Preschool Education in Public and Alternative Programs in Early Childhood and Preschool Education Institutions

Predškola u Republici Hrvatskoj definirana je kao obvezni dio odgojno-obrazovnog procesa koji snažno doprinosi socijalizaciji djece, razvoju njihovih vještina i znanja, pripremi djece za učenje u školskom okruženju kao i osnaživanju za izazove koje daljnje školovanje stavlja pred djecu. Programi predškole u ustanovama ranoga i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja u RH raznoliki su i kao takvi svaki u svojem pedagoškom i metodičkom pristupu te definiranim programskim okvirima, nude različite mogućnosti za odgoj i obrazovanje djece, s posebnim naglaskom na pripremu djece za daljnje školovanje. Istraživanje je bilo usmjereno na usporedbu pedagoških principa, pristupa i metodologija koje se primjenjuju u predškoli u javnim i alternativnim programima ustanova ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja te zadovoljstva rukovoditelja, odgojitelja, stručnog tima i roditelja. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 100 ispitanika: 4 ravnatelja dječjih vrtića i osnovnih škola; 5 odgojitelja u provedbi predškole (uključujući i 3 voditelja predškole); 2 osobe iz stručnog tima (1 logoped i 1 pedagog) te s ukupno 89 roditelja koji su izrazili mišljenje i dali svoj osvrt na učinkovitost predškole i mogućnosti unapređenja. Rezultati istraživanja provedenog u obliku intervjua za dionike i ankete za roditelje, pokazuju sličnosti i razlike među pedagoškim pristupima u provedbi predškole kao i razlike u zadovoljstvu roditelja kvalitetom predškole u odnosu na postignuća i spremnošću djece za školu.Preschool in the Republic of Croatia is defined as a mandatory part of the educational process that strongly encourages childrens' independence and contributes to socialization, development of skills and knowledge, preparation for learning in a school environment as well as empowerment for the challenges that further education presents to children. Preschool programs in early and preschool education institutions in the Republic of Croatia are diverse and as such, each in its own pedagogical and methodical approach and defined program frameworks, offer different opportunities for the upbringing and education of children, with a special emphasis on preparing children for further education. The research was focused on the comparison of pedagogical principles, approaches and methodologies that are applied in preschool in public and alternative programs of early and preschool education institutions and the satisfaction of managers, educators, professional teams and parents. The research was conducted on a sample of 100 respondents: 4 head-masters of kindergartens and elementary schools; 5 preschool teachers (including 3 preschool coordinators); 2 people from the professional team (1 speech therapist and 1 pedagogue) and with a total of 89 parents who expressed their opinion and gave their feedbacks on the effectiveness of the preschool and possibilities for the improvement. The results of research carried out in the form of interviews for stakeholders and surveys for parents, show similarities and differences among pedagogical approaches in the implementation of preschool, as well as differences in parents' satisfaction with the quality of preschool related to the achievements of child's school readiness