NATURALISTIC ACTIVITIES TROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILDCARE WORKER IN THE KINDERGARTENS IN UPPER CARNIOLA AND THE LOWER STYRIA

V diplomskem delu z naslovom Naravoslovne dejavnosti skozi oči vzgojitelja v vrtcih na Gorenjskem in Štajerskem je uvodoma predstavljen Kurikulum za vrtce, s posebnim poudarkom na področju narave. V nadaljevanju je predstavljena vloga vzgojitelja pri načrtovanju in izvajanju naravoslovnih dejavnosti v vrtcu ter naloge vzgojitelja in načini, kako otroke za naravoslovje motivirati. Podrobneje so predstavljene sodobne metode dela in njim najustreznejše oblike dela. Predstavljen je tudi konstruktivistični pedagoški koncept, na katerem temeljijo za naravoslovje najpomembnejše metode dela – tiste, ki vključujejo otrokovo lastno aktivnost. Empirični del diplomskega dela temelji na raziskavi, opravljeni v različnih vrtcih gorenjske in štajerske regije. Z anketiranjem vzgojiteljev smo zbrali podatke, mnenja o vsebinskih, organizacijskih in odnosnih vidikih naravoslovnih dejavnosti v vrtcu. Ugotovitve kažejo, da večina vzgojiteljev gorenjske kot tudi štajerske regije, največ pozornosti namenja področju biologije. Menijo, da je s področja biologije največ primernih vsebin za otroke vseh starosti. Najslabše je zastopano področje fizike. Regiji se razlikujeta v poznavanju sodobnejših naravoslovnih projektov, na primer projektov Pollen in Tempus. Na področju Gorenjske je poznavanje tovrstnih projektov izredno slabo, medtem ko na področju Štajerske približno polovica vzgojiteljev pozna tovrstne projekte. Ugotovitve kažejo tudi, da vzgojitelji gorenjske regije pri svojem delu najpogosteje uporabljajo metodo raziskovanja, vzgojitelji štajerske regije pa metodo izkustvenega učenja. Najredkeje uporabljeni sta metoda dela s tekstom in metoda projektnega dela. Večina vzgojiteljev obeh regij pri svojem delu najpogosteje uporablja skupinsko in skupno obliko dela, najredkeje uporabljena pa je frontalna oblika. Prav tako je na področju štajerske regije večje poznavanje raziskovalnih škatel in večja uporaba le teh pri delu z otroki.In the introduction of the diploma paper called Naturalistic activities through the eyes of a childcare worker in the kindergartens in Upper Carniola and in Lower Styria, the kindergarten curriculum is presented. According to the curriculum, the emphasis is placed on the subject of nature. The diploma paper provides the presentation of a childcare worker, the role of a childcare worker in planning and performing naturalistic activities, the tasks of a childcare worker and the methods for motivating the children for natural science. The diploma paper further presents the contemporary work methods and the types of work that correspond to the methods. The pedagogical concept with a constructivist approach and the most important work methods that include children\u27s activities are also presented in the paper. The empirical part of the diploma paper is based on the research which was carried out in various kindergartens in Upper Carniola and in Lower Styria. The inquiry among childcare workers provided the data on naturalistic activities in the kindergartens from different aspects: contents, organization and relationships. The results of the inquiry showed that most of the childcare workers in Upper Carniola and Lower Styria put an emphasis on Biology. Their view is that the field of Biology offers the most suitable topics for children of all ages. The less emphasis is put on Physics. The main difference between the mentioned regions is in recognizing contemporary projects in natural science, for example, the Pollen and Tempus projects. If we compare Upper Carniola and Lower Styria, the latter is more familiar with this kind of projects, approximately half of the childcare workers in Lower Styria is acquainted with the projects. Moreover, the results indicate that the childcare workers in Upper Carniola mostly use the method of research at work and the childcare workers in Lower Styria use experience methods. The least used methods are text and project work methods. Most of the childcare workers in both regions most often use group work and the frontal approach is the method that is rarely used. In addition, the knowing of research boxes and the use of the boxes is more significant for Lower Styria