THE PUPPET AS MEDIATING TOOL BETWEEN A CHILD AND ARTWORK

The role, importance and application of the puppet in child’s education is multiple. The puppet is mainly used as a toy, but also as a means of socialization and communication that encourages and develops linguistic, social and emotional competences in children. With its motivating and creative role, the puppet puts the child in the center of attention as well as in the context of play, thus enabling spontaneous and divergent learning. By applying action research in institutional preschool education, this paper considers the possibility of using a puppet as a mediating tool among children, teachers and artwork. The initial value of the research is the preservation of cultural heritage and national identity by applying puppetry in preschool education. In addition, the research aims at strengthening children’s competencies through the implementation of activities that encourage children’s creativity and to improve the professional competencies of educators as co-researchers and agents of change. The research sample consisted of preschool children (four age groups) and eight preschool teachers. The goal of the research was to introduce children to the artworks of our famous painters by using a Puppet-artist, which represents the starting point for interaction and active observation. The analysis of the results done by the research team made it possible to point out the great possibilities and importance of using the puppet in preserving the national identity and improving the quality of educational process.