Pedagouges' views on the inclusion of Croatian sign language in the regular programs of institutions for early and preschool education

Na početku ovog rada istaknuta je razlika između raznih pojmova koji spadaju u domenu gluhoće te je prikazan medicinsko-patološki i sociološko-kulturni pogled na gluhoću. Zatim se objašnjava povezanost jezika i identiteta u individualnom, ali i društvenom kontekstu, te promatranje gluhih osoba kroz prizmu etničke odnosno jezične manjine – kulture Gluhih. Drugi dio posvećen je komunikaciji, odnosno vrstama manualne komunikacije, dvojezičnosti gluhih te znakovnom jeziku kao prirodnom jeziku gluhih osoba sa svim lingvističkim obilježjima s posebnim fokusom na Hrvatski znakovni jezik (HZJ). Treći dio razrađuje odgoj i obrazovanje gluhih i nagluhih osoba u svijetu i u Hrvatskoj, ističu se primjeri dobre prakse bilingvalno-bikulturalnog pristupa te se prezentira ideja poučavanja znakovnog jezika kao stranog jezika za čujuće. Empirijski dio donosi tijek i rezultate istraživanja provedenog s pedagozima zaposlenima u ustanovama ranoga i predškolskoga odgoja i obrazovanja na području grada Zagreba, usmjerenog na njihova dosadašnja iskustva te vlastitu procjenu kompetentnosti u radu s gluhim učenicama, suradnje s udrugama Gluhih te poznavanju HZJ-a i kulture Gluhih.At the beginning, this thesis highlights the difference between various terms that fall under the domain of deafness and presents the medical/pathological and social/cultural view of deafness. Furthermore, it discusses the connection between language and identity in the individual and social context, as well as the observation of deaf people through the lens of an ethnic and linguistic minority - Deaf culture. The second part is dedicated to communication, i.e. types of manual communication, bilingualism of the deaf, and sign language as the natural language of deaf people with all linguistic characteristics focusing on Croatian Sign Language (HZJ). The third part presents the history of education and teaching practices of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the world and Croatia, highlighting the examples of good practices of the bilingual-bicultural approach and introducing the idea of teaching sign language as a foreign language for the hearing. The empirical part elaborates on the course and results of research conducted with pedagogues employed in institutions for early and preschool education in Zagreb, focusing on their past experiences and their assessment of competence in working with deaf students, cooperation with Deaf associations, and knowledge of HZJ and Deaf culture