The Preschool Child: Initiative, Active and Independent

The paper’s purpose is to study and present the possibilities of the educational environment in kindergarten for stimulating the child’s initiative, activity and independence. The study was conducted in 35 groups in kindergartens in different settlements. The results obtained indicate that there is an educational environment that creates prerequisites for the active participation of the child in the various activities – play, learning, communication, and work, for the expression of children’s independence and for showing initiative. Some recommendations are summarized aiming to use the qualities already developed in the child at preschool age as a basis for personal development and stimulation of children’s creativity, teamwork and sociality.


Introduction
The pedagogical community today has focused its attention on the child, the specifics of early childhood development, childhood as an essential stage of human development. Naturally this pre-school childhood stands out in this all-encompassing material, mainly because of the importance of the age potential of a 3-7-year-old child for his or her overall development, for the development of his/her psychic, social, emotional, moral-volitional qualities and abilities. Children's activity during this period produces initiatives, self-actions, creative fulfillment, social benevolence, prosocial behavior, and special status in the children's group community. The realization of the age potential and the individuality of each child presupposes permanent amplification (enrichment) of the educational process and creation of conditions for active child development. It is in the sense of active child development and the qualities of the cognitive and social skills and competences of the child from preschool age that it is important for researchers of these processes to permanently emphasize their activity, initiative and independence.
Undoubtedly, the vision of children's activity is difficult to standardize. According to Valkanova, "at the beginning of preschool age, activity is expressed in the imitation of children. Later, it manifests itself in the actions they perform according to the instructions of the adults, and finally -in the performance of independent actions, combined with asking numerous questions, to reach at the end of the period creative activity in performing of individual initiatives and actions (Valkanova, 2006). Specifically, Koleva (1998), defining the activity of children in social terms, offers differentiation of different types of children's groups, namely (Koleva, 1998: 122):  Socially active children with high levels of initiative, willingness, and independence;  Socially active children with predominant initiative and self-dependence, and difficulties in willingness;  Socially active children with predominant performance and selfdependence;  Socially active children with predominant willingness but low selfdependence;  Socially active children with low level of initiative, fulfillment and independence, the so called "socially waiting" children;  Socially active children with a strong impulsiveness of the initiative, a high degree of independence, without a desire for self-dependence and organization;  Socially active children with an expressed impulsiveness, negative initiative and low level of independence, socially reactive children;  Socially passive children with an expressed positive or negative orientation, etc. For Koleva, "a collective image and perhaps an outward expression of child activity is child initiative -from the most elementary cognitive and social actions (facial expressions, gestures, high hand raising, finishing the work of another child, often chaotic actions, to meet the need for expression, etc.) to the conscious and planned activities proposed by the particular child and accepted by others in the group -in the process of learning, work or play" (Koleva, 2015: 93). An understanding of children's initiative is generally offered by M. Montessori (Seldin, 2016) -"all children act as" young scientists "in their desire to observe and experiment with their world in the form of" what if "… Children are born with great imagination and a strong desire to explore the world. Encourage this pursuit, help them discover the beauty and wonder of everything that surrounds them." For Koleva (2015) an initiative child is any child with a standard or non-potential for action and development, a child with a will for self-expression and self-affirmation, a child with a real opportunity and need for interactions in the social environment with the aim of new actions and solutions for overcoming problems. One of the essential messages of the initiative child is I want to be noticed…. At the same time, for Poddyakov (1994), the preschool child's initiatives are dictated by the specifics of his "vague, unclear, undifferentiated" perceptions of the outside world -"they provoke and at the same time support children's initiative by interacting with the more accurate and already established knowledge and experience of the child, which are a prerequisite for self-development, self-stimulation of his thinking and operationalization of his needs." Self-dependence, in turn, is related to the ability to evaluate opportunities, plan activities, predict results and perform independent actions with a view to completing a task, achieving a goal without the help of others. According to Dimitrov, this also applies to the child in preschool age, who, based on his experience and without the help of others, can independently and adequately evaluate some of his options and correctly predict the results of his own activity (Dimitrov, 2012). The main features of independence are:  The ability and desire to select and implement appropriate actions on the situation;  Decision making ability; 4 th International e-Conference on Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (215-226) ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 217  Dependence of degree of self-dependence on cognitive (insight into the requirements of the situation, intellectual abilities, etc.), and motivational (eg activity, specific needs, curiosity) factors (Dictionary of Psychology, 1989);  Availability of acquired actions by the subject to help make appropriate decisions for the situation;  Willful state of the individual, who can perform self-activity, thanks to his own knowledge and habits, ideas and concepts, skills and beliefs, habits and life experience, without side help (Short Psychological Dictionary, 1985);  Implementation of the planned and self-control;  Taking responsibility for actions and acts (Ilyin, 2012).
