Based on the analysis of works by Ukrainian and foreign scholars, we have proposed refined definitions for the concepts of «health» and «healthy lifestyle». Accordingly, health is the harmonious combination of a person's physical, psycho-emotional, spiritual-intellectual, and social functions, characterized by a dynamic nature and ensuring adaptive capacities and personal activity. The term «healthy lifestyle» refers to a conscious and consistent activity aimed at strengthening one's own health, adapting to the environment, and creating favorable social and valeoecological conditions for oneself and society. Additionally, we acknowledge the recognition of the concept of «health-preserving competence» documented in the Basic Component of Preschool Education (State Standard of Preschool Education) in 2021.
We've characterized the normative and legal foundations for fostering health-preserving competence in preschool-aged children since Ukraine gained independence. International normative acts, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, form the basis of Ukrainian legislation in this sphere. Fundamental laws such as «On Preschool Education», «On Child Protection» (2001), and «On Education» (2017) have been pivotal for Ukrainian preschool education. National doctrines and programs define the strategic direction of preschool education. Practical orientation is provided by the editions of the Basic Component of Preschool Education (State Standard of Preschool Education) approved in 1998, 2012, and 2021. They explicitly delineate educational directions for the development of a preschooler's personality and indicate key competencies that should be fostered in children, particularly emphasizing health-preserving competence.
We've analyzed the pedagogical conditions necessary for the successful implementation of tasks related to fostering health-preserving competence in children within preschool educational institutions. Our proposed original definition of "pedagogical conditions" encompasses objective and subjective factors that ensure the effectiveness of forming health-preserving competence in preschool-aged children. Based on studies by researchers such as T. Andriushchenko, R. Bedran, O. Boitsun, N. Borytko, O. Kovshar, V. Manko, L. Rybchenko, N. Cherepania, N. Rusyn, and others, we've substantiated three pedagogical conditions for forming health-preserving competence in preschool-aged children: 1) Purposeful health-preserving activities by educators, building communication with children based on humanistic pedagogy and psychology, child-centric approaches, and aiming to foster health-preserving competence in each child according to age, individual, and social factors; 2) Collaborative, purposeful, and deliberate health-preserving activities among children within same-age or mixed-age groups in preschool educational institutions; 3) Organizational and applied tools (technologies) for fostering health-preserving competence. We emphasize that these pedagogical conditions constitute a comprehensive phenomenon capable of becoming an effective factor in forming health-preserving competence only when they complement and form a systemic approach.
After the implementation of the new edition of the Basic Component of Preschool Education in 2012, there was a definitive shift in the content of preschool education towards fostering health-preserving competence in children. However, several organizational issues hindered the complete restructuring of preschool educational institutions: discrepancies in the health-preserving and health-forming environment in preschool educational institutions regarding the requirements of the Basic Component of Preschool Education; insufficient effectiveness of physical education and health-improvement work in reducing illnesses among children; sporadic and unsystematic utilization of methods, technologies, and means of physical education to maintain and improve the health of preschool-aged children; inadequate provision of physical activity for children alongside excessive emphasis on motor density during physical activities, and so forth.
In recent years, the practice of fostering health-preserving competence has encountered new challenges (such as the pandemic and the full-scale russian-Ukrainian war), compelling educators to seek new educational methods and emphasize skills related to epidemic prevention behavior and life preservation in times of conflict.
Keywords: health-preserving competence, health, children, preschoolers, preschool education institution, healthy lifestyle, technologies, preschool education, educational programs, pandemic, war.
