The Concept of Professional Learning and The Creation of Kindergarten Culture

Kultura odgojno-obrazovne ustanove je fenomen kojemu se u suvremenoj literaturi pristupa na različite načine. Iz tog razloga, u radu nastojimo izložiti i objasniti složenost njezinog pojmovnog određenja uzimajući u obzir različite čimbenike koji su međusobno isprepleteni s kulturom te imaju na nju utjecaja, kao i važnost kontinuiranog promišljanja, istraživanja i unaprjeđenja odgojno-obrazovne prakse koja utječe i na promjenu kulture ustanove. Empirijski dio rada usmjeren je na ispitivanje povezanosti strukturalnih dimenzija kulture vrtića i obrazovne paradigme odgajatelja, kao i ispitivanje povezanosti percepcije odgajatelja o vlastitoj profesiji s usmjerenošću na kontinuirano učenje i istraživanje vlastite prakse kao jedne od dimenzija kulture vrtića. Istraživanje je provedeno na ukupnom uzorku od N=238 odgajatelja/ica s područja Rijeke i Zagreba. Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da su suvremeni stavovi odgajatelja o različitim aspektima odgojno-obrazovnog procesa povezani sa suvremenim pristupom u organizaciji strukturalnih dimenzija konteksta ustanove, kao i da su tradicionalni stavovi odgajatelja o različitim aspektima odgojno- obrazovnog procesa povezani s tradicionalnim pristupom u organizaciji strukturalnih dimenzija konteksta ustanove. Također, rezultati pokazuju da su suvremeni stavovi odgajatelja o vlastitoj profesiji i profesionalnom razvoju povezani sa suvremenim pristupom profesionalnom razvoju kao jednoj od dimenzija kulture vrtića.Culture of an educational institution is a phenomenon which is in the contemporary literature defined in different ways. Accordingly, in this paper we are trying to reveal and explain the complexity of its conceptual determination, taking into account various factors that are intertwined with the culture and have influence on it, as well as the importance of continuous reflection, research and improvement of educational practice that affects the change in culture of an educational institution. The empirical part of the paper is focused on analyzing the relationship between structural dimension of culture of an educational institution and educational paradigms of kindergarten teachers, as well as analyzing the connection between perception of teachers about their profession with a focus on continuous learning and exploring their own practices as one of the dimension of culture of kindergarten. The study was conducted on total sample of N = 238 educators from Rijeka and Zagreb. The results show that the contemporary attitudes of educators on various aspects of the educational process are related to contemporary approach to the organization of the structural dimensions of the context, and that traditional attitudes of educators on various aspects of the educational process are associated with traditional approaches to the organization of the structural dimensions of the context of the institution. Moreover, the results show that contemporary attitudes of teachers about their profession and professional development is associated with contemporary approach to professional development as one of the dimensions of culture of kindergarten