The majority of Slovene children believe that their wishes are overpowered by the decisions of adults. This viewpoint can be illustrated by this statement: "You two are in charge." Decision making is restricted to activities and the children's "world"; children thus have very little influence on the organisation of life in kindergarten, everyday routines and activities and content that are initiated by adults. Kindergarten teachers are often unaware of what decisions children are capable of making, what they can decide on and how to involve them in decision making (Turnšek, 2011).
The first part of the thesis presents theoretical background for participation, with special attention devoted to the pedagogical concept of Reggio Emilia. This approach puts the theoretical participation of children into practice through relational pedagogy, the pedagogy of listening, the ethic of participation, active learning and research projects. Furthermore, the thesis provides the opinions of different experts regarding the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. It also deals with the dilemmas and opinions of teachers, who are crucial for implementing the principles of participation in Slovene kindergartens, and describes the method of open-ended problem solving (Maxim, 1989) that was applied in the project.
The empirical part of the thesis outlines the project entitled My new preschool – children's participation in the preschool setting in which the children engaged in open-ended problem solving to find solutions to problems, ideas and wishes in different activities in the new playroom. They also implemented them through active participation. The thesis contains an analysis of interviews with the teachers who shared their experience and views on the participation of children. They also pointed to certain dilemmas and questions they encountered in the process.
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