for

humanitarization, but lack knowledge on the contemporary

child psychology and have certain issues with the

methodological readiness.

At the next stage (the 3 grade), education is focused on

developing knowledge and skills that constitute the cognitive

component of identity.

The third stage of education (the 4 grade) is aimed at

developing the regulatory- and activity-related component of

identity. Such methods are applied as working in small

groups on risk analysis, construction of rules for safe

behavior in nature.

The assessment methods of the experiment (the

diagnostics mechanism of the study) includes a combination

of objective evaluation methods and procedures that enable to

judge the scientific validity of the results, and the subjective

ones that allow to capture the inner nature of pedagogical

phenomena.

The revealed contradictions determined the rationale of

the study and allowed to define its

.2 Problem, purpose and goals

The purpose of the study is to develop a theoretical and

methodological background to humanitarization of the

natural science education of elementary school children, to

demonstrate its methodological system and a number of its

results.

The experience of humanitarization of natural science

school disciplines was explored by I. S. Aleksashina,

To assess the quality of NCE of elementary school

children as

a process, the method of humanitarian

examination in education was chosen (S. L. Bratchenko,

I. E. Kuzmina, A. N. Tubelsky, V. A. Yasvin) and the

method of its application (N. Yu. Sergeyeva). The advantage

of humanitarian examination is obtaining independent

V. I

Danilchuk,

V. R. Ilchenko,

S. A. Komissarova,

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

opinions from a variety of target groups (parents, teachers,

school principals, associate researchers, methodologists). For

the study, an independent expert group of 9 people was

created, which included employees of the Kurgan State

University, the Institute for the Development of Education

and Social Technologies (IDEST), teachers and directors of

general education schools and institutions for supplementary

education for children, and the methodologists of the

educational administration of Shumikha town.

elementary school children of Shumikha GESS No. 3. At the

third stage, the level of personal identity indicators is mostly

medium or advanced.

The work of the group was supported by methodological

tools that included specially developed questionnaires and

expert evaluation forms, the data on the indicators of the

humanitarian quality of natural science education (NCE) of

elementary school children. During the experiment, the

experts attended 4–24 lessons and after-school classes. They

studied the materials of express tests, children's creative,

design and research projects, interviewed teachers and

parents. The expert group judgment formed the basis for the

conclusion about the quality of NCE of elementary school

children as a process that lays the foundation for personal

development of children.

Figure 2: The level of personal identity of learners at the 1st and 3rd

stages of its development (control group)

During the examination, the following additional sources

for documenting significant aspects of NCE humanitarization

of elementary school children were used: quantitative

methods, analysis of videotapes of classes, children's works

Note: 1 — zero level, 2 — low level, 3 — medium level, 4 —

advanced level

As for the control group of school children, the level of

the consolidated personal identity indicator in the final

assessment is distributed between the low, medium and

advanced levels, predominantly the low and medium levels.

The dynamics of development of individual components

of personal identity, the experiment results and their

mathematical assessment indicate a statistically significant

growth in the level of the value-related indicator of personal

identity among elementary school children of the Shumikha

School No. 3, the presence of the advanced level at the final

stage of the experiment (Figure 3).

(

review essays, drawings, projects).

Jointly with the expert group, a scoring method was

developed for the indicators of humanitarization quality of

the education under study, that involves assessment of the

level, frequency and stability of manifestation of each

indicator on a nine-point scale (9 points being the highest

level of manifestation) (17).

Findings from the study

Figures 1 and 2 shows the development of personal

identity components.

Figure 3: Development of the value component of personal identity

in school children of Shumikha GESS No. 3 (76 people)

Note: 1 — low level, 2 — medium level, 3 — advanced level

similar phenomenon was observed with the

development of the cognitive component, however, with a

lower cognitive component at the advanced level (Figure 4).

As for the development of the regulatory- and activity-related

component, a similar stable trend can be observed of positive

effects of humanitarized natural science education of

elementary school children, which is manifested in a

significant decrease in the number of school children with a

Figure 1: The level of personal identity of learners from the

experimental groups at the 1st and 3rd stages of its development,

General Education Secondary School No. 3

Note: 1 — zero level, 2 — low level, 3 — medium level, 4 —

advanced level

Findings from this study validate the hypothesis of a

gradual, step-by-step development of personal identity of

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

low level, an increase in the number of school children with a

medium level and the appearance of school children with an

advanced level of personal identity development by the

components (Figure 5).