According to Lublinskaya (1978) at the age of 3 to 7 years, the prerequisites for the emergence of a "striving for independence" are created. According to the author, the signs of children's independence are (Ibid.):  The child's independence has nothing to do with his or her spontaneous behavior.
 True self-dependence as an extremely valuable feature of the individual can only be nurtured on the basis of the relevant habits worked out, i.e. of created stereotypes that meet the requirements of adults.
 The level of self-dependence of children increases with their development, with their rising ability to perform complex physical and mental activities.
 Three stages can be identified in the development of self-dependence. Stage one -when the child is acting in the usual conditions for him or her, in which the basic habits have been created, without being reminded, encouraged and assisted by the adult. Second stage -the child independently uses the usual ways of acting in new, unusual, but close and similar situations. In the third stage, a further transfer is already possible. The adopted rule acquires a generic character and becomes the criteria for determining the child's behavior under all conditions. What is more, "sometimes, through the gaps in the wall of constraints, more autonomous decisions are visible, in some cases relatively important…", "and this means free development of the intellect ... and the child and enables new ways of realization, new ways of exercising the intellect" (Weber & Diazy, 1985).
The interest in the three commented qualities is logical and based on their importance to both the individual and society. As Shchetinina argues, personal initiative and commitment enhances a child's personal experience and influences his or her orientation in the world around him/her. This is due to the fact that the initiative places the subject in different relationships and mutual influences and is a sign of an active position in the social group (Shchetinina, 2000). In turn, active presence and participation in the life of the child group is a prerequisite for interpersonal relationships and self-expression and accordingly appears as a factor for the overall development of the child (Ibid.). Hence the need to stimulate them during the preschool years. A need that, according to Shchetinina, also applies to the qualities of autonomy and self-control. The presence of a high degree of self-dependence is an expression of the successful orientation of the individual in the environment and the teacher's focused work to develop the child's need for independence (Ibid.). The pursuit of self-dependence is observed at the beginning of pre-school age -towards the age of three, and earlier in some children, depending on the individual characteristics of temperament (Ilyin, 2000). The development of self-dependence in children is directly related to the development of self-awareness (Ibid.).
The three qualities of initiative, activity and independence are interrelated. The first accent in the cited correlation could be accepted the answer to the question: How are activity and initiative related to independence? According to Shchetinina, the degree of activity and initiative, the interest in one or another activity and the desire of the child to engage in it, as well as the achieved results, is possible to assess whether there is a need for independence in the child from preschool age. The need for independence, according to Shchetinina, is an essential indicator of the level of independence. It is important for pedagogical practice to know that the realization of the child's needs for independent implementation of the activities depends on the ability to achieve results, the availability of the necessary skills, habits and ways of action for the child (Shchetinina, 2000). This is the result of the essential role of the teacher, the family, and the pedagogical environment.
The second accent is: How does independency affects the activity and initiative? Having the necessary abilities for independent action gives confidence to the child and stimulates on the one hand the activity and persistence in achieving the goals, and on the other the independence in the choice of methods of activity. In this way, the whole development of the child's independence is closely related to his psychological characteristics such as activity, initiative, self-control (Shchetinina, 2000).
