Development of pre-mathematical skills in early childhood education institutions

Tema ovog diplomskog rada je uloga predmatematičkih vještina u ustanovama ranog odgoja i obrazovanja. Teorijski dio započinje prikazom teorija dječjeg razvoja, nakon čega slijedi prikaz predmatematičkih vještina kao i uloga igre u razvoju djece, te poglavlje o ustanovama ranog odgoja i obrazovanja, odnosno važnosti prostorno materijalnog okruženja kao i uloge odgajatelja koji djeci trebaju osigurati kvalitetno i poticajno organizacijsko okruženje. Vrtić je kao odgojno-obrazovna ustanova, uz obitelj, mjesto gdje dijete provodi većinu svoga vremena do polaska u školu. Ustanove ranog odgoja i obrazovanja imaju jako bitnu i nenadomjestivu ulogu u djetetovu životu i počiva na postulatu koji je utkan u svaki segment odgojno-obrazovnog rada, a to je cjeloviti razvoj djeteta. Cilj samog istraživanja bio je ispitati različita mišljenja odgajatelja vezana uz stavove o matematici, centre aktivnosti za poticanje razvoja predmatematičkih vještina i njihovo korištenje, provođenje aktivnosti za razvoj predmatematičkih vještina te organizacijske i stručne aspekte organizacije rada koji se mogu dovesti u vezu sa razvojem predmatematičkih vještina u ustanovama ranog odgoja i obrazovanja. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo ukupno 259 odgajatelja te je provedeno putem anonimne online ankete. Obrada podataka je napravljena neparametrijskim statističkim postupcima obzirom na statistički značajno odstupanje distribucija rezultata od normalne raspodjele. Rezultati su pokazali da odgajatelji uglavnom imaju neutralne stavove prema matematici, većinom izjavljuju da centri za usvajanje matematičkih pojmova postoje u sobi dnevnog boravka njihove vrtićke skupine, da se često koriste i da ih djeca rado samostalno koriste. Pripremu rade najčešće na temelju dječjih interesa, potom temeljem zapažanja psihofizičkog razvoja djece i pripremanjem aktivnosti u zoni proksimalnog razvoja, ali podjednako kao i putem razmjene iskustava te internetskih izvora. Od aktivnosti odgajatelji najčešće koriste mehaničko brojanje i razvrstavanje, a kao najveće organizacijske i stručne prepreke koje utječu na kvalitetu aktivnosti vide preveliki broj djece u grupi.The topic of this thesis is the role of pre-mathematical skills in early childhood education institutions. The theoretical part begins with a presentation of theories of child development, followed by a presentation of pre-mathematical skills and the role of play in children's development, and a chapter on early childhood education, the importance of spatial and material environment and the role of educators who should provide children with quality and stimulating organizational environment. Kindergarten, as an educational institution, along with the family, is a place where a child spends most of his time until he starts school. Early childhood education institutions have a very important and irreplaceable role in the child's life and it is based on the postulate that is woven into every segment of educational work, and that is the overall development of the child. The aim of the research was to examine different opinions of educators related to attitudes about mathematics, centers of activities to encourage the development of pre-mathematical skills and their use, implementation of activities for the development of pre-mathematical skills in early childhood education institutions. A total of 259 educators participated in the survey and it was conducted through an anonymous online survey. Data processing was performed by nonparametric statistical procedures due to a statistically significant deviation of the distribution of results from the normal distribution. The results showed that educators generally have neutral attitudes towards mathematics, mostly stating that centers for the adoption of mathematical concepts exist in the living room of their kindergarten group, that they are often used and that children like to use them independently. They prepare most often on the basis of children's interests, then on the basis of observing the psychophysical development of children and preparing activities in the zone of proximal development, but equally as through the exchange of experiences and internet sources. Of the activities, educators most often use mechanical counting and sorting, and they see too many children in the group as the biggest organizational and professional obstacles that affect the quality of activities