The final assessment of the development of an integrated

educational outcome in the form of school children personal

identity showed that it is still too early to claim that the

technique was absolutely successful. There are subtle aspects

that are not always taken into account (Figure 6). Overall:

—

The development results of the value component show

that about 70% of the children achieved a medium

(

sufficient) level, another 12% achieved the advanced

level;

—

A similar trend is observed about the development of the

cognitive component;

The regulatory- and activity-related component is

developed in 53% of the learners at the medium level and

in 33% at the advanced level.

This means that 86% of school children achieved the

integrated educational result at the medium and advanced

levels. The quantitative data from the study suggest that the

effects of the methodological system on the educational

outcomes tend to be positive. In General Education School of

Kamenskoye village and Shumikha General Education

Secondary School No. 3, where the new content was

systematically introduced into the curricular, extracurricular

and character formation activities, educational outcomes of

Figure 4: Developm ent of the cognitive component of personal

identity in school children of Shumikha GESS No. 3 (76 people)

Note: 1 — low level, 2 — medium level, 3 — advanced level

the students of the 4 grade were significantly higher than

that in the control groups on Shumikha GESS No. 4.

Subject-specific and metasubject educational outcomes

(

cognitive-conceptual component of identity) in Shumikha

GESS No. 3 was somewhat higher than that found in the

Kamenskoye General Education School. This might be due to

a higher competence of teachers of the urban school than that

of the rural school, and general school ability of urban

students. However, the indicators of the value-related and

semantic component are much higher among learners from

the rural remote area than that among the urban school

children. It is assumed that the good performance of

Kamenskoye School children is due to the effective work of

the family club with a moral and environmental orientation

that also involves parents.

Figure 5: Development of the regulatory- and activity-related

component of personal identity in school children of Shumikha

GESS No. 3 (76 people)

Note: 1 — low level, 2 — medium level, 3 — advanced level

The sensitive points of moral and environmental

identification in the elementary school age indicate the

emergence of predictive new formations of personality in a

number of learners who have reached an advanced level for a

given indicator of understanding the ethical foundations of

interaction with the world and the need for regular practice of

the obtained values in real life; for the indicator "Stable

manifestation of moral behavior models" a stable interest was

observed in interaction and experiencing nature, active love

of nature (in the form of caring). The humanitarian

examination method was used to assess the quality of the

created conditions. Figure 7 presents the aggregate expert

evaluation results (average value in points) of the

humanitarian quality of NCE of elementary school children.

The experts who took part in the examination gave a high

rating to all the criteria of the humanitarized education

process.

Figure 6.: Development of the personal identity of school children in

the experimental classes of Shumikha GESS No. 3.

Note: 1 — low level, 2 — medium level, 3 — advanced level

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

Average value by indicator

The priority of the human element over the subject-specific natural science focus of classes

8.7

8.8

Value-conceptual level of absorption of the content

Dialogue interaction

8.7

Personal significance of the lessons

Children's cognitive interest in the studies

Psychophysiological comfort of the lessons

8.5

8.9

Engagement of all the children in the lesson

8.3

Interest and engagement of parents (caregivers) in education

7.8

Interest in self-understanding, understanding of other people and nature

8.2

Low level High level

Medium level

Figure 7: The expert evaluation of the quality of NCE of elementary school children (average values by indicators, points)

context of the modern culture against the background of each

student's unlocking their creative potential, the formation of

global (noospheric) thinking skills. She observed that an

important feature of humanitarization is integrity: it develops

of a holistic worldview and the place of humans in it and

determines the focus of education on the priority of the

creative identity (Tarasenko 2018).

At the methodological level, the humanitarization

principle is reflected in the provisions of the humanitarian

education paradigm, learner-centered and system- and

activity-based approaches to higher education. However, as

Results and Discussion

The contemporary education paradigm implies

integration into the European educational space and should

include the need of development of quality education in

Russia (10). The public attention to the development of the

creative potential in younger generations in Russia with a

focus on the relevant personal qualities determined the need

for humanitarization of education at all its stages. At the

regulatory level, this is enshrined in the Law on Education,

the Concept of Spiritual and Moral Education, the Education

Development Program, in the educational standards (13).

However, the concepts of humanization and

humanitarization are often confused and interchanged. A

comparative analysis the concepts of humanization and

humanitarization of education, according to T. M. Elkanova

and other researchers, suggests that "humanization of

education" means creating a humane education system in a

society in line with the humanitarian values and ideals, while

observed

STUKALOVA,

KUDRYAVTSEVA, E. A. GANAEVA, M. Y. FADEYEVA,

O. M. OSIYANOVA, and V. V. NATOCHY, the researchers

managed to substantiate the principles of humanitarization of

the content of higher education, which are aimed at the

synergy of personal, creative, and professional development

of the future specialist. Process optimization conditions, its

techniques and pedagogical conditions for achieving the

"humanitarization of education" means making the teaching

strategic

goals

educating

the

"man

able to indicate its place and role in the social and cultural

context of the era (1, 9). The need for humanization of

education was intensified by the requirement of replacing the

technocratic approach to nature, society, and people. The

existing trend towards the determinant of the differentiation

of ways of understanding the world should give way to their

integration and systemic approach to understanding the

world.

culture" at the university were determined (5).

