THE IMPORTANCE OF THE AZERBAIJANI LANGUAGE AND VISUAL ARTS IN GENDER-ROLE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AT PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE
Abstract. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the process and de velopment of socialization during preschool and primary school age. It examines how the formation of feminine and masculine qualities in children depends on whether gender-role socialization is conducted in a spontaneous or a purposeful manner. Preschool age is characterized as a period of active socialization, acquisition of cultural habits, and the awakening of moral and aesthetic feelings. Pedagogues and psychologists have repeatedly emphasized the importance of or ganizing this process purposefully during the preschool period and subsequently in primary education. The article analyzes gender education as an essential component of moral education during these developmental stages, contributing to the holistic development of boys and girls and to their acquisition of gender-specific psychological characteristics and social roles. In fostering social gender equality among children at preschool and primary school age, examples of oral folk literature and works of visual arts serve as rich and valuable educational resources. In particular, fairy tales play a significant socio-pedagogical role in the internalization of gender behavior patterns, alongside the development of children’s imagination, speech, and memory. Fairy tales also contribute to the development of figurative, coherent, and expressive speech, as well as to the enrichment of vocabulary. One of the key issues highlighted in the article is the necessity for educators and teachers to consistently focus on eliminating gender stereotypes that hinder the establishment of gender equality when interpreting and explain ing oral folk literature to children.
Keywords: gender-role education, gender equality, preschool and primary school age, oral folk literature, fairy tales, painting and sculpture, design.
