Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15516/cje.v26i2.5124
Encouraging the Development of a Potentially Gifted Child in the Croatian Preschool Curriculum
Višnja Vekić-Kljaić
orcid.org/0000-0001-6702-3643
; University of Slavonski Brod, Department of Social Sciences and Humanities
Vesnica Mlinarević
; Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Kinesiology
Abstract
Early identification is an important factor of the development of giftedness. The research was aimed at encouraging the development of a potentially gifted child in the preschool curriculum. It was conducted in the Osijek Kindergarten (the Republic of Croatia) during the 2016/17 and 2017/18 pedagogical years, including a boy (M), his parents and teachers. Action research methodology with ethnographic elements was used here. The methods included a systematic observation and a collection of documentation based on ethnographic records. Appropriate strategies for encouraging this gifted boy were discussed and analyzed, relying on the ethnographic records (documentation), the reflexive meetings of the teachers and the external collaborator-the researcher from the faculty. The research had three stages. The stimulating environment for learning, the differentiation of learning experiences and the cooperation with parents and the community stand out in the research results as the strategies for encouraging the development of a gifted child. Apart from encouraging the boy’s giftedness, the teachers, the preschool curriculum, the institution and the social environment developed professionally during the research. The research is methodologically limited because of its small sample size, but it is potentially significant due to its phenomenological aspects.
Keywords
action research; ethnographic records; learning environment; parents; preschool teacher
Hrčak ID:
319144
URI
Publication date:
26.6.2024.
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