In my thesis, I will present a detailed comparison of the role of the preschool teacher in promoting independence in Slovenia and Finland. Firstly, the theoretical part introduces the systems and objectives of preschool education in Slovenia and Finland and then I discuss the daily routine in kindergarten and children's independence. For the empirical section, I conducted a total of eight interviews with preschool teachers from Slovenia and Finland. The interviews took place in kindergartens where I also completed practical training and student work. I was interested in the official documents used for preschool education planning, the role of the preschool teacher in individual kindergartens, and how children are encouraged towards independence, including their motivation and the daily routine. I compared the kindergartens more thoroughly based on the obtained answers and presented them in tables. I found that different documents are used by kindergartens for preschool education planning, but they serve as a foundation in each respective country. Teachers employ various techniques and motivation methods for promoting independence, which depend more on individual teachers and group dynamics than on the country in which the kindergarten is located. There are many similarities in the responses of teachers working with children in different age groups, although differences in age and abilities of children are essential for adaptation. The most significant differences were observed in the daily routine and outdoor activities.
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