Preliminary communication

Research on Preschool Teachers’ and Preschool Students’ Evaluation of the Importance of Meeting Children’s Needs in Kindergartens

Biserka Petrović-Sočo ; Faculty of Primary Education University of Zagreb
Renata Miljević-Riđički orcid.org/0000-0002-1217-4687 ; Faculty of Primary Education University of Zagreb
Marija Šarić ; Faculty of Primary Education University of Zagreb

Abstract

The article is a part of the research project Methods and Models in the Education of Preschool Children in Kindergarten. In early childhood, children have several models, and if they participate in institutional preschool programmes, preschool teachers also have an important role as models. Therefore, we wanted to find out how preschool teachers employed in early education institutions and future preschool teachers (3rd year students) assess the importance of meeting children’s needs between the ages of 1 to 3 (nurseries) and 3 to 6 (kindergartens). We sought to find out whether there are any statistically significant differences between practising teachers and future teachers, i.e. students. For this purpose, a scale with 33 elements was devised where value was assessed on a scale from 1 (least important) to 5 (very important). The sample consisted of 3rd year students at faculties of teacher education in Croatia (N=110) and preschool teachers employed in kindergartens in Zagreb and in other towns (N=90). For students, the most important factor is a child’s need for security, while for preschool teachers the most important is a child’s need for a trustworthy person. For children age 1 to 3, all needs were placed very high on the scale of importance (more than 4 on the 1 − 5 scale), except for introducing a foreign language to children, playing computer games and going on organised field trips (winter/summer trips). Differences were observed in the following elements: everyday physical activity and the optimal number of children in a group. In these two cases, the evaluations of practising preschool teachers were higher than those of the students. However, the rank of the correlation between the two groups of participants is statistically significant, that is, the groups do not differ in the obtained evaluations or they agree in their evaluations in general. For children age of 3 − 6, both students and preschool teachers give a higher evaluation to the need for social skills, game and activities, and, not so much as for the earlier age group, to the need for security, love, attachment and a trustworthy person. The results are as expected, and can be explained in the context of attachment theory and cognitive development.Differences between the two groups were observed as follows: for students, the most important need is the need for love and attachment, and for preschool teachers the most important need is observation of possible special needs.

Keywords

Hrčak ID:

105322

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/105322

Publication date:

15.7.2013.

Article data in other languages: croatian italian

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