Early childhood pedagogue as a driver of change

Osnovna uloga pedagoga u dečjem vrtiću odnosi se na unapređivanje vaspitnoobrazovnog rada, uvođenje inovacija i savremenih metoda i oblika rada. Pedagog učestvuje u svim fazama odvijanja vaspitnoobrazovnog procesa: od planiranja i programiranja do vrednovanja postignutih rezultata i sarađuje sa svim subjektima vaspitnoobrazovnog procesa – od dece do šire zajednice. U ovom radu se teorijski i iskustveno razmatraju brojne uloge pedagoga u dečjem vrtiću. U empirijskom delu istraživanja primenjena je kvalitativna metodologija, odnosno metoda standardiziranog intervjua koji sadrži pitanja otvorenog tipa. U ispitivanju je učestvovalo 5 osoba ženskog pola. Cilj istraživanja jeste da se ispitaju i interpretiraju iskustva pedagoga koji rade u dečjim vrtićima na području Istarske i Primorsko-goranske županije, imajući u vidu 4 kategorije: uslovi rada, programski zahtevi, specifična uloga pedagoga, kao i obrazovanje i stručno usavršavanje. Uslovi rada kod svih učesnica istraživanja su zadovoljavajući. Programske zahteve ostvaraju u odnosu na dete, u odnosu na roditelje, u odnosu na vaspitače, u odnosu na razvojno-pedagošku službu i širu društvenu zajednicu. Osnovna uloga pedagoga u vrtiću jeste uloga stručne osobe koja unapređuje kvalitet predškolskog vaspitanja i obrazovanja stručnim radom i delovanjem u odnosu na decu, roditelje, vaspitače i društvenu sredinu u saradnji sa stručnim timom. Pored toga, pedagog ima i brojne specifične uloge. Jedna od takvih uloga je savetodavna, ali je samo jedna učesnica izjavila da je vrlo kompetentna na tom polju. Pedagozi su najzastupljeniji profil stručnog saradnika u dečjim vrtićima u Republici Hrvatskoj. Kako bi kvalitetno ostvarivali svoje programske zadatke, nužno je da imaju timsku saradnja sa ostalim članovima stručnog tima, direktorom i vaspitačima. Da bi unapredili vaspitnoobrazovni rad, učesnice istraživanja najčešće koriste akciona istraživanja u kojima pedagog pomaže, prati, učestvuje, inicira, dokumentuje i evaluira proces rada zajedno sa vaspitačima. Sve učesnice su potvrdile tezu o nužnosti celoživotnog obrazovanja i konstantnog unapređivanja kompetencija jer ih tokom studija ne stiču dovoljno, ali su izrazile i nezadovoljstvo ponudom stručnih usavršavanja u domenu ove profesije. U Republici Hrvatskoj nedostaju istraživanja, naučni i stručni radovi koji se bave pedagozima u ustanovama za rano i predškolsko vaspitanje i obrazovanje, pa se ovim radom nastoji dati doprinos i povod za dodatna istraživanja u ovoj oblasti i pomoći predškolskim pedagozima da kvalitetnije obavljaju svoju profesiju.The fundamental role of a pedagogue in the kindergarten is to improve the educational work, introduce innovations, and modern methods and forms of work. A pedagogue participates in all the phases of educational process, from planning and programming to evaluation of achievements, and cooperates with all subjects of educational activity, from children to the wider community. This paper discusses theoretical and empirical considerations of numerous pedagogical roles in kindergarten. In the empirical part of the research, a qualitative methodology was used by the means of a standardized interview with open type questions. Five female respondents participated in this study. The aim of the research is to examine and interpret the experiences of pedagogues working in kindergartens in the area of regions Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, observed in 4 categories: Working Conditions, Program Tasks, Specific Role of Pedagogue, and Education and Professional Training. All the respondents perceive working conditions as satisfactory. Program tasks are performed considering the child, considering the parents, considering the educators, considering the developmental pedagogical service and the wider social community. The key role of a pedagogue in kindergarten is the role of a professional who improves the quality of pre-school education through professional work and action considering the children, parents, educators and social environment, in cooperation with the professional team. In addition, a pedagogue also has numerous specific roles. One of them is the consulting role, but only one respondent proclaims to be very competent in that field. Pedagogues are the most commonly represented profile of professional associates in kindergartens in the Republic of Croatia. In order to successfully accomplish their program tasks, it is necessary that they have team collaboration with other professional team members, the principal and educators. In order to improve the educational work, the respondents most commonly use action research in which a pedagogue helps, monitors, participates, initiates, documents and evaluates the working process together with preschool teachers. All respondents confirmed the thesis on the necessity of a lifelong learning and constant improvement of competences as they lacked them in the course of study but expressed dissatisfaction with the offer of the in-service vocational training for their profession. The Republic of Croatia lacks research, scientific and professional activities dealing with pedagogues in institutions for early and pre-school education. This is why this work aspires to provide the contribution and basis for further research in this area, as well as the assistance to preschool pedagogues for performing their professional tasks better.Zbornik rezimea / 24. Međunarodna naučna konferencija "Pedagoška istraživanja i školska praksaBook of abstracts / 24th International Scientific Conference "Educational Research and School Practice