Humanitarization can also be seen as "a way to connect a

young person to the spiritual values of the civilized world,

since its improvement in the broad sense of the word, does

not come down to a narrow professionalization" (Kravets,

1996), humanitarization is necessary for the logic of the

learning process (Gaisin et al., 10).

The contemporary elementary school child lives in the

two worlds: the empirical world of popular culture and

nature, and the theoretical world of science and education

based on abstractions, concepts, and logical frameworks.

Therefore, the key goal of humanitarization of education is to

balance those two worlds, to develop a holistic worldview, to

overcome the identity crisis of the individual. To cite Peggy

J. Jenkins, these three domains of knowledge can be brought

together to solve the global objective of accelerating the

human consciousness growth (6).

A solution to the current situation can be humanization

of education, primarily in natural science. According to Irena

Kulisha, the meaning of humanitarization is to align the

contents, process and form of education with the human

nature, human soul and spirit, to activate the integrity of the

human inner world, to develop the personality with a high

integrity. She designed a unified humanistic profile of a

specialist based on the humanistic personal qualities, such as

freedom, thinking skills, mentality, culture, creative spirit,

values and purpose, responsibility (4).

The natural science education of elementary school

children is viewed in this paper as a complex system of

absorption the nature science content during the cognitive

and identification activities of the learners, which is aimed at

The importance of humanitarization of pedagogical

education is explored by Galyna Tarasenko. She believes that

humanitarization should create the conditions for self-

realization and self-determination of the future teacher in the

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

the development of both natural scientific literacy and

identity (16).

A study of research publications and methodological

works suggests that the problem of natural science education

of elementary school children is a subject of investigation for

the following disciplines: physics, biology, chemistry.

humanitarian nature of the contemporary natural science,

which focuses on the quality of the subject of understanding

nature and their subjective and creative activity — can

change its content, as shown by N. Z. Aliyeva,

V. A. Ignatova and others. The basic principles of the

postnonclassical paradigm are nonlinear nature, constant self-

development, subjectivity in the knowledge generation, and

dialogue.

However, the structure of natural science education at

school is still based on the requirements of classical science:

1) Linear nature (propedeutics in primary school and the 5th

grade, then linear natural science subjects with the contents

being structured according to the sections of classical natural

science: according to its historical development); 2)

Sustainability (for 300 years, the sections to study and the

components of natural science, forms and methods of

learning activities remain almost unchanged); 3) Objectivity

(ready knowledge from textbooks is mostly taught, without

taking into account the subjective component in content and

methods). Without prejudice to the classical stage of

scientific development and the classical methods of teaching

natural science, in the context of the postnonclassical phase

of science development, the theoretical and methodological

principles of the past should not remain at the foundations of

NCE in the elementary school.

However,

I. S. Yakimanskaya suggest that personal development of the

student implies stronger pedagogical attention to

E. V.

Bondarevskaya,

V. V. Serikov,

development of such functions of the students as conceptual-

learning, value-, worldview-related, and the subjective

functions through creating specific educational situations.

The first international attempt of humanitarization of

education should be attributed to Rudolf Steiner's twelve

senses theory (2). The character formation of the person with

new qualities (value systems, world perception, thinking

skills), which must permeate the content and techniques of

studying the natural studies component of The World Around

Us course is mentioned in the methodological

recommendations for the teacher. However, the analysis of

existing curricula and methodological recommendations for

The World Around Us course by A. A. Pleshakov,

N. F. Vinogradova, and O. T. Poglazova showed that the

objective of personal development of students is currently

neglected.

In this paper, humanitarization of the natural science

education of elementary school children is viewed as the

quality of the educational process that involves creating an

The provisions on the importance of the value-related

quality of the researcher (anthropic principle) as a driver of

global changes form the foundation for the development of

NCE based of philosophical and anthropological theories of

educational

situation

(of

personal

development,

identification), in which the learner is required both to render

the obtained knowledge and the correct sequence of steps

when completing their assignments, and reflect on the

meaning and values of understanding natural laws, which

ensure successful achievement the unity of subject-specific,

personal and metasubject educational outcomes (16).

