Let`s make a film – participation of preschool children

The thesis starts off with the theoretical knowledge on participation, which is my main focus also in the empirical part of the thesis. The research revolved first around the changes in the child's role in the process of upbringing and later on on the term participation, especially within the pedagogical concept Reggio Emilia. While doing research on participation in kindergardens in Slovenia I came to a conclusion there is a lack of it. Instead of children it is still mainly adults who dictate the daily activities in the kindergarden. The beginnings of the concept of participation are briefly introduced through three important documents in upbringing and education. The theoretical part concludes with a detailed presentation of the project approach and the concept of open-type problem solving. The empirical part of the thesis includes the presentation of my carrying-out of the project, which is based on child participation in open-type problem solving. The children dealt with the problem of how to make their own film. Individual activities are described in detail in the form of a diary, followed by evaluations. Other methods used were the method of observation and of documentation with photographs. The final part of the thesis includes the evaluation of the project according to the research questions posed at the beginning of the empirical part. To conclude, most of the children were highly motivated throughout the project, which can be attributed to a different approach from what they are used to. The motivation of some children who are usually timid and less willing to cooperate grew with my encouragement. The ones with a well-established internal motivation kept it throughout the entire project. Individual activities and the final project – the film – fulfilled the children's expectations. They proudly presented it to their parents and classmates. The benefits of child participation in the project can be seen especially when the children were able to make decisions entirely on their own, as well as lead the process, its disadvantages, however, in the areas where the children needed more guidance to finish the project properly. This can be attributed to the children's different levels of motivation