The following master's thesis discusses a rather unexplored topic in the sphere of preschool education. With the application of a historical paradigm, I illustrated how women's role in the society has been changing through the course of history, and how these changes affected the perception of children, and the development of preschool education in Slovenia.
At first the position of women and men were equal; in some cases women even had greater influence and power than men. However, new social foundations feudalism relied upon changed the position of women in such a way that women became inferior to men. In the Middle Ages the Christian Church also treated women with contempt. Due to the development of industrialization and capitalism women were forced to leave their homes to go to work. These changes contributed to the need for the establishment of childcare facilities for those children whose mothers were employed, and these facilities were also preparing children for work. The first steps toward organized preschooling in Slovenia go back to 1041 when a wealthy citizen and a trader Pavel Berlach established an orphanage. In the 19th century most of Slovene children were born, nurtured and raised at home. The organization of families based on patriarchy with strict hierarchical relationships. This was the time when Slovene women started developing awareness about their inferiority and were supported by the feminist movement to fight the existing social system and the regime.
After the Second World War the role of women in the society drastically changes in the social, political, economic and societal sphere. Educational program for upbringing and childcare was introduced in the kindergartens that brought a unified system of kindergartens for all children in the local community.
In 1999 a Curriculum for kindergartens was approved, which is still in use today. The profession of kindergarten teachers of preschool children is feminized, for it is primarily performed by women. Modern mothers are burdened with the demand of being good mothers, who raise and educate their children on one hand and are with the personal desires to pursue a career on the other. Being afraid of not succeeding these mothers seek advice of different experts, read instructions found in magazines for parents and educational manuals. Social expectations hold a predominant belief that motherhood is still women's priority, therefore women with no children are stigmatized.
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