To cite Peggy Joy Jenkins, children who develop a

healthy balance of mind and spirit enter adulthood with

higher self-esteem, better able to respond to life's challenges

human

formation

(F. I. Ilyin,

V. N. Sagatovsky,

A. I. Subetto), the thinking and worldview of which associate

the scientific knowledge with value- and purpose-related

structures. The movement toward the noosphere, including

the current stage of sustainable development, requires that the

new generations have not only knowledge and skills to

support their own life, but also a different value system.

V. N. Sagatovsky defined the axiological human type, the

bearer of new values, as the creator focused on the extending

the harmony in themselves and in the world.

(

7). They are better able to respond to life's challenges when

given the tools to think and discover for themselves. She

notes that the greatest gifts that a child can receive are an

opened mind, a caring heart, and ignited creativity (7). We

should agree with Seimbika U. Bichurina in that even for an

elementary school child, working with love and finding

pleasure in it is an essential prerequisite for the development

of their creativity and talents (8). New foundations of

humanitarization of the natural science education of

elementary school children are associated with a synergetic

paradigm in natural science. It sets a holistic approach to the

world, human beings and human relations. An example may

be the idea of seeing the researcher as a subject and

participant in the phenomena they study. The synergetic

approach is also appropriate in this area of the study from the

perspective that, as Hermann Haken observes, a wide variety

of phenomena can be described with general concepts such as

stability and instability, order parameters... Such general

principles can bridge the gap between natural and social

sciences (3).

The elementary school child appears in the values system

as a knowledgeable, kind, responsible, creative individual,

whose actions serve as criteria of their maturity. The

scientifically grounded learner-centered approach in

pedagogics nurtures such a personality. In this regard, the

humanitarian aspect of education defined by N. V. Nalivaiko

and V. A. Parshikov as "the level of actual self-determination

of the personality in the culture", differs from its traditional

understanding as a sum of cultural and humanitarian

knowledge. What do the authors of the new concept offer to

implement humanitarization? To supplement the educational

content with information from environmental studies,

folklore, history, local history, and literature without

activating the subjective position of school children in the

learning process.

understanding of

This approach determines the

the educational outcomes of

humanitarization of the natural science education of

elementary school children through the category of identity.

Identity allows integrating the requirements of the

Federal State Educational Standard for Basic General

Education with subject-specific, personal and metasubject

The development of the postnonclassical model of natural

science education (NSE) — which is based on the

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2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

outcomes of absorption of the natural-science content

necessary for the continued NSE in the secondary school.

leads to its disintegration. This conclusion led to the

elaboration of the problem of the crisis of Ego as the crisis of

self-identity of the individual. It was the direction of

E. Erickson's and V. Hösle's ideas. In the Hösle concept (21),

the analysis appears to be valuable of the subjective causes of

the crisis of individual identity, among which he emphasizes

Ego's loss of the belief in moral standards and values, fear of

death, incorrect descriptive and normative images of selfness,

disappointment in the other, etc.

In the contemporary constructivist approach, the central

problem is the methods of constructing Ego. Based on

numerous psychological studies, E. O. Trufanova (18)

distinguishes a variety of methods depending on how Ego is

constructed — as a theory or as a narrative. In the first case,

discursive practices are distinguished (Ego's sociocultural

contexts expressed in the language), in the second case —

expectations and hypotheses of the personality about itself;

life stories, in which the personality both live and tell about

themselves; ways of organizing episodes, actions and action

reports where facts are blended with fantasies; possible Ego

about the future of the individual, while the current Ego is

termed the self-concept.

It is shown that due to the multiplicity of discourses the

personality is engaged in and a variety of narrative

descriptions of Ego by the personality itself, its self-identity

becomes split. Self can be disintegrated into disconnected

elements, and then some of them acquire a relative

independence and are imposed to Seft from outside;

depending on the roles that the personality plays, Self can

become a role; images of Self can contradict each other,

causing negative existentials; situational self-identity can be

accepted by the personality as its basic self-identity; the

personality may be unable to integrate its life narratives into a

single integrated system or a single life story. Under these

conditions, the personality can assume the normative identity

that is imposed socially or culturally or by other people's

expectations, thereby losing the freedom of choice and

authorship in the creation of its basic self and its sustainable

self-identity (19).

