Competences of pre-school teachers for working with children with behavioral problems in pre-school age

Kompetencije je moguće tumačiti kao konstrukt znanja i vještina determiniran sposobnostima i angažiranošću pojedinca. U radu s djecom s problemima u ponašanju, posebno u ranoj i predškolskoj dobi, od iznimne je važnosti da odgajatelj posjeduje specifične kompetencije za rad s djecom koja manifestiraju takva ponašanja. Naime, nakon obitelji, upravo je odgajatelj osoba koja se prva susreće s problemima u djetetovom ponašanju. Kako bi se dobio uvid u kompetencije predškolskih odgajatelja u ustanovama ranog i predškolskog odgoja na području grada Splita, provedeno je anketno ispitivanje metodom papir-olovka kojoj je pristupilo 77 odgajatelja. Rezultati su pokazali da su odgajatelji informirani o problemima u ponašanju koja se javljaju kod djece predškolske dobi, te da informacije stječu samoinicijativno i to putem različitih televizijskih emisija, članaka, knjiga, brošura, interneta te stručnih izlaganja. Ovaj interes ne čudi s obzirom da 84,21% ispitanika trenutno ima dijete ili djecu s problemima u ponašanju. Ispitanici su pokazali i visoku razinu motiviranosti za stručnim usavršavanje u području poremećaja u ponašanju kod djece predškolske dobi.Competence can be interpreted as a construct of knowledge and skills determined by abilities and engagement of individual. For work with children with behavioral problems, especially in early and preschool years, special competences are of extreme importance. After family members, preschool educator is the person who will first face the problems of the child. In order to gain insight into the competences of preschool teachers in early childhood and pre-school education in the area of Split, a paper-based survey was carried out by 77 educators. The results showed that educators were informed about behavioral problems that occurred in pre-school children through various television shows, articles, books, brochures, the Internet and professional presentations. 84.21% of respondents have a child or children with behavioral problems in their group. Since the percentage is so high, it is of an utmost importance that most educators are highly motivated for professional development in behavioral disorders in pre-school children. None of the respondents were unmotivated