Title Coordination abilities in long-term concept sports training of children Objective The point of the thesis is handle the issue of coordination ability. In the first part of the thesis I will talk about general issues of children's sports training, developmental patterns and the characteristic of sensitive periods. The fundamental basis of my research part is find out how the coordination skills involved in long-term sports training, what is their role in motor development of children and what their biological basis. Methods The thesis has a theoretical character and it uses qualitative methods: compares, analyses and interprets texts and data acquired through background research. Results Coordination skills have proven essential element of successful mastery of motor skills in the concept of long-term sports training more or less dependent on coordination. If there are individual skills developed in the sensitive periods is very difficult to catch up with missed this and achieve the same level of skills acquired. Important role in the development of coordination skills and heredity plays a connection with the state and function of the central nervous system. Key words sports training of children, coordination, development, sensitive periods

The capability to change and adapt, known as plasticity, is one of the most impressive features of the human brain. It is most pronounced during childhood development. While a child acquires various cognitive skills, the brain matures alongside. Language learning is such a process that occurs naturally across childhood development, supposedly within a sensitive period. Originally, the sensitive period for language acquisition was thought to close at puberty, after which language learning was believed to be near impossible. This view has since been challenged and it is now suggested that there are multiple sensitive periods for various aspects of language acquisition. Some aspects are rather well established, e.g. the vocabulary spurt, while others, e.g. comprehension of complex sentences, are not yet fully understood. I was interested in whether and how these two aspects of language learning could be ad- vanced through training within the framework of sensitive periods and how this related to structural plasticity in the healthy developing brain. First, natural gray matter maturation was examined. The results support the existing literature of different trajectories for each gray matter mea- sure and provide new evidence for the widespread maturational process of cortical thinning to be in progress already at four years of age. Second, a word learning training was applied to investigate underlying plastic changes during an ongoing sensitive period of word learning. I found that language-specific inferior frontal areas, as well as domain-general parietal regions, responded to training with gray matter changes. Third, training-induced plasticity was examined at the onset of a sensitive period for complex syntax comprehension. Here, frontal domain-general regions showed plastic changes, but no language-specific regions were engaged. This study underlines the importance of task demands and the crucial role of general processes (e. g. attention and memory) under- lying higher-order tasks such as language learning. The changes to the gray matter structure as a function of language training during specific points in sensitive periods of language acquisition are discussed and I point out how these findings compliment and extend the current literature on brain plasticity in childhood development in the context of cognitive training.

Maria Montessori's work was initiated in 1898 as a result of her becoming acutely aware of deficient children's learning patterns, while working at the Psychiatric clinic of the University of Rome. The principles which dominate the system, however, did not ·'"spring in full panoply from Montessori. Indeed, her inspiration came largely from early and mid-nineteenth century writings of two French physicians, Itard and Seguin, who were Also involved in the teaching of deficient children. Extending on the ideas of these two educator-physicians, as well as the ideas of Froebe!, Montessori innovatively brought the child's senses into contact with carefully selected didactic apparatus in a carefully structured and ordered environment. According to Montessori, the liberty of the child is a prerequisite for self-education and forms the first major pillar of her didactic theory, and thus becomes the focus of the first chapter dealing with her didactic approach (chapter three) • Montessori believed that the function of education was to assist growth and if the individual child was given the liberty of movement within a prepared environment, a sense of competence would be achieved and the learning of the child would come about almost spontaneously. The principles of individuality and the training of the senses comprise the other two pillars, and form the basis for chapter four and five respectively. The principle of individuality is rooted in the belief that each child has a uniqueness which cannot be ignored without irretrievable damage to his personality. The current educational situation in South Africa, reveals a diversity of educational problems as a result of different ethnic and cultural groups all being thrust into a common educational system. The insidious pressures of conformity to a single standard of education must of necessity lead to a compromise of '"standards. The exposure of educational deficiencies inherent in such a move is characterised by learning impediments and deficiencies in the educational scenario. Research has therefore been undertaken in an attempt to extract those aspects that could provide meaningful pedagogic assistance to meet a present educational need. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (History of Education)

Maria Montessori's work was initiated in 1898 as a result of her becoming acutely aware of deficient children's learning patterns, while working at the Psychiatric clinic of the University of Rome. The principles which dominate the system, however, did not ·'"spring in full panoply from Montessori. Indeed, her inspiration came largely from early and mid-nineteenth century writings of two French physicians, Itard and Seguin, who were Also involved in the teaching of deficient children. Extending on the ideas of these two educator-physicians, as well as the ideas of Froebe!, Montessori innovatively brought the child's senses into contact with carefully selected didactic apparatus in a carefully structured and ordered environment. According to Montessori, the liberty of the child is a prerequisite for self-education and forms the first major pillar of her didactic theory, and thus becomes the focus of the first chapter dealing with her didactic approach (chapter three) • Montessori believed that the function of education was to assist growth and if the individual child was given the liberty of movement within a prepared environment, a sense of competence would be achieved and the learning of the child would come about almost spontaneously. The principles of individuality and the training of the senses comprise the other two pillars, and form the basis for chapter four and five respectively. The principle of individuality is rooted in the belief that each child has a uniqueness which cannot be ignored without irretrievable damage to his personality. The current educational situation in South Africa, reveals a diversity of educational problems as a result of different ethnic and cultural groups all being thrust into a common educational system. The insidious pressures of conformity to a single standard of education must of necessity lead to a compromise of '"standards. The exposure of educational deficiencies inherent in such a move is characterised by learning impediments and deficiencies in the educational scenario. Research has therefore been undertaken in an attempt to extract those aspects that could provide meaningful pedagogic assistance to meet a present educational need. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (History of Education)

Presen work deals with Maria Montessori pedagogy and its application in religious education. The goal of the study is to introduce the basic principles of Montessori-pedagogy and point out the use of those principles within the frame of religious education. The theoretical part is concerned with biography of Maria Montessori, her work, antropological background and the basic principles of Montessori pedagogy. Further, it discusses the issues of her work that are either implicitelly or explicitelly related to religious education. Beside this, the practical part of the thesis introduces the work of Italian catechist Sofia Cavaletti, who was inspired by Montessori pedagogy. In 60´s of the last century, Sofia Cavaletti managed a catechetical centre in Rome. She established atriums in several parishes in Rome, in which the methods of Montessori pedagogy were utilized. Subsequently, Godly Play method is mentioned in present work. The method was developed by Jeron W. Berryman, an american theologist and priest of episkopal church, who was inspired by the work of Maria Montessori as well as by the work of Sofia Cavaletti.

This thesis "Pedagogy and Maria Montessori School in the Czech Republic" in the theoretical part describes the life of Maria Montessori, Montessori principles of education and development of Montessori schools with a focus on their development in the Czech Republic. The practical part deals with a case study of a Prague school with Montessori principles and a questionnaire survey with the headmaster of Montessori schools.