Humanitarization in this study is viewed as an integral

property of the system of natural science education of

elementary school children, which determines the new

quality of the learning process and a new level of unity of its

outcomes. The study shows that humanitarization as a quality

of natural science education is ensured through progressive

situations of personal development and identification. In

those situations, the learner is required to search for and

reflect on the purpose, the value of understanding the natural

laws. It is suggested that the criterion for achievement of the

new quality of the learning process should be the level of the

elementary school child's personal identity, which is

understood here as a complex educational outcome that

includes subject-specific, metasubject, personal results and is

manifested in the integrative personal quality that reflects the

reflexive and creative origin of knowledge in relation to

nature and its understanding, to family, friends and

themselves (17). The axiological approach made it possible

to distinguish the values for identification by elementary

school children and to align them with the corresponding

activities. The core of our concept includes 4 basic ideas:

The problem of personal identity is

a traditional

philosophical problem, which, on the one hand, can be

designated as a problem of identity of a person, and, on the

other, as its persistence, i.e., we can express this in the

formula "Me is me". Identity, therefore, is the identity of the

social and individual in a human as an evolving result of

recognition and confirmation by the other of the existential

choice made by the human being.

For example, E. O. Trufanova established "a separation

into two main trends in the approach to Ego. One of the lines

goes back to Descartes and asserts that Ego is the original

absolute givenness. ...However, more popular is currently

another line, which implies a gradual construction and

reconstruction of Ego in the course of the individual personal

development of human beings — this is a constructivist

approach" (18).

In the history of philosophy, both of these trends can be

observed. For example, in R. Descartes' works, thinking of

the individual which they identify with Ego, acquires the

absolute autonomy of being. I. Kant's theory asserts that Ego

is constructed through a priori forms of sensory experiences

of space and time and a priori categories of reason. This

provision formed the foundation of the constructivist

approach to Ego. Later on, the development of the

constructivist approach to Ego was influenced Z. Freud's

view of the personality structure, in which he distinguished

Ego, Id and Superego, which enabled him to introduce the

unconscious into the Ego structure.

In the philosophy of the 20th century, the most

anthropologically interesting ideas are those by J.-P. Sartre.

He translated the issue of Ego from epistemology, where it

was looked at in the classical philosophy, into anthropology,

and developed the issue of Ego as a problem of self-

deception, exploring such actions of consciousness intimacy

as denial, irony, lies, love, masochism, indifference, desire,

hatred, and sadism. Sartre affirms that the Ego needs the

other: "I can know myself only through the mediation of the

other, which means that I stand in relation to my “id,” in the

position of the Other" (15). The understanding of the process

of constructivization of Ego was influenced by the

philosophy of virtual reality that showed that a person can

construct in their mind a variety of psychological realities

that represent possible virtual worlds.

Publications mostly distinguish the cognitive Ego, the

psychological Ego and the social Ego. It appears that the

highest level in the Ego hierarchy is the person's spiritual

Ego, which was understood by V. Frankl (20) as the desire

for a purpose and creation of values. Therefore A.K.

Abisheva's definition of Ego that goes back to V. Frankl's

definition appears the most accurate: "If attachment to a

particular value or hierarchy of values is the basis that

organizes everything else both in the soul and in external

manifestations, then they constitute the core we call the

human Ego" (11).

Philosophy of the 20th century affirmed the idea of the

plurality of Ego in the personality and concluded that

between them, it is not the conciliation that prevails, which is

necessary for the personal integrity, but a conflict that often

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

) Natural science education is aimed at shaping in school

children a worldview as an entirety that is developing

towards the harmony that can be creatively supplemented

by the human being;

In the subject-specific variable content reflected in the

curriculum for The ABC of the Natural Laws club for the 3rd

grade, the "Development Laws" section explains the law of

transition from quantity to quality on examples of inanimate

nature, wildlife and human life, by experiments and through

long-term independent learners' observations. In the

Inanimate Nature module, the "Water properties in liquid,

) The achievement of the unity of the educational outcomes

is based on implementing the idea of humanitarization in

the learning process;

) Humanitarization of education is carried out through

including a variability component in the content of The

World Around Us course and extracurricular activities

with the appropriate step-by-step methodological support;

) Methodological support of teachers is carried out within

clusters: temporary creative associations of educational

process participants.