According to Hristova, "the manifestation of independency in the pedagogical practice is most often associated with the activity and readiness for its implementation, i.e. independency is the ability of a person to organize, conducts and implements his activity without receiving any other help" (Hristova, 2015: 24). In the process of pedagogical interaction in kindergarten, the child must: "learn to set goals and tasks independently, to analyze the conditions for their course and achievement, to make assumptions and formulate hypotheses", to be involved in solving problematic situations, by offering options and finding solutions, "to overcome differences, to organize and correct the course of both individual and joint activity, achieving a positive result" (Ibid.: 24). Increasing the level of independence and the ability to act without the help of adults also increases children's initiative. According to the available theory on the problem at the end of preschool age, the child should be able to direct his or her initiative, faster and better to fulfill what he or she has been instructed to do (Ibid.).
All this proves how important is to receive up-to-date information on the levels of manifestation of the studied qualities and their stimulation in the environment of the children's group.

Method
A survey of 93 children aged 5-7 years attending kindergartens in the cities of Blagoevgrad, Dospat, Yakoruda, Samokov and Kyustendil was conducted in 2018 and the analysis of the obtained results is the basis for the following conclusions: The child aged 5-7 years is initiative. 70% of children are highly initiative. 20% of the surveyed children are of moderate initiative and 10% of them with low.
It can be specified that 10% of children receive maximum points, and in fact, these are the ones where, according to the teachers, the indicators are often displayed. Generally, it can be said that these children prefer to play the leading role, are often initiators of different activities and engage in activities initiated by other children, are active in all activities, often share an opinion on the issues discussed and defend their position, striving to a leadership, love being the center of attention and being the first in everything, have no concern about any new and unfamiliar activities and are not afraid to begin their implementation, the attention of others brings them satisfaction.
The additional analysis of the quantitative data on the indicators highlights the manifestations with the highest frequency and can be defined as leading in the behavior of the initiative child. There are three of them, namely: satisfaction in receiving attention from peers and adults, the desire to participate in all activities, the desire to respect the personal opinion. Manifestations with lower scores point to the need for the teacher to create more favorable conditions for the expression of children's initiative in the group with regard to: the active participation of the child in activities, which helps to increase his or her personal experience and self-esteem, as well as to the feeling for belonging to a community group; respecting the opinion of each child, and the child must understand that his or her opinion is significant, but that equally important is the opinion of the other. It is of particular importance as early as the preschool age that the child learns not by insisting, but by asserting himself to participate with personal opinion in discussions and decision-making (Dzhorova, 2018).
The child in the preparatory group is active. The results of the study, although placing the initiative and activity of the child on different levels, confirm that "the child is active, full of energy ... with highly developed needs for self-expression, success and new impressions" (Vasileva, 2009: 25). The maximum score (48) was not obtained by any child. A high level of activity was found in 41% of the children tested, which is well below the result representing the initiative of the children. 49% of the children surveyed have moderate activity. Further analysis of the results by individual indicators explains the difference between otherwise interrelated qualities of activity and initiative. It is evident that the indicators with the lowest score are related to the manifestation of stubbornness and aggression, as well as loud speaking and noise (Dzhorova, 2018).
The teachers' pointed observations indicate that these manifestations are less common in children and although, according to the diagnosis used, they are related to the degree of activity, in this case they reflect a good trend indicating that a preschool child can develop self-control skills, considering the others, evaluation and judgment. Poor performance on specific indicators is reflected in the level of activity. The activities with the highest score specify the activity of the 5-7 year old child. High activity of children is mainly related to participation in interactions with peers, active participation in games, desire to engage in activities, interest and good mood. On the basis of the obtained results, and expectations, claims to the pedagogical activity of the teachers are formed and in particular to (Dzhorova, 2018): -The selection and structuring of cognitive content; -The inclusion of "outsiders" for the institution -parents and other family members; -Adequate organization of space in the kindergarten; -Creating conditions for the expression of prosocial behavior in the middle of the child group.
