The transition from preschool to elementary school is an important turning point for children. They must say goodbye to known preschool, preschool teachers and some friends, and enter the unknown. Children are experiencing the transition differently, often with high expectations, and some are accompanied by fear. Pedagogical workers and parents who are part of the child's life take on an important role.
With curricular reform, many changes have occurred in elementary schools. The children enter the nine-year school one year younger as before, and the pre-primary school has moved to the first grade. A number of issues and dilemmas have arisen in this regard, if and how the ideas of the nine-year elementary school will be implemented in practice.
Through the diploma thesis, I investigated how children are experiencing the approaching entry into school, what their emotions, expectations and fears are. I was also interested in the experiences and attitudes of first-class students about how they are experiencing school now and whether they like it or not. In the research, I also worked with preschool teachers and teachers working in the first grade. I was interested in their views and experiences at work, their view of the nine-year elementary school, the readiness of children to school, the teamwork of first-grade teachers and cooperation with parents. In the diploma thesis, I also included the Finnish education system, which is known as one of the best education systems in the world. The fact that it is indeed something special, I was convinced myself during the study exchange in Helsinki. The child's joy to learn and attend school, curiosity and motivation has inspired me in the Finnish school. As a future pedagogue this presents me with a challenge, since some TIMSS and HBSC studies have shown low attitudes of Slovene schoolchildren to learning and knowledge (Mlekuž, 2016). Through the diploma, I tried to find out what the Finnish schools are so different from the Slovenian ones that children like to visit it.
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