This study aimed to review the roles and practices of preschool teachers regarding reading and writing skills in preschool education. A sample of 234 preschool teachers working in Ankara participated ...to this study. Through employing complementary mixed method design, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected by using a descriptive data collection instrument, semi-structured interviews and observation form. Research findings indicate that preschool teachers mostly conduct teacher centered activities focused on concept learning for literacy development at desk activities. The preschool teachers stated that they usually distribute books and other printed materials to children; to read poems, fairy tales, stories and picture books aloud, and to examine those to give information about their features such as the back and front covers, the beginning and the end of the book. Although misconceptions and different activities were observed, it was found that teacher preferences were generally made in the light of the materials and attitudes of the institutions they worked in.
The aim of this research is to consider the differences in aspiring early childhood teachers’ self-perception of their competence in the integration of digital technologies into early childhood ...educational practice, before and after the realization of the teaching process, and before and after passing the exam for the elective course titled “An early childhood teacher in a digital environment”. The research sample consisted of thirty-five third-year students of the Preschool Teacher Training and Business Informatics College of Applied Studies - Sirmium, who took and passed the exam in the elective subject “An early childhood teacher in a digital environment”. The results of the study show that aspiring early childhood teachers assess their competence for the integration of digital technologies into early childhood educational practice more positively after attending classes and taking the exam in the course “An early childhood teacher in a digital environment”. Future early childhood teachers feel more competent in applying digital technologies to all four areas of early childhood teachers’ work: direct work with children, real program development, professional development and professional public action.
This research was conducted to determine to which degree pre-service kindergarten teachers practice the twenty-first century skills of learning and creativity, digital culture, and life and work with ...the kindergarten child in light of vision 2030. Descriptive analytical approach was employed. A representative sample of the study population was selected by stratified random method. Therefore, 250 female teachers were relied upon as selecting the study sample. An online survey was created by Google Docs. Results show that all the three skills are highly practiced by pre-service kindergarten teachers.
The paper examines the compensation of tuition fees for Czech kindergartens (N = 1,080) during the first wave of the pandemic (spring 2020). It also analyses unpaid school fees for September and ...October 2020 (the second wave of Covid-19). The results revealed that due to quarantine closures the parameters of the multi-source financing of kindergartens exerted a negative impact on the multi-source financial model, which forms the basis of the management of kindergartens in the Czech decentralised regional education system. The willingness (or not) of the relevant authorities to compensate for unpaid school fees for the period of the local quarantine closure of kindergartens (or certain classes) highlighted regional inequalities in terms of the financing of preschool education during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Introduction. Due to the high prevalence of respiratory diseases in children attending pre-school educational settings, the problem of their prevention is especially important. Taking into account ...the fact that children spend between 6 and 8 hours a day in pre-school educational institutions, one of the risk factors of respiratory diseases is the microbial contamination of indoor air. The analysis of Russian and international scholarly literature revealed the positive impact of phytoncide properties of plants on the quality of indoor air and on the psycho-emotional state of a person, however, due to the lack of experimental evidence, the practices of using healing properties of plants in children's organized groups have not been widely adopted. The results of this study confirm that the rational placement of a certain range of plants in preschool classrooms can become a promising and low-cost direction in the structure of a health-saving approach in the modern system of preschool education. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of phytoncides of a particular range of plants and their placement in reducing microbial contamination of the air in pre-school education settings. Materials and Methods. To study the effect of phytoncide activity of plants the authors monitored the microbial contamination of air in preschool classrooms from two kindergartens in Novosibirsk, with the main focus on the leaf area of the established range of plants and conditions of their placement. For quantitative and qualitative analysis of air microflora composition we used standard differential-diagnostic nutrient media, methods of seeding and calculation of the proportion of total microbial count and facultative microflora. Air sampling points were located in the child's breathing zone (0.5, 1.5 and 3 m away from the plants at 0.8 m height). We monitored the effectiveness of phytoncide properties of plants on the risks of children's disease during the epidemiological rise based on attendance logs. The following theoretical research methods were used: formalization, generalization, comparison and system analysis. Results. It was found that phytoncides reduce microbiological insemination of preschool classrooms where a certain range of phytoncide plants were located. It was determined that the intensity of the phytoncide effect depends on the leaf surface area and their rational distribution, taking into account the effective radius of exposure. The study found a decrease in respiratory diseases among children at preschool educational settings where phytoncide plants were placed in the classrooms. Conclusions. The results of the study can be employed in recommendations for the use of a certain range of plants with pronounced phytoncide activity as one of the components of health-saving conditions in the modern education system.
This paper studies the expansion of church supervision in the running of kindergartens. We aim to explore the ways church-run kindergartens differ or reveal similarities to church-run primary ...schools. We present the extent of church expansion, modes of takeover and the regulatory framework of kindergartens maintained by local governments and various churches. Drawing on a small-scale qualitative pilot research based on interviews with kindergarten teachers, we discuss the opportunities and constraints arising from church supervision in terms of working conditions, human resource supplies, the selection of children and the pedagogical program.
Service-learning (S-L) aims to promote the quality of education as well as improve local development in the community. In this approach, a child learns theories in the preschool classroom, but ...practices work in the local community. The best example of service-learning is described in the Concept of education for the 21st century, where Delors (1996) states: “Learn for learning, learn to work, learn to be, learn to live together with others.“From this concept, one can notice lifelong learning that has a specific social intervention based on solidarity and realization of true needs in the community. The research was conducted on a sample of 17 kindergartens in Zenica-Doboj Canton that applied Service Learning in their work. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether Service Learning can influence the development of civic competencies in preschool children. According to the research data and statements made by a preschool teacher, children had excellent experiences during the realization of Service-Learning ( S-L). In addition, parents and community members had positive attitudes and readiness to work in partnership with kindergartens. Namely, Service-learning as a project method in kindergarten is a great example of how the youngest can set a community in motion but also encourage its development through civic participation. The acquired data suggest that Service learning had been recognized as activity “civic education” in an area that enables them to act and educate the future generation of socially responsible citizens.
