Early education teachers' experiences with using stories to help children cope with crisis

U životu se ponekad događaju situacije koje znaju biti poprilično neugodne i bolne. Nažalost kroz takve situacije prolaze i odrasli i djeca te se one ne mogu izbjeći. Bitnu ulogu u rješavanju i suočavanju s kriznim situacijama ima okolina. Djeca koja su izložena kriznim situacijama trebaju podršku i razumijevanje od strane obitelji, ali i od strane vrtića. Kako bi djetetu olakšali prolazak kroz kriznu situaciju odgojitelji mogu ponuditi razne problemske slikovnice koje će im pomoći u prepoznavanju i rješavanju problema koje donosi krizna situacija. Temeljni cilj i zadatak ovog diplomskog rada je saznati koliko su odgojitelji upoznati s problemskim slikovnicama te kakva su njihova dosadašnja iskustva u primjeni takvih slikovnica u radu s djecom u krizi. Istraživanje je provedeno pomoću polustrukturiranih intervjua u kojima je sudjelovalo deset odgojiteljica na području grada Zagreba i Zagrebačke županije. Provedenim istraživanjem dobiven je uvid u vlastita iskustva i mišljenja odgojitelja o primjeni problemskih slikovnica i pružanju podrške djeci u kriznim situacijama. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da odgojiteljice u radu s djecom u krizi primjenjuju problemske slikovnice po potrebi odnosno pojavom određene krizne situacije. Rezultati su također pokazali da su njihova iskustva s problemskim slikovnicama pozitivna te da im pomažu u rješavanju kriznih situacija. Većina ispitanih odgojiteljica smatra da su problemske slikovnice korisne, no smatraju da je važnije djetetu pružiti sigurnost, podršku, razumijevanje i povjerenje. Iako se većina ispitanih odgojiteljica smatra kompetentnima u radu s djecom u krizi svejedno naglašavaju kako im je potrebna dodatna pomoć stručnih suradnika te dodatne radionice i edukacije koje se bave djecom u krizi.Sometimes in life there are situations that can be quite uncomfortable and painful. Unfortunately, both adults and children go through such situations and they cannot be avoided. The environment that surrounds us plays an important role in dealing with and resolving crisis situations. Children who are exposed to crisis situations need support and understanding from their families as well as kindergartens. In order to alleviate the crisis situations for children, educators can offer various problem picture books that help children identify and solve problems brought about by the crisis situation. The basic goal and task of this thesis is to find out how much educators are familiar with problem picture books and what were their previous experiences in the application of such picture books in working with children in crisis. The research was conducted using semi-structured interviews in which ten educators from the city of Zagreb and Zagreb County participated. The conducted research provided insight into the educators' own experiences and opinions in the application of problem picture books and providing support to children in crisis situations. The results of the research showed that educators in working with children in crisis use problem picture books as needed, ie when a certain crisis situation arises. The results also showed that their experiences with problem picture books are positive and help them resolve crisis situations. Most of the educators surveyed think that problem picture books are useful however they think that it is more important to provide the child with security, support, understanding and trust. Although most of the surveyed educators consider themselves competent in working with children in crisis, they still emphasize that they need additional help from professional associates and additional workshops and education about children in crisis