-Opportunities for separation from the group -space, time, materials for privacy and protection of privacy. Practical ideas can be drawn from the Montessori Method and the possibilities of outlining personal space.
-Targeted orientation of the child in the world of objects and relationships by revealing the importance of each component in order to minimize the acceptance of the discussed and considered as insignificant and secondary.
The child of preschool shows a high degree of independence. The quantitative data show that in 83% of the surveyed children the degree of independence is high, in 14% it is average and in only 3 of the children the degree of independence is low. The maximum score is not reached by any child. It is evident that independence has the highest results and it can be said that the manifestations of the child from preschool age are most often an expression of his wish and desire for independence and self-dependence. It was found that 5-7 year olds know how to have fun, have their own opinion, try to do it on their own without seeking help from peers and adults, strive for the end result, have organizational skills and habits, they are able to find solutions for themselves in situations of conflict, they are executable and they can participate in both group and individual games. Here the main role of the educator as a manager of space and relationships in the children's group is outlined, that is, to organize and create the conditions that will allow to satisfy the need for independence (Dzhorova, 2018).
The results of the indicators allow the analysis of the three leading manifestations related to the independence of preschool children. The self-activities are something typical and distinctive for 5-7-year-old children, which we accept not as an expression of loneliness, but as a desire for independent activity and expression, for expressing own opinion and judgment, for choosing and preferring when, where and what to do. The desire for independency in the child's early childhood and the desire for it is highly evident.
The obtained high results are grounds for assuming that, with regard to the manifestations / indicators included in the diagnostic procedure, an acceptable level of realization in the pedagogical practice has been achieved, which also defines them as significant for it. Apparently in their formal and informal interactions with the child, teachers stimulate children's independence and reduce their dependence on the other. At the same time, this is probably one of the reasons for the rare manifestation of help found through the activity card. Of course, the influence of other factors -family, children's group -is not excluded. In such a situation, it is advisable for the educator to draw the attention of the children to the understanding that a person is valuable but is part of a group/society and successful groups are those in which there is cooperation, assistance, understanding and more. The results show that there are children who have no problem getting help from others, both in performing specific activities and in resolving conflicts with other children. Probably these are the children who are willing to offer their help.
The instrumentation used in the study is: The cards are filled by an educator based on repeated observations of the child's behavior in different situations. The frequency of a particular behavior determines the point that the educator will place in the designated cell: never, rarely/sometimes, often/always. Each card shows the range of points that determine the degree of activity, independence and initiative (Dzorova, 2018).
The conducted in 2018 survey and analysis of results present the preschooler as active, initiative and independent. At the same time, it raises an important question for pedagogical theory and practice: Is the development of these qualities in the conditions of kindergarten stimulated? Realizing that their stimulation is directly related to many factors -educational environment, teacher approach, organization and conduct of pedagogical situations, interpersonal relationships, interior and exterior of the institution, involvement in the "life" of the kindergarten of family members and other outsiders, this study aims to identify opportunities for activity, initiative and independence of the child in kindergarten. Achieving this goal will also reveal the correlation between the results, indicating the availability of developed skills for independence, activity and initiative, and kindergarten -as a material environment and an environment for the realization of pedagogical interactions.
In order to achieve the purpose of the research, an author's questionnaire was developed containing 26 statements, 5 of which were directed to the conversation with the children (Annex 1). The questionnaire was filled in by 15 students from the specialty of Preschool pedagogy and 20 students from the master program of Preschool pedagogy conducting current and pre-graduate pedagogical practice in kindergartens in different cities and different age groups.
On the basis of their daily attendance in kindergartens, students point in the questionnaire the ascertained by them regarding the included statements. The frequency of expression of a particular statement determines the score to be placed in the cell specified: never -0, rarely -1, often -2, always -3. The maximum score that can be obtained is 78 and the minimum is 0. We accept that a score of 60 to 78 determines the presence of a highly stimulating child's independency, activity and initiative, 30 to 59 on average, 0 to 29 -low.
