Effects of a Stimulus Programme for Socially Disadvantaged Children of Preschool Age in the Slovak Republic

Abstract

The paper presents possibilities for the screening diagnostics of socially disadvantaged children of preschool age in the Slovak Republic. The goal was to enable the most accurate identification and subsequent stimulation of the basic cognitive functions of children disadvantaged by their low socioeconomic status. Emphasis is placed on the prevention of the causes of learning disabilities and behaviour disorders in line with current trends in inclusive education and inclusive pedagogical (special-pedagogical) and psychological diagnostics. The authors present the results of a pilot assessment of the effectiveness of the stimulus programme within the School Open to All (SOA) national project realised from January 2016 to November 2019 at 120 elementary schools and 50 kindergartens in Slovakia. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the results in the area of indicative diagnostics and the subsequent stimulation of socially disadvantaged five- to six-year-old children from selected kindergartens. An evaluation instrument built on the screening evaluation sheets was used to identify the effectiveness of the stimulus programme in 69 children. The results of the pilot evaluation clearly confirm the significance of indicative screening diagnostics and the subsequent stimulation of five- to six-year-old children in kindergarten.