This master's thesis illustrates the characteristics of inclusive play and compare them to other forms of play, as well as analyses their role and presence in the study program Preschool Education on an undergraduate level. The theme strucks as relevant seeing as the implementation of inclusivity is of importance in this day and age which is ruled by multiculturalism, neoliberal values and medicalization of society. Within educational institutions the discourse of inclusivity often stays limited to medical discourse and children with special needs, while children belonging to marginalised groups stay excluded. It focuses on the adapting process of individuals, but leaves out the inclusive ethos in educational institutions. Granting inclusivity is a complex matter, as it takes place on several levels: national, institutional and in the classroom. For educators to be able to grant inclusivity in the classroom, it is important for everyday pedagogical activities to reflect that with the help of appropriate knowledge. Playing games is the most important activity in the preschooling period, causing questions to arise, about how much knowledge future educators acquire during their undergraduate studies. Do the curriculums include this topic? The purpose of this thesis is to determine: a) the presence of inclusive play in the mandatory curriculum of the bachelor's program Preschool education at the Faculty of education of the University of Ljubljana, b) if the students of the bachelor's program Preschool education at the Faculty of education of the University of Ljubljana know about inclusive play, where they learned about it and what is their opinion on including these themes in the curriculum of their degree and c) the standpoint of professors of subjects in the curriculum of the aforementioned degree on the importance of these themes in the education process of future educators. The information will be collected via content analysis of the curriculum and half structured interviews of the faculty members and students alike. The master’s thesis will allow insight into whether the professors and students of the Faculty of education view inclusive play as an important tool to achieve inclusivity in preschool as well as a crucial part of the curriculum of future educators. The results show that the topic of inclusive games is not a part of the curriculum of undergraduate study program od Preschool Education, but both students and faculty members are aware of importance of inclusive games for the work of future educators. The topic of inclusivity, which represents the basis for the introduction of inclusive games, is strongly fragmented between individual subjects. We can also see that there is a growing awareness of the idea inclusivity is meant for everyone and not just individual marginalized groups. At the same time, the lack of practical guidelines and existing experience with working with groups of diverse children is also being addressed. The lack od these exhibits difficulties in implementing inclusivity in practice.
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