Slovenian public kindergartens operate in accordance with the national document, the Kindergarten Curriculum, but are also shaped by a hidden curriculum (Kurikulum za vrtce, 1999). In the theoretical part of my thesis titled The Hidden Curriculum in the Nutrition of Preschool Children I describe both the official and hidden curricula and define the daily routine. The research primarily focuses on nutrition as part of the daily kindergarten routine, where the hidden curriculum often appears. I examine in detail the nutrition and eating habits of preschool children, the choices they are offered, potential allergies requiring close attention and outline guidelines for healthy nutrition in the preschool period. In the final theoretical chapter, I discuss the importance of cooperation between parents and educators regarding the nutrition of preschool children.
In the empirical part, I analyse the responses of educators to survey questionnaires and find that the vast majority agree with the existence of the hidden curriculum and its influence in kindergartens. They also observe the hidden curriculum in their daily work. Most of them also recognize the hidden curriculum in nutrition but report slightly less familiarity with contemporary approaches to encouraging children to eat.
Most respondents work with the first age group, slightly fewer with the second and some work in mixed-age groups or special education classes. The vast majority of the educators surveyed do not agree with the statement that food is used as a reward, while the rest partially agree or even agree with the statement. Opinions on whether they have sufficient knowledge in the field of preschool nutrition indicate that educators are either not fully confident in their knowledge or believe it is sufficient. Only a few educators believe their knowledge in this field is insufficient and would like to acquire additional training.
In continuation I compared the data collected from the survey, based on the marked answers whether the educators work in a city or rural kindergarten, between city and rural kindergartens.
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