solid and gas states" section traditionally includes a

demonstration of the experiment of the transfer of water to

steam when heated and to ice when cooled. According to

dialectics, this is an abrupt process. The experiment of water

evaporation from soil is demonstrated during the classes of

the club. It is accompanied with information that in natural

conditions, heating the soil leads to evaporation of water

from it, dehydration makes soil dry and can lead to desert

formation. At a later stage, children learn to visually

determine the soil moisture and predict the period of its

watering for a variety of plants. In the Living Nature module,

when studying the development of a butterfly from an egg

through a series of stages to adulthood, leaps in development

interleaved with periods of hidden changes are visually

demonstrated. Interested children continue to explore this

topic independently in the form of the research project called

"Raising a butterfly from a caterpillar at home": they

The ideas have their corresponding principles and regular

connections. For example the implementation of the idea of

the need of shaping the worldview in school children as an

entirety that is developing towards the harmony that can be

creatively supplemented by the human being" displays a

regular connection with "the objectives and content of natural

science education of elementary school children with the

requirement for personal development and the development

of cross-functional educational activities". This connection is

actualized through the principles of personal integrity,

metasubjectivity of the content and activity methods. The

methodological system of the humanitarized natural science

education of elementary school children includes the

following components: content and objectives, procedures,

outcomes and management. The objectives component

includes the following groups of objectives: cognitive (the

development of a systemic thinking style in learners among

the subject-specific and metasubject results), and affective

maintain

a certain air temperature, care and make

observations of butterflies' metamorphosis.

In the Human Being module, a situation is presented

when the human body heats up in a hot weather, losing water

in the form of sweat, then it overheats, and a person may lose

consciousness from a heat stroke. School children are asked

to find ways of preventive actions at each stage of the

situation. When presenting the material, the meaning of the

moderation and people’s capacity to influence the situation

are emphasized if it leads to harmful consequences for nature

or people. In general, phenomena or processes are presented

in relation to objects of different nature, clarified, expanded

and solidified. The core of the variable educational content is

the universal values: truth, beauty, peace, love, moral

conduct. The core curricula for the Universal Values (1st

grade) and Rainbow of Love (2nd–4th grades) clubs include

the following modules: Value-Based Attitude to Yourself,

Value-Based Attitude to Nature, Value-Based Attitude to the

Birthplace. The procedural aspect of the methodological

system is represented by the technique of developing

personal identity of elementary school children. It includes

three stages: introductory and value-developing; nature-

focused and cognitive- and activity-related; and human-

centered and regulatory- and activity-related.

Harmoniously combining the methods of teaching, moral

and environmental character formation and subjective school

children's perception (emotional and aesthetic) of natural

objects and phenomena in the natural science education of

elementary school children, the teacher can appeal to a

variety of aspects of learners' personality (emotional and

cognitive), engage them in various types of activities

(creative, purpose- and purpose- and value-based education),

to develop a complex of attitudes: to cognition (as a process

of absorption), knowledge (as a result of it), to nature, to

themselves.

(

aimed at the development of moral and environmental

identity as a complex personal outcome) (12). The content

component of the methodological system integrates the

invariability and variability components of The World

Around Us course contents, that are implemented in the

classroom and extracurricular activities.

The invariability core in the authorial curricula is based

on a systemic approach to representing the natural world, i.e.,

revealing the structure, the basic connections of natural

objects and phenomena. The invariant includes "Inanimate

nature", "Wildlife" and "Human Being" modules. Selection

of the variable content on the basis of the general set of

approaches, including the dialectical, metasubject and

phenomenological approaches, ensures the integration of the

classroom and extracurricular activities. The dialectical

approach allows to harmonize the development of empirical

and theoretical thinking skills of elementary school children.

The content of the invariant modules is supplemented by the

variability component that reflects the universal laws and

principles of processes in the natural world. The emphasis is

on the propulsive force of light and heat. While the seasonal

phenomena of nature are explored in the invariability content

as conditioned by the change in the fluxes of heat and light,

in the variable content they are the basis to explain in a clear

way the laws of dialectics, its principles (universal

connections, causality, systematicity) and the related values

such as moderation, harmony, and order.

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

At the basic stage of education (the 1st and 2nd grades),

the teacher's work is aimed at developing the value

component of the learner's identity. It is actualized through

methods of developing value-based attitudes, such as the

methods of contemplation, reflection on wisdom, the

methods of cognitive development (brainstorming),

identification methods (being in silence, reflection games).

Lessons can take place in variety of places: in the classroom,

outside (in the forest, park, on the lawn), near water, but the

structure remains the same. Consider the following example.

On an autumn walking tour, the phenomenon of leaf fall

is introduced through observation. School children observe

the beauty of the autumn park, the bright color of the leaves,

their falling to the ground, listen to the crunch of leaves under

their feet, collect them, reflect on changes in their mood,

share thoughts about the beauty of the leaf fall, and record

them in a self-observation journal. The overall opportunities

are therefore created for involving different sensory channels

for one phenomenon: leaf fall. This is the phenomenological

approach of the teacher's work. In the classroom, during

technology classes or club lessons, children create collections

of leaves, make handicrafts of natural materials and wood

waste in the style of folk crafts. The teacher creates a

situation of knowledge development using the brainstorming

method: "Why do plants shed their leaves?"