The studies were conducted in 35 groups of children -2 first groups, 10 second groups, 9 third group and 14 fourth groups, in twelve settlements -Kyustendil, Belitsa, Blagoevgrad, Gotse Delchev, Debren, Kornitsa, Mikrevo, Petrich, Razlog, Samokov, Sandanski, Sofia. The quantitative data show that 74% of the groups have a high degree of ability to stimulate the studied qualities. The other 26% are in the medium range. It is evident that there is an absolute correlation between the results, ie. In an environment that promotes children's independence, activity and initiative, children are educated and in their daily activities, strive for expression of these qualities. It can be summarized that: In many kindergartens, conditions are created to stimulate initiative, activity and independence by: involving parents and other family members / the public in the life of the institution and the activity of the children, respecting the rights of the child and his her right to participate / to not participate in activities, seclusion of the child at his will and need. As a conclusion, is formed the statement that there is "appropriate organized pedagogical interaction in a properly organized environment in order to acquire knowledge and skills that will allow the development of independence (Hristova, 2015), and not only.
In the children's groups included in the study, the teachers contribute to the development of children's abilities in initiative, activity and independence direction. This happens through: planning cognitive content that stimulates the child's activity to master knowledge, skills and competences about the outside world, realizing pedagogical situations according to the child's interests in a particular problem, discussing the topic and orientation of the pedagogical situation/additional activities with children, organizing children's "debates" on various issues, forming teams for common activities according to children's preferences/choices, using new materials and didactic tools to stimulate children's activity and initiative, offering a variety of activities.
The child is at the center of the pedagogical process, honored and respected and has the opportunity to express his or her independence and activity. The quantitative results indicate that it often and almost daily the child has the possibility of: independent choice of activity, free access to materials for work, independent participation in experimental research/carrying out experiments, expressing opinions and sharing a personal point of view during the pedagogical situation, interactions and discussions with peers, participation in optional activities.
There are clear rules in these institutions, that are understandable for children and they actively participate in kindergarten activities: they perform day-to-day duty, as the child on duty is determined by other children based on pre-set criteria, they participate in serving, cleaning the tables, and daycare room arranging, children are engaged with responsible taskscare of plants, animals, checking of absent children, checking of materials and performing activities in kindergarten, while it is provided sufficient time for the child to self-handle the task.
With regard to the issues of and to the child, it can be summarized that in these institutions the children's curiosity with the external expression "question" is satisfied by the teacher, and the questions towards children in the pedagogical situation imply expression of personal experience, impressions and experiences; making findings that reveal the amount of knowledge about environmental reality; expressing motivation for active action and behavior in the environment and ways of action and behavior; assessment and self-assessment of actions and behaviors in the environment.
What are the statements that get a lower score and what do they reveal about pedagogical reality? First of all, it should be noted that none of the claims is alien to the kindergarten environment. However, there are those who exhibit higher levels and those for which the degree of manifestation is average. Frequent and everyday manifestations are mainly related to: offering cognitive content stimulating the activity of the child, discussing issues of interest to the child, ensuring the child's independence in the kindergarten space, the opportunity to express personal opinions and participate in optional activities, use a variety of materials and didactic tools in the pedagogical activity, a variety of activities planned by the teacher, providing sufficient time for self-handling of a task, involvement and the children's activities of the institution -servicing, table cleaning and arranging the daycare room, satisfying the children's curiosity by answering the exciting problems and questions, talking to the child allowing expression of personal experience, impressions and experiences, making findings based on experience and knowledge requiring the expression of motivation for action manifestation and behavior in the real environment, evaluation and self-assessment of actions and behavior in the real environment.
Less frequent than the previous ones are manifestations connected to: possibility for independent choice of activity and independent participation in experimental research activity, planning of pedagogical situations in which the interests of the child to a particular problem are leading, joint choice of a problem for discussion or additional activity between the teacher and the children, organizing children's "debates" on various issues, taking into account the preference of the child to participate / not participate in activities, the possibility of seclusion in the kindergarten space, forming teams for common activities based on the preferences of the children, assigning responsible tasks to the children and involving them in the activities of the institution -plant care, animals, checking for absent children, checking materials and performing activities.
