The theoretical section of the diploma thesis begins by describing the importance of a stimulating climate in kindergarten; this is followed by a description of the methods with which we can create a stimulating climate in kindergarten, as provided by different curricula (High/Scope Curriculum, Kindergarten Curriculum, contemporary curricula); special emphasis is placed on creating a stimulating climate in the daily routine. Afterwards, the influence of the hidden curriculum on the climate and on the social relations within the group is described. This is followed by an explanation of social development in children and an illustration of the importance of promoting social development in kindergarten. At the end of the theoretical section, I defined the role and importance of conflict for the social development of children, and the role played by the preschool teacher in resolving conflicts between children. The aim of my diploma thesis was to examine how preschool teachers stimulate children’s social development; how they provide a favourable social climate within the group through the daily routine; and to determine how they guide children towards resolving mutual conflicts and appropriate behaviour. I was also interested in whether preschool teachers plan activities for promoting social development and whether they evaluate them. The results were obtained by observing two groups in different kindergartens and by conducting an interview with the teachers of the observed groups. The research has shown that preschool teachers create a stimulating climate through communication, various interactions with the children, by encouraging cooperation among the children, and by their own example. In both groups, the teachers use a puppet; one group uses it to make it easier for a child to interact with the other children, while the other group uses the puppet to talk to a child who has done something inappropriate. The teachers provide a favourable climate by giving the children a sense of safety, by gaining the children’s trust, and by trying to understand the children’s desires and needs. In conflict resolution, the observed teachers employ two approaches, which have been described by Kroflič (2010), i.e. the authoritarian/assertive approach and the inductive approach. The teachers plan and carry out activities for promoting social development mostly in the introductory period. I have also discovered that the teachers of one group do not evaluate the activities for promoting social development, whereas the teachers of the other group evaluate them only orally between themselves, for the purpose of office hours, and at the end of a specific set of activities.
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