The Role of Professional Knowledge and Skills of Preschool Teachers in Building and Developing Partnerships with Parents / Uloga profesionalnih znanja i vještina odgojitelja u izgradnji i razvijanju partnerstva s roditeljima

Abstract

Partnership is considered one among the most important factors in educational
work. For its formation and improvements, appropriate competences are expected. In
this research we seek to highlight the need to strengthen the professional knowledge
and skills of preschool teachers for building and developing partnerships with parents
seen as a higher form of collaboration. Therefore, the aim of this research was to
examine the perceptions and attitudes of parents and preschool teachers about
their mutual cooperation and partnership. The sample consists of 203 parents
and preschool teachers working in kindergartens in the City of Zagreb and Zagreb
County. Hypotheses were set with regards to recognition or knowledge of cooperation
and partnership concepts, the assessment of the role of preschool teachers as partners
by parents and preschool teachers in mutual cooperation and partnership, and
the assessment of the importance of cooperation through the participants’ own
responsibility. Once the data was analysed, the obtained results showed that both
groups of respondents did not consider the role of preschool teacher as partner as
one that was the most important. Also, the results of the research have shown that
parents, but also preschool teachers, do not understand the difference between the
concepts cooperation and partnership. Although both parties have agreed on the
importance of a partnership or the collaborative relationship, there is also a small
number of participants who consider such a relationship irrelevant or less important.
Keywords: cooperation; lifelong learning; parents; partnership; preschool teachers.

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Partnerski odnos smatra se jednim od najvažnijih čimbenika odgojno-obrazovnoga
rada za čiju se izgradnju i unaprjeđenje očekuju odgovarajuće kompetencije. U
ovom istraživanju želi se ukazati na potrebu osnaživanja profesionalnih znanja
i vještina odgojitelja za izgradnju i razvijanje partnerstva s roditeljima kao višeg
oblika suradnje. Stoga je cilj istraživanja bio ispitati percepcije i stavove roditelja i
odgojitelja o njihovoj međusobnoj suradnji i partnerskom odnosu. Uzorak čini 203
roditelja i odgojitelja koji rade u vrtićima na području grada Zagreba i Zagrebačke
županije. Postavljene su hipoteze koje se odnose na (pre)poznavanje pojmova
suradnje i partnerstva, procjenu uloge odgojitelja kao partnera od strane roditelja
i odgojitelja u međusobnoj suradnji i partnerstvu te procjenu važnosti suradnje
kroz vlastitu odgovornost sudionika. Rezultati dobiveni nakon analize podataka
pokazuju da obje skupine ispitanika nisu ulogu odgojitelja kao