With the lowest scores are the manifestations aimed at including "outsiders" for the institution in its activities and clearly defined rules and pre-defined criteria regarding interactions in the child group.
It is evident that teachers successfully meet some of the expectations outlined in the survey conducted in 2018, namely regarding the selection and structuring of cognitive content, adequate organization of the kindergarten space and creating conditions for the expression of prosocial behavior in the environment of the children's group.
This study reinforces the recommendations regarding the need to create conditions for the inclusion of "outsiders" for the institution and the possibility of separation from the group if desired by the child, practical ideas for which can be borrowed from the Montessori method, etc. (Dzhorova, 2016).
The frequency of manifestations is the basis for the systematization of new recommendations regarding pedagogical practice: 1. The high dimensions of childhood initiative, activity and independence in preschool should be the basis for expression of creativity and a means of achieving the end result applicable in the daily life of the child and / or institution. According to Lazarov, the ability to independently achieve goals and achieve results is directly related to the non-standard in thinking, which in turn is an important prerequisite for the formation of innovative personalities (Lazarov, 1989).
2. The pedagogue should focus on the child's awareness of independence and the ability to handle only the tasks as part of a puzzle, i.e. to understand that his or her independence is valuable when it contributes to the development of the group/society, not when it is isolated from the whole.
3. To stimulate the planning and implementation of team initiatives and to use the lack of fear from the new, the unknown, as well as the acceptance of mistakes as an opportunity for the child to reach "knowledge" only by enriching personal experience as a result of involvement and participation in various activities.

In lieu of conclusion
Two consecutive author studies have found:  According to the teachers' assessment, the preschool child is initiative, active and independent.
 Based on the assessment of the external persons -students, it turns out that in the kindergarten there are conditions that stimulate the initiative, activity and independence in the child.
The correlation between the two is logical, but at the same time of interest is the natural continuation of the research with a study of the preschool child's attitude towards the observed qualities and his assessment of the possibility to show them in the environment of the group and kindergarten.

Rarely Often Always
The planned cognitive content for the pedagogical situation stimulates the child's activity to master knowledge, skills and competences about the surrounding world. The child has the opportunity to choose an activity independently. The child has the opportunity to freely access work materials. The child has the opportunity to participate independently in research/experimentation. The child has the opportunity to express opinions and share personal point of view during a pedagogical situation The child has the opportunity to discuss with peers participation in optional activities. The activities of the group include "outsiders" for the institutionparents and other family members. The child's interests in a particular problem are grounds for planning pedagogical situations such as content and organization.
The topic and focus of the upcoming pedagogical situation/additional activities are discussed with the children. Children's "debates" are organized on various issues. The child has the right to participate/not participate in activities and the pedagogues are in compliance with it. There are conditions for the child to seclude/stay only when he/she wishes. Teams for general activities are formed according to the preferences/choices of the children.
In the course of the situation, new materials and didactic tools are used to stimulate children's activity and initiative. The teacher offers a variety of activities to stimulate children's activity and initiative Sufficient time is provided to handle the task independently.
The child on duty for the day is chosen by other children based on predefined criteria. Children are involved in serving, cleaning tables and daycare room arranging. The children put on their shoes alone, they get dressed and receive guidance and assistance from an adult only when needed. The children are assigned responsible tasks -plant care, animal care, checking the absent children, checking materials and performing kindergarten activities.
The child receives an answer to his/her questions.
Questions for children in the pedagogical situation are: -aimed at expressing personal experiences, impressions and experiences; -ascertaining the extent of knowledge about surrounding reality; -requiring motivation for active performance and behavior in the surrounding world; -with a practical focus, allowing expression of means of action and behavior; -requiring assessment and self-assessment of actions and behaviors in the surrounding reality.