In my diploma work, I study the attitudes of preschool teachers and their assistants towards the
inclusion of immigrant children in kindergartens. At the beginning of the theoretical part, I
present two documents that discuss and formulate different approaches and goals for the
integration of immigrant children in the preschool system, in the direction of equal integration
and optimal development of all children. In the following, I define the barriers and challenges
to the integration of immigrant children, focusing in particular on prejudices and overcoming
them. I also focused on the preservation of the native language of immigrant children and the
acquisition and learning of a second language in the preschool period. At the end I also defined
the factors of successful integration of immigrant children, where I dedicated a few words to
the influence of peers, the role of preschool teacher, intercultural education and cooperation
with parents.
In the empirical part, I determined the preference of preschool teachers to preserve native
language of immigrant children. I also studied the differences in attitudes regarding the cultural
differences between the children and the countries they come from. 140 preschool teachers and
assistants of preschool teachers from all over Slovenia participated in the research. I presented
the results descriptively, in tables and graphs.
The results of the research showed that preschool teachers and their assistants, see lack of the
language skills as a major barrier to successful integration. The results also indicate the presence
of prejudices in the working environment of preschool teachers and negative attitudes towards
Albanian speaking individuals and Muslims in particular. Otherwise, preschool teachers and
their assistants allows immigrant children to communicate in their native language, talk about
childs culture and country, and facilitate other activities in the language of the environment they
come from.
|
