The role of the pre-school child in different educational concepts and approaches

Pojmovanje otroka in njegove vloge je pomemben vidik, še posebej v predšolskem obdobju. Velikega pomena je namreč, kako znotraj vzgojnega koncepta pojmujejo otroka in ga v skladu s tem postavljajo v določeno vlogo. Razlike se pojavljajo tudi znotraj vzgojnih konceptov in vzgojnih pristopov, saj različni vzgojni koncepti ter pristopi navajajo različna pravila, norme, ipd., predvsem pa se razlike pojavljajo pri pojmovanju vzgoje in izražanju pedagoške filozofije. V diplomskem delu smo se tako osredinili na otroka in njegovo vlogo v različnih vzgojnih konceptih ter vzgojnih pristopih. Natančneje smo zajeli Kurikulum za vrtce (1999), ki uokvirja področje predšolske vzgoje in predstavlja javno veljavni program v Republiki Sloveniji ter še tri alternativne vzgojne koncepte in pristope. Torej vzgojni koncept Marie Montessori, waldorfski vzgojni koncept in vzgojni pristop Reggio Emilia. Cilj diplomskega dela je namreč predstaviti vlogo otroka v različnih vzgojnih konceptih in pristopih ter prikazati razlike med njimi. Za pridobivanje podatkov v namen raziskave smo uporabili polstrukturirani intervju. Intervjuji so bili izvedeni v štirih vrtcih, in sicer v montessori vrtcu, v waldorfskem vrtcu, javnem vrtcu ter v vrtcu, ki sicer deluje po javno veljavnem programu, a ima program bogato prepleten z elementi vzgojnega pristopa Reggio Emilia. V vsakem vrtcu smo izvedli intervju z dvema zaposlenima strokovnima delavcema – vzgojiteljema. Na obstoj razlik na področju pojmovanja otroka in njegove vloge, ki se pojavljajo med posameznimi vzgojnimi koncepti ter vzgojnimi pristopi ne kaže samo strokovna literatura, ampak tudi rezultati izvedene raziskave. Rezultati namreč kažejo, da se te razlike pojavljajo, prav tako pa na vlogo otroka v posameznem vzgojnem konceptu poglavitno vpliva pojmovanje otroka in njegovih sposobnosti. Poleg tega različni vzgojni koncepti in pristopi različno izpostavljajo otrokovo aktivno vlogo, ob tem pa je vsem, razen waldorfskemu vzgojnemu konceptu, skupno, da jim je pomembna predvsem zaradi vpogleda v otrokov napredek. V nasprotju s temi stališči so stališča waldorfskega vzgojnega koncepta, ki, kot smo ugotovili, pomen otrokove aktivne vloge vrednotijo pomembno zaradi občutka samozaupanja in samozadostnosti. Ugotovili smo, da je otrokova vloga v določenih primerih povezana tudi z obliko učenja, ki jo poudarja posamezen vzgojni koncept oz. pristop. Tako se v skladu s pojmovanjem otrokove vloge pojavlja tudi povezava z izbrano obliko učenja, ki jo izpostavlja določen vzgojni koncept. Skozi raziskavo smo ugotovili, da otrokova aktivna vloga prinaša pomembne prednosti, ki pozitivno vplivajo na otroka in njegovo življenje. Prav tako pa rezultati kažejo tudi na obstoj posebnosti, ki pa jih vzgojiteljice sicer ne opredeljujejo kot absolutne slabosti in so rešljive. Glede na rezultate, ki smo jih pridobili skozi raziskavo, ugotavljamo, da je področje otrokove vloge, še posebej pa aktivne vloge, pomembno, saj ima pomemben vpliv na otroka in njegov razvoj, napredek.Understanding the child and his role is an important aspect, especially in the preschool period. Namely, it is of great importance how the child is understood within the educational concept and is accordingly placed into a certain role. Differences also appear within educational concepts and educational approachessince different educational concepts and approaches state different rules, norms, etc. Predominantly differences appear in the conception of education and the expression of pedagogical philosophy. In the thesis, the focus is on the child and his role in various educational concepts and educational approaches. In more detail, we covered the kindergarten curriculum Kurikulum za vrtce (1999), which frames the field of preschool education and represents a publicly valid program in the Republic of Slovenia, as well as three alternative educational concepts and approaches. Therefore, the educational concept of Maria Montessori, the Waldorf educational concept, and the Reggio Emilia educational approach. The thesis aims to present the role of the child in various educational concepts and approaches and to show the differences between them. A semi-structured interview was used to obtain data for the research. The interviews were conducted in four kindergartens, namely a Montessori kindergarten, a Waldorf kindergarten, a public kindergarten, and a kindergarten that operates according to a publicly valid programbut whose program is richly intertwined with elements of the Reggio Emilia educational approach. In each kindergarten, we interviewed two employed professionals – educators. The existence of differences in the field of the conception of the child and his role, which appear between individual educational concepts and educational approaches, is indicated not only by the professional literature but also by the results of the conducted research. The results show that these differences occur and that the child\u27s role in an individual educational concept is mainly influenced by the conception of the child and his abilities. In addition, different educational concepts and approaches emphasize the child\u27s active role in different ways, and all of them, except for the Waldorf educational concept, have in common that it is important to them mainly because of the insight into the child\u27s progress. In contrast to these views are the views of the Waldorf educational concept, which, as found, value the importance of the child\u27s active role as important due to the feeling of self-confidence and self-sufficiency. We found that the child\u27s role in certain cases is also related to the form of learning, which is emphasized by the individual educational concept or approach. Thus, in accordance with the conception of the child\u27s role, there is also a connection with the chosen form of learning, which is highlighted by a certain educational concept. Through the research, we found that the child\u27s active role brings important advantages that have a positive effect on the child and his life. The results also show the existence of peculiarities, which the educators do not define as absolute weaknesses and are solvable. Based on the results obtained through the research, we conclude that the area of the child\u27s role, especially the active role, is important, as it has a significant impact on the child and his development and progress