12 Adaptation of students to the conditions of the educational process.

1. The concept of adaptation.
2. Types of adaptations.
3. Physiological adaptation mechanism.
4. Psychophysiological aspects of adaptation to school.

The concept of adaptation is directly related to the concept of "the child's readiness for school" and includes three components: the adaptation is physiological, psychological and social, or personal. All components are closely interrelated, the shortcomings of the formation of any of them affect the success of learning, health and health of a first grader, his performance, ability to interact with the teacher, classmates and obey the school rules. The success of mastering software knowledge and the level of development of mental functions necessary for further education indicate the child’s physiological, social or psychological readiness.
According to the degree of adaptation of children can be divided into three groups.
The first group of children adapts during the first two months of study. These children relatively quickly join the team, learn at school, make new friends. They are almost always in a good mood, they are calm, benevolent, conscientious and without visible tension fulfill all the requirements of the teacher. Sometimes they still have difficulties either in contacts with children or in relations with a teacher, since it is still difficult for them to fulfill all the requirements of the rules of behavior. But by the end of October, the difficulties of these children, as a rule, are overcome, the child is fully mastered and with the new status of the student, and with the new requirements, and with the new regime.
The second group of children has a longer period of adaptation, the period of non-compliance of their behavior with the requirements of the school is delayed. Children can not accept a new situation of learning, communication with the teacher, children. Such students can play in the classroom, sort things out with a friend, they do not react to the teacher’s remarks or they react with tears and resentment. As a rule, these children experience difficulties in mastering the curriculum; only by the end of the first half of the year did the reactions of these children become adequate to the requirements of the school teacher.
The third group is children, in whom social and psychological adaptation is associated with considerable difficulties. They have negative forms of behavior, a sharp manifestation of negative emotions, they learn the curriculum with great difficulty. It is these children that teachers most often complain about: they “interfere” with working in the classroom.
The process of the child's physiological adaptation to school can also be divided into several stages, each of which has its own characteristics and is characterized by a different degree of stress in the functional systems of the body.
The first stage of physiological adaptation is approximate, when, in response to the whole complex of new influences associated with the beginning of systematic training, the body responds with a violent reaction and a significant voltage of almost all systems. This "physiological storm" lasts a long time (two to three weeks).
The second stage is an unstable adaptation, when the body searches for and finds some optimal variants, reactions to extraneous influence.
At the first stage, there is no need to speak of any economy of the organism’s resources. The body spends all that is, sometimes "takes on debt." Therefore, it is important for the teacher to remember what a high “price” the body of each child pays during this period. At the second stage, this "price" is reduced. The storm begins to subside.
The third stage is a period of relatively stable adaptation, when the body finds the most appropriate response options to the load, requiring less stress on all systems.
Whatever work a schoolchild does, be it mental work to assimilate new knowledge, a static load that the body experiences when sitting down, or a psychological load from communicating in a large and diverse team, the body, or rather each of its systems, must respond with its own tension his work. Therefore, the more stress each system will experience, the more resources the body will consume. But the possibilities of the child’s body are far from endless. Prolonged stress and the associated fatigue and overwork can cost the child's body health.
The duration of all three phases of physiological adaptation is approximately five to six weeks, and the first and fourth weeks are the most difficult.
Personal, or social, adaptation is associated with the desire and ability of the child to accept a new role - the student and is achieved by a number of conditions.
1. The development of children's ability to listen, respond to the actions of the teacher, plan their work, analyze the result - that is, the skills and abilities necessary for successful learning in primary school.
2. Development of the ability to establish contact with other children, build relationships with adults, be sociable and interesting to others - that is, skills that allow to establish interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
3 Formation of the ability to properly assess their actions and the actions of classmates, use the simplest criteria for evaluation and self-assessment (such criteria are completeness of knowledge, their volume, depth; the ability to use knowledge in different situations, that is, in practice, etc.) - that is, sustainable learning motivation against the background of the child’s positive ideas about himself and the low level of school anxiety.
An important indicator of child satisfaction with being in school is his emotional state, which is closely related to the effectiveness of learning activities, influences the assimilation of school norms of behavior, the success of social contacts and ultimately the formation of the inner position of the student.
The downside of child's adaptation in primary school is the problem of school maladjustment, which is caused by two groups of reasons:
1. Individual characteristics of the child: his abilities, especially the emotional sphere, health, features of the family environment.
2. The influence of socio-economic and socio-cultural conditions: family environment, the material condition of the family, its cultural level, values, etc.
The pedagogical diagnosis of school maladjustment is usually made in connection with the failure of studies, violations of school discipline, conflicts with teachers and classmates. Sometimes school maladjustment remains hidden both from teachers and from the family, its symptoms may not adversely affect the student’s academic performance and discipline, manifested either in the student’s subjective feelings or in the form of social manifestations.
Violations of adaptation are expressed in the form of active protest (hostility), passive protest (avoidance), anxiety and self-doubt and in one way or another affect all areas of the child’s activities at school.