The Role of a Kindergarten Teacher Mentor from the Students' Perspective / Uloga odgajatelja mentora iz studentske perspektive

Abstract

Teaching practice is an integral part of education and training of future kindergarten teachers. Aiming to answer the question whether the initial education of kindergarten teachers is organized in accordance with the requirements of contemporary practice, this research examined the views and opinions of Faculty of Teacher Education students (N=235) in Zagreb on the implementation of teaching practice in kindergartens, while contemplating and analyzing the difficulties that are perceived and found in this area. The theoretical part of this paper discusses the relationship between the quality of kindergarten teacher education and the contemporary concept of the teaching practice, which is examined in the empirical part on the chosen research sample. By means of One Sample T-Test, positive attitudes of early childhood and preschool education students on the implementation of teaching practice were confirmed. In the correlation design area, a statistically significant correlation (Spearman) was confirmed between a particular year of studies and the assessment of practice or satisfaction of students and the success of teaching practice. Third year students differed from the first and second year students in that that they expressed a lower level of satisfaction with teaching practice.

Key words: kindergarten teacher mentor; professional development; teaching practice.

Teaching practice is an integral part of education and training of future kindergarten teachers. Aiming to answer the question whether the initial education of kindergarten teachers is organized in accordance with the requirements of contemporary practice, this research examined the views and opinions of Faculty of Teacher Education students (N=235) in Zagreb on the implementation of teaching practice in kindergartens, while contemplating and analyzing the difficulties that are perceived and found in this area. The theoretical part of this paper discusses the relationship between the quality of kindergarten teacher education and the contemporary concept of the teaching practice, which is examined in the empirical part on the chosen research sample. By means of One Sample T-Test, positive attitudes of early childhood and preschool education students on the implementation of teaching practice were confirmed. In the correlation design area, a statistically significant correlation (Spearman) was confirmed between a particular year of studies and the assessment of practice or satisfaction of students and the success of teaching practice. Third year students differed from the first and second year students in that that they expressed a lower level of satisfaction with teaching practice.

Key words: kindergarten teacher mentor; professional development; teaching practice.

Teaching practice is an integral part of education and training of future kindergarten teachers. Aiming to answer the question whether the initial education of kindergarten teachers is organized in accordance with the requirements of contemporary practice, this research examined the views and opinions of Faculty of Teacher Education students (N=235) in Zagreb on the implementation of teaching practice in kindergartens, while contemplating and analyzing the difficulties that are perceived and found in this area. The theoretical part of this paper discusses the relationship between the quality of kindergarten teacher education and the contemporary concept of the teaching practice, which is examined in the empirical part on the chosen research sample. By means of One Sample T-Test, positive attitudes of early childhood and preschool education students on the implementation of teaching practice were confirmed. In the correlation design area, a statistically significant correlation (Spearman) was confirmed between a particular year of studies and the assessment of practice or satisfaction of students and the success of teaching practice. Third year students differed from the first and second year students in that that they expressed a lower level of satisfaction with teaching practice.

Key words: kindergarten teacher mentor; professional development; teaching practice.

Stručno-pedagoška praksa integrirani je dio obrazovanja i osposobljavanja budućih odgajatelja. U traženju odgovara na pitanje je li inicijalno obrazovanje odgajatelja organizirano u skladu sa zahtjevima suvremene prakse, u ovom su istraživanju ispitivani stavovi i mišljenja studenata (N=235) Učiteljskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, o provedbi stručno-pedagoške prakse u dječjim vrtićima, uz istodobno sagledavanje i analiziranje poteškoća koje na tom području opažaju i na koje nailaze. U teorijskom dijelu ovog rada propituje se međuodnos kvalitete obrazovanja odgojitelja i suvremene koncepcije stručno-pedagoške prakse, koji se u empirijskom dijelu provjerava na odabranom istraživačkom uzorku. Jednim One Sample T- Testom potvrđeni su pozitivni stavovi studenata ranog i predškolskog odgoja o provedbi stručno-pedagoške prakse. U području korelacijskog nacrta potvrđena je statistički značajna povezanost (Spearman) između pojedine godine studija i procjene prakse, odnosno zadovoljstva studenata i uspješnosti stručno-pedagoške prakse. Studenti treće godine studija razlikuju se od studenata prve i druge godine studija u smjeru manje iskazanog zadovoljstva stručno-pedagoškom praksom.

Ključne riječi: odgajatelj mentor; profesionalni razvoj; stručno-pedagoška praksa.