In the diploma thesis, we focused on comparing the role of a preschool educator in the daily routine at a public preschool and a preschool practicing special pedagogical principles of Maria Montessori. The diploma thesis consists of theoretical and empirical parts. In the theoretical part, we first described education in the preschool period in general. We defined concepts of education and preschool education and presented the system of institutional preschool education in Slovenia. We proceeded from the described chapter and presented the programs of public preschools and private Montessori preschools. We focused on the main characteristics of both programs and the role of an educator. In the final chapter, we described the daily routine, hidden curriculum, role of an educator in the daily routine, and daily routines in a public preschool and a Montessori preschool. In the empirical part of the diploma thesis, we conducted a semi-structured interview with three educators from a public preschool and a Montessori preschool. We were interested in the daily routine, the role of the educator in planning and implementing the routine, and how the educator organizes the space and time. We prepared a general comparison of the educators’ work between both preschools with the obtained answers. We determined that there are differences and similarities in the role of educators in the daily routine. The differences are mainly exhibited in organized afternoon activities at the preschools, in the role of educators during the course of the daily routine and in the preparation of space. Otherwise, both preschools have similar elements in the daily routine, which follows in the same sequence. Educators from both preschools do not plan the daily routine often, but regularly include children in the process, and consider their desires and needs, provide choices and encourage participation.
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