In my thesis work I focused on the comparison of the organization and the progress of the daily routine in Slovenian and Norwegian kindergartens. I was interested in the differences and similarities of the organization of the elements of their daily routine and their advantages and disadvantages. In the theoretical part I presented the concept of preschool education and its importance, I described the preschool education in Slovenia and in Norway and presented in detail the private kindergartens in both countries. I highlighted the concept of daily routine and its connection with the hidden curriculum in kindergartens. For the empirical part, I collaborated with Bachelors of Education from a Slovenian and a Norwegian kindergarten, using a semi-structured interview to collect answers and data about the main elements of their daily routine. I compared and analyzed the collected data to discover the differences and similarities. In the conclusions I exposed my findings, opinions and examples of good practice and connected them with the theory. The results of the comparison of the answers showed that the similarities can be found in the way that the teachers occupy the children at the time of their arrival to the kindergarten, when most children have free time to play. The teachers of both kindergartens also use the same manner of welcoming and greeting the children. Differences can be spotted in the exchange of information with the parents when the children arrive to the kindergarten, which is very important in the Norwegian kindergartens, considering that their main principles are social interaction and communication. In nutrition most elements of the organization of the daily routine are similar, but there is a difference in the children’s independence. In the Norwegian kindergarten the teachers set a good example and by using the appropriate verbal communication about nutrition and nonverbal communication they help the children reach independence in nutrition. The teachers in both kindergartens use similar manners of encouragement when it comes to nutrition. Differences can also be observed when it comes to spending time outside, which coincides with the fact that each kindergarten is located in a different surrounding. The biggest difference in the organization of the daily routine in each kindergarten can be seen especially in the flexibility and the manner of communication. However, the teachers of both kindergartens take the children into consideration, they encourage them and give them the possibility to integrate in the process of the daily routine.
|