THE METHOD OF COMPETITION IN THE THEORY OF UPBRINGING: AN ARTOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO FOSTERING COOPERATION AND POSITIVE COMPETITIVENESS IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
Keywords:
Competition method, theory of upbringing, artographic approach, collaboration, positive competitiveness, middle childhood, social sensitivity, teamworkAbstract
The study examines the potential of the competition method as an instrument of educational influence during middle childhood, a period in which pupils’ social relations begin to acquire a stable form. Within the framework of a pedagogical experiment involving forty pupils, the research traced how competition, embedded in an artographic creative context, reshaped attitudes towards teamwork and positive competitiveness. The pupils engaged in a range of roles, including digital contour drawing, colouring, and the artistic design of a children’s book. Each activity was deliberately structured to combine the pursuit of individual achievement with responsibility for the collective outcome. The analysis revealed a clear distinction between the experimental and the control group. Whereas the control group maintained an individualistic orientation, in the experimental group competition evolved into a stimulus for mutual support, for the allocation of roles in accordance with participants’ strengths, and for heightened motivation in achieving the collective product. The findings demonstrate that when the competition method is situated within a creative pedagogical process, it possesses the capacity to neutralise its traditionally associated risks and to be affirmed as an effective means of fostering teamwork, cultivating social sensitivity, and consolidating positive competitiveness in a sustainable manner
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