Introduction to kindergarten is one of the first turning points in a child's life. After months spent in a safe shelter at home, the child has to get used to a completely new environment, meet new people and adapt to previously unknown situations. It is also a turning point for parents, especially if the child is being introduced to kindergarten for the first time. One can never be fully prepared for everything that can happen during this time, so it is important what way of introduction and support is offered. In some kindergartens all newcomers are introduced to the group at the same time (at the beginning of the school year or at the opening of a new department), while in others only a few children at a time join the group. There are also differences when it comes to kindergarten teachers and parents. The introduction process is dependent on how much time both of them are willing to invest, what the course of preparation for the introduction is and to whom parents and teachers can turn to, when they find themselves in need of help. This is why the counselling service of the kindergarten also plays a very important role.
In the theoretical part of my thesis, I described the importance of the introduction process and presented different ways of accepting and introducing children to kindergarten. I also touched on the introduction from the perspective of the child and the parents and described in more detail how teachers perceive this process; their role in the introduction, how their preparation for the introduction takes place, what their communication with the parents is like and the hardships they experience. In the last chapter I looked further into the role of the counselling service in each kindergarten - their goals, tasks and forms of cooperation with the teachers.
Given that there is already plenty of research done on the introduction of children to kindergartens and on the experiences of parents and teachers during this time, my primary goal was to expand and add to this field of research. The aim of this research was to determine and analyse the different methods of admission and introduction of children to kindergarten. I was also interested in how the counsellors of the kindergarten are involved in the introduction process – from enrolment to the introductory period.
The results of my research show that the methods of introducing children to kindergartens indeed differ between kindergartens and also between kindergarten teachers. A good half of kindergartens accept all newcomers in September, which means that parents do not have the option to gradually introduce children to kindergarten, although the right of gradual introduction for all parents is enshrined in the Kindergarten Curriculum (1999). It is worrying that teachers cannot individually devote themselves to parents and children and allow them to take time to get to know the new environment. It is well known that every child has their own pace of adapting to a new environment.
Regardless, throughout this research I found that according to the surveyed and the interviewed (two) teachers and counsellors, parents are satisfied with the different ways of introducing children to kindergartens. I believe that this satisfaction is primarily the result of self-initiated kindergarten teachers who take time to make sure the introduction is carried out in a pleasant, friendly way and in most cases without special complications.
But fact is also, that the teachers are never left alone during this phase. They can always turn to the kindergarten’s counselling service, whose task is to work with parents and teachers throughout the whole school year, and especially to help them during the introductory period. Both the surveyed and the interviewed teachers confirmed that they cooperate well with the counselling service and that the counselling service is the one that manages the kindergarten's enrolment program and has the first contact with the newcomer parents.
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