Abstract:

The prerequisite elements of a correctly organised teaching process are compatible didactic means, i.e. objects which will deliver sensory stimuli – affect children’s sight, hearing, touch etc., and facilitate direct reality experiences. This involves both the original objects and their model substitutes, verbal or symbolic representations.
In pre-school education, one of the didactic means is a support book. In Poland, under the Regulation of the Minister of National Education regarding the conditions and procedures concerning admission of curricula and textbooks for use in schools and recommendations of didactic means, a support book is a book used to practice specific skills, aiding the teaching process and extending knowledge in the selected area of teaching, intended for use with six-year-olds in pre-school departments, national minorities and ethnic groups, or for special needs education.
In addition to conditions pertaining to textbooks for use in general education, the support book for a six-year-old should include contents set forth in the core curriculum for pre-school education.
The choice of school programmes, support books, and didactic frameworks can have serious consequences. The pre-school education product range on the market is very wide. Currently, there are over thirty textbook packages for six-year-olds only. Teachers can choose the set which will be most effective for them. Suitable training in support book selection increases the probability of making the right choice. This allows one to diversify didactic activities and achieve better teaching results.
However, in spite of the many advantages, there is a risk of confusion caused by the great number of different titles available and, consequently, teachers succumbing to the influence of publishing houses, naturally most interested in textbook sale, or passively accepting textbooks suggested by managers or more experienced or higher ranked teachers. Needless to say, every teacher has its own style of working with children, his strengths and weaknesses, and varying expectations with regards to support books. It is important to know the principles of textbook assessment and strive for maintaining independence when selecting one.
The study presents the results of research regarding the rules which teachers of six-year-olds follow when choosing textbooks for their groups, and the opinions and evaluations of teachers, children and their parents, regarding the used support books.
The research was carried out from 10th April 2016 to 1st April 2017. The participants were 99 teachers (women), 100 parents (52 mothers and 48 fathers) and 100 children from 32 nursery schools placed in the area of Siedlce. The teachers and the parents took part in the survey and the children had individual interviews. The results of the research have shown that the teachers used 6 different adjuvant books. The choice of the books was undertaken due to the artwork and the diversity of exercises included in time-sheets and a variety of readings. On the contrary, for the parents the most important was the teacher’s opinion and the price of the book. Most of the children stated that they liked their books and enjoyed doing exercises included in them.

Keywords:

Support book, kindergarten, six-year-old, teacher.