After children make their assumptions, the teacher

summarizes the answers and explains that lower temperatures

slow down the supply of nutrients, and plants shed its leaves,

flowers, and fruit that are sensitive to cold. Fallen leaves are

a fertilizer for the soil. At this stage, the concluded is made

that leaf fall is beautiful, good, and beneficial. At the next

stage (the 3rd grade), education is focused on developing

knowledge and skills that constitute the cognitive component

of personal identity of the school child. We continue the topic

of leaf fall, but at this stage, we develop the knowledge about

the color changing process by plants based on the empirical

knowledge the children already have. Plants have a variety of

colors. It depends on coloring matters: pigments. For

example, the green color of plants is due to chlorophyll.

Other pigments cause other colors. The activity of coloring

matters depends on air temperature and sunlight. There is

much green pigment in plants during warm spring and

summer.

Arguments of the group 2 ("BAD"): the loss of leaves

means the loss of "food factory", in the leaves nutrients are

created; harmful substances that were accumulated in the

leaves get into the soil and contaminate it. The research

method nurtures the ability to see and resolve contradictions.

The third stage of education (the 4th grade) is aimed at

developing the regulatory- and activity-related component of

the school child's personal identity. Such methods as work in

small groups on risk analysis, construction of rules for safe

behavior in nature are used. For example, when studying the

leaf fall, the following assignments are used:

1. Identify the risks of the leaf fall period for people.

Answers: it is windy, slippery, risk of injury.

2. Outline rules of safe conduct during the fall period.

Answers: watch your step, do not fall into piles of leaves.

Thus, in line with the specific features of personal

identity development in elementary school children, a general

set of methods for developing values, value-based attitudes,

and identification is used at each stage; and the methods of

cognitive development evolve as the elements of theoretical

thinking skills develop. To prepare the teachers for

implementing the designed content and techniques,

temporary creative groups (clusters) are created (14). At the

first stage, a subject-specific cluster is created. The key

objective of the subject-specific cluster is to

methodologically prepare primary school teachers for

humanitarization of natural science education through the

development and adjustment of the variable content of The

World Around Us course, to help them master the technique,

its methods and methodological procedures during the

collective creative activity and self-development.

At the next stage, an intersubject cluster starts working.

The intersubject cluster brings together various groups of

participants in the educational process in order to develop

intersubject modules and innovative educational projects

aimed at ensuring consistency and continuity of the person-

developing content of classroom (subject-specific) and

extracurricular activities in primary and secondary school.

The aspectual analysis of "identification" and "identity"

categories (philosophy, anthropology, sociology, psychology)

revealed the essence of moral and ecological identification,

the structure and content of moral and environmental identity

of elementary school children as an integrated personal

educational outcome. Learner's personal identity was

determined as the complex educational outcome of

humanitarization of NCE. The elementary school child's

identity includes the following components:

In autumn, the green pigment is destroyed under a low

air temperature and lack of sunlight. Carotenes and

xanthophylls color the plant leaves in other bright colors

(

yellow, red, and purple). At the same time, lower

temperatures slow down all the processes in the leaf cuttings

cells, and they die off. And just a light breeze is enough for

the leaves to come off the branches and swirl in the air. And

for us to admire the leaf fall. In addition to the previously

used methods, methods of developing a systemic thinking

style are introduced. Consider the example of "Good and

bad" game. The class is divided into 2 teams, one of them is

to verbalize arguments about the positive features of the leaf

fall, and the second team — about the negative ones.

Arguments for the group 1 ("GOOD"): the plant shed the

leaves that are sensitive to cold; fallen leaves are a fertilizer

for the soil.

1) Cognition- and purpose-related component (the initial

understanding of the basic laws of dialectics, knowledge of

environmental and cultural values and environmental and

aesthetic ideals; environmental standards in the traditions of

Russian peoples, their birthplace, awareness of the harmony

in nature, the inherent value of nature, the place of the human

being in it, the ability to environmentally assess natural

phenomena, a developed although children's, but nevertheless

integral concept of nature);

2) Values- and motivation-related component — the

ability to experience a sense of harmony with nature, enjoy

its beauty, compassionate, the willingness to have an active

moral and environmental position, the desire to comprehend

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2019, Special Issue on Environment, Management and Economy, Pages: 915-924

dialectical and ethical categories in relation to natural

phenomena, human relations with nature, the need for

communing with nature, the interest in researching nature,

studying natural sciences);

5. Stukalova OV, Kudryavtseva VV, Ganaeva EA, Fadeyeva MYu,

Osiyanova OM, Natochy VV. Humanitarization of Higher

Education Content:

Influence Factors,

Implementation

Technology. Education. 2018;39(20).

Jenkins PJ. Nurturing Spirituality in Children. Publisher

Hillsboro, Or. : Beyond Words Pub. 1995.

Jenkins PJ. Nurturing Spirituality in Children: Simple Hands-On

Activities by Peggy Joy Jenkins. Atria Books Publ. 2008;192 pp.

3) Regulatory and activity-related component (the

experience of compliance with ethical standards in relation to

nature, assessment and self-assessment of people's behavior

and attitude to nature from the ethical standpoint, design (the

environmental design, design of behavior models or

activities) in line with environmental values, environmental

and aesthetic ideals and ethical principles of treating nature,

the ability to realize universal and environmental values in

real life).

The conditions being created for learners' personality

development were assessed by the criteria of

humanitarization of the educational environment and the

humanization of pedagogical interaction.

8. Bichurina SU. Especially of Labor Education Elementary School

Children. International Journal of Environmental

& Science

Education. 2016;11(3): 279–287.

Elkanova TM. Chedzhemova N. M. Humanization and

Humanitarization of Education: the Essence, Principles, Aims.

World Applied Sciences Journal. 2013;22(5): 697-702.

0. Spivak Y, Bakhov I. Published: 2 March 2018 Paradigm of

Knowledge by TK Meganom LLC in paradigm of knowledge

paradigm of knowledge. 2018;1(27).

11. Abisheva AK. Problema «Ya» v filosofii i psikhologii [The

Problem of Self in Philosophy and Psychology]. Russian Journal

of Philosophical Sciences. 2002;6: p. 90.

2. Kupriyanova TS, Nesgovorova NP, Savelev VG. Vizual'naya

sreda kak sredstvo vospitaniya ekologicheskoi kul'tury [Visual

Conclusions

Overall, this paper indicates that:

Environment as

Culture]. Modern Problems of Science and Education. 2013;5.

13. Nesgovorova NP, Savelev VG. Standartizatsiya obrazovaniya i

gotovnost' pedagogov realizatsii FGOS OO: perspektivy,

a Means of Education of Environmental

. On the one hand, the state of the problem of NCE of

elementary school children, on one hand, includes a trend

towards humanitarization in natural science, the methods

and practice of teaching the basics of natural science in

the elementary school, and on the other hand, a complex

of efforts is required to implement it.

. The analysis of the available research publications and

methodological materials in Russian and international

scientific schools of thought made it possible to develop

the author’s own theoretical underpinning for

humanitarization of NCE of elementary school children

as a complex and open education system

problemy, riski [Standardization of Education and Readiness of

Teachers to Implement the Federal State Educational Standard

for General Education: Opportunities, Challenges, Risks]

Modern Problems of Science and Education. 2015;3.

4. Nesgovorova NP, Savelev VG, Tebenkova E. A. Klasternaya

organizatsiya ekologicheskogo obrazovaniya naseleniya regiona.

Ekologicheskoe obrazovanie segodnya. Vzglyad v budushchee.

[Cluster organization of environmental education in the region.

Environmental education today. A glimpse into the future]. The

collection of presentations of the 5 All-Russian Scientific and

Practical Conference on Environmental Education (Moscow,

November 20–21, 2017), 2018;2, Ed. by V. A. Grachev.

Moscow, Vernadsky Foundation Publ, 803–810.

Background is provided for the requirements to

humanitarization of NCE of elementary school children,

namely the need to develop variable subject and character

building content and to actualize the subjective reflective

and creative position in its absorption.

5. Sartre J. Being and nothingness. London: Routledge. 1989; p.

25.

16. Tebenkova realizatsii

metapredmetnogo podkhoda v propedevtike ENO v nachal'noi

shkole Metapredmetnyi podkhod kak metodologicheskaya

EA.

Metodicheskie

osobennosti

. The paper explores the methodological system of NCE of

elementary school children based on the idea of

humanitarization as an education system and process.

. The process of personal identity development of the

elementary school child and its outcomes are

demonstrated on specific examples.

osnova realizatsii FGOS: monografiya [Methodological Specific

Features of Implementation of Metasubjective Approach in

Propedeutics of NSE in Primary School. Metasubject Approach

a Methodological Basis of Implementing Federal State

Educational Standards for Higher Education. Monography]. Ed.

by N. A. Krivolapova. Kurgan, GAOUDPO IROST Publ.

2017;21–39.

. Findings from this study are implemented in schools,

pedagogical colleges, and higher education institutions.

7. Tebenkova EA. Gumanitarnyi podkhod k otsenke kachestva

nravstvenno-ekologicheskogo

vospitaniya

obshchem

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