The contribution of religious education to children\u27s integral development in the early and preschool age

U radu se afirmira potreba cjelovitog odgoja i naobrazbe u segmentu ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja u Republici Hrvatskoj, a posebno se ukazuje na potrebu doprinosa vjerskog odgoja djece navedene dobi. Mogućnosti provođenja vjerskog programa razmatraju se s obzirom na pravni okvir i dostupne kvantitativne podatke. Potom se posebno iznose temeljne postavke odgojnog djelovanja Katoličke Crkve i religiozno-pedagoški koncept na kojem se temelje odgojno-obrazovni planovi vjerskog odgoja, čiji se doprinos ne opravdava isključivo pravnim osnovama, nego i iz znanstvenih krugova. U svrhu boljeg doprinosa ističu se na kraju tri izazova s kojima se treba suočiti koji se odnose na formaciju odgojitelja u vjeri, osvješćivanje javnosti i osnaženje odgojne suradnje između svih relevantnih čimbenika.The paper affirms the need for comprehensive education and training in the segment of early and pre-school education in the Republic of Croatia, and particularly points to the need for the contribution of religious education. The possibilities of implementing a religious program are considered, given the legal framework and available quantitative data. In particular, the basic foundations of the Catholic Church\u27s educational activity and the religious-pedagogical concept on which the educational curricula of religious education are based, whose contribution is not justified solely by legal bases, but also by scientific circles. For the sake of the better contribution, they stand out at the end the three challenges. They relate to the formation of educators in the faith, public awareness and the strengthening of educational cooperation between all relevant factors