THE FIELD OF NATURE IN THE CURRICULUM AND THE PRESENCE OF SUCHLIKE ACTIVITIES IN KINDERGARTENS

V diplomskem delu z naslovom Področje narave v kurikulumu in prisotnost tovrstnih dejavnosti v vrtcih so uvodoma predstavljena splošna načela, ki jih določa kurikulum za vrtce. Sledi podrobnejša predstavitev področja narave, s poudarkom na različnih metodah, ki bi jih naj vzgojitelji uporabljali pri naravoslovnih dejavnostih. Ob tem je izpostavljena metoda izkustvenega učenja, ki v veliki meri razvija multiplo inteligenco. V teoretičnem delu je tudi velik poudarek na vlogi vzgojitelja in njegovih nalogah pred, ob in po izvajanju naravoslovnih dejavnosti. Na kratko so predstavljene tudi nekatere značilnosti otrokovega spoznavnega razvoja, ki jih je potrebno poznati ob načrtovanju naravoslovnih dejavnosti. Empirični del temelji na raziskavi, opravljeni v mariborskih vrtcih, ki posega na področje pogostosti in načina izvajanja naravoslovnih dejavnosti. Raziskovalna vprašanja izhajajo iz zastavljenih ciljev za izvedene dejavnosti, uporabljenih metod, oblik dela, na opisano aktivnost vzgojitelja in otroka ter integracijo različnih naravoslovnih področij (kemije, fizike in biologije) v posamezne dejavnosti. Ugotovitve kažejo, da je v mariborskih vrtcih največ dejavnosti s področja biologije. Takoj jim sledijo dejavnosti s področja kemije, medtem ko je področje fizike zelo slabo zastopano. Iz raziskave je razvidno tudi, da se vzgojitelji še vedno preveč oklepajo standardnih metod in ne dajejo otrokom večjih možnostih za lastno aktivnost. Med dejavnostmi so bile največkrat izvajane tiste, ki se vežejo na teme o živalih in rastlinah, vremenskih pojavih, ločevanju odpadkov ter o lastnostih različnih snovi.The introduction of the diploma thesis with the title The field of nature in the curriculum and the presence of suchlike activities in kindergartens presents the general principles determined by the curriculum for kindergartens. What follows is a detailed presentation of the field of nature with the emphasis on various methods which pre-school teachers are supposed to apply in natural science activities. At this point, the focus is on the experiential learning method which has a deep impact on the development of multiple intelligences. The theoretical part of the diploma thesis furthermore discusses the role of pre-school teachers and their duties before, during and after the implementation of natural science activities and then briefly presents some characteristics of the children’s cognitive development which have to be taken into account when planning the natural science activities. The empirical part of the diploma thesis is based on the research which was carried out in kindergartens in Maribor, and examines the frequency and methods of the implementation of natural science activities. The questions used in the research derive from goals which were set for the carried-out activities, the methods used and the working arrangements – all in view of the described pre-school teacher/child activity and the integration of various fields of natural science (chemistry, physics and biology) into individual activities. The results show that the most frequent activities, carried out in kindergartens in Maribor, are from the field of biology, closely followed by the field of chemistry, whereas activities from the field of physics are hardly ever carried out. The research also shows that pre-school teachers still hold on to standard methods too tightly and don`t offer the children enough opportunity for their own activities. The activities carried out in kindergartens mostly involved animals, plants, weather phenomena, waste separation and various materials characteristics