Kindergarten is an environment that offers children, employees, parents, and visitors a lot of room for imagination and knowledge, provided they remain open to such enrichment. Within this context, educators assume a pivotal role, wielding their competencies, expertise, and autonomy to enhance the quality of nursery education, ensuring progress and satisfaction of the children entrusted to them. A professional learning community operates on the principles of attentive listening, understanding, flexible adaptation, and embracing diversity, which enriches our experiences.
In my master's thesis, I explore peer-to-peer observations as a factor in promoting educators' professional development and their impact on professional growth. The thesis delves into educators' perspectives on professional development, their experience with peer-based observations and where they see possibilities for more effective collaboration. The empirical study involved 102 professionals from the Dolenjska and Bela Krajina regions, who responded to an online questionnaire. Notably, the research showed that educators recognize continuous learning, improvement, and keeping up with innovations as pivotal factors underpinning successful professional development.
In a majority of kindergartens across Dolenjska and Bela Krajina, peer-based observations have established themselves as a customary practice, albeit their execution varies in terms of frequency and methodical approach. The majority of educators has stated that peer-to-peer observations are significant for exchanging knowledge and experiences among peers, thereby contributing substantively to improving pedagogical endeavours within kindergartens. The results indicate that educators desire greater autonomy and consideration of their ideas when planning and conducting peer-to-peer observations The research showed that greater educators' autonomy and adapting to their individual preferences would contribute to better peer-to-peer observations and professional development.
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