Preschool education in Slovenia and Serbia in the light of the OECD, WB and EU guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)Hočevar, Andreja (Avtor) Kovač Šebart, Mojca (Avtor) Lukan, Mojca (Avtor) early childhood education and careECECpreschool educationhuman capitalSloveniaSerbiaBoth the professional and political spheres have emphasised the association between ECEC and economic performance since international organisations, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank and European Union institutions, first expressed interest in this linkage. This study shows how the relationship between ECEC and economic outcomes is reflected in the guidelines that international organisations expect countries to follow and how this connection is relevant to the modification of legal documents that define ECEC functioning and guide its application in the field of education. The study provides a comparative analysis of the differences between the goals in legislation and curricula, as well as of the quality evaluation models of preschool education, in Slovenia and Serbia. The analysis shows that international organisations guidelines have been considered in the two countries’ preschool education systems, albeit in different ways and using different formal documents.20252024-09-30 11:40:53Članek v reviji162989UDK: 373.2ISSN pri članku: 1469-3623DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2024.2393135COBISS_ID: 206526979sl