Assessment of motor development is an important part of preschool teachers' professional practice, as it provides insight into children's progress, supports the planning of educational activities, and facilitates the early identification of potential developmental delays. The aim of this master's thesis was to investigate the assessment of motor development in Slovenian public preschools. The study examined how frequently preschool teachers assess children's motor development, which methods they use, the purposes of assessment, the barriers they encounter, and whether their practices differ according to years of work experience, educational background, and the presence of a physical education specialist in the preschool. The research was based on a quantitative approach. Data were collected using a questionnaire administered to a convenience sample of 269 preschool teachers employed in Slovenian public preschools. The results indicate that the assessment of motor development is well established in Slovenian public preschools and is regarded by preschool teachers as an important part of their professional practice. In everyday practice, assessment is most commonly carried out during daily activities and is based primarily on different forms of observation, whereas individual motor tasks and standardized assessment instruments are used only rarely. Although most preschool teachers use more than one assessment method, these methods predominantly consist of combinations of different observational approaches. The most important barriers identified by the participants were lack of time and inadequate spatial conditions, while the most important forms of support were additional professional training, expert consultation, and the employment of a physical education specialist in preschools. The analyses showed that years of work experience, educational background, and the presence of a physical education specialist were generally not associated with differences in assessment practices; the only exceptions were a few statistically significant differences related to teachers' years of work experience. The findings highlight the need for a more systematic assessment of children's motor development and for the development of simple, standardized, widely accessible, and practically applicable assesment instruments that would enable higher-quality, more objective, and more comparable assessment practices in Slovenian public preschools.
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