Cooperation of parents and preschool teachers in projects in kindergarten

Aktivno sudjelovanje roditelja u djetetovu životu, a tako i u okruženju u vrtiću, pozitivno utječe na djetetov razvoj. Treba biti svjestan važnosti suradnje roditelja i odgojitelja koji imaju jednaki cilj – postizanje zajedničkog cilja, a to je dobrobit djeteta. Kvalitetna suradnja podrazumijeva iskrenu interakciju, otvorenost, razumijevanje, podržavanje te prihvaćanje. Odgojitelji i roditelji trebaju surađivati kroz razne oblike tijekom projekta (tematske radionice, pribavljanje materijala, dolazak roditelja u skupinu i slično). Cilj rada bio je ispitati mišljenja odgojitelja i utvrditi provode li se projekti u dječjim vrtićima, koji su oblici suradnje između roditelja i odgojitelja u projektima te kako potaknuti roditelje na suradnju. Također, kakva su iskustva budućih odgojiteljica o suradničkom radu u projektima. Kvalitativno istraživanje provedeno je na temelju intervjua s 10 odgojiteljica te 10 studentica. Rezultati istraživanja utvrđuju da roditelji i odgojitelji surađuju općenito, ali i tijekom projekta te da je uvijek dobro poticati više oblika suradnje. U slučajevima kada suradnja nije na očekivanoj razini, rezultati istraživanja pokazali su kako je potrebno jačati kompetencije za poticanje suradnje, kako bi odgojitelji kao stručne osobe poticali roditelje na uključivanje u rad vrtićaParents’ active participation in the child's life, as well as in the kindergarten environment, positively affects the child's development. One should be aware of the importance of cooperation between parents and educators who have the same goal – to achieve a common goal, which is the child’s welfare. Quality cooperation implies sincere interaction, openness, understanding, support and acceptance. Educators and parents should cooperate through various forms during the project (thematic workshops, material acquisition, parents’ visits to kindergarten and so on). The aim of this paper was to examine the educators’ opinions and to determine whether projects are being implemented in kindergartens, which forms of cooperation between parents and educators are used in these projects and how to encourage parents to cooperate. Furthermore, the aim was also to examine the experiences of future educators about collaborative work in projects. Qualitative research was conducted on the basis of interviews with 10 educators and 10 students. The results of this research confirmed that parents and educators cooperate in general, but also during the project, and that it is always good to encourage more cooperation forms. In cases where cooperation is not at an expected level, the results of the research have shown that it is necessary to strengthen the competences for encouraging cooperation, so that educators as experts can encourage parents to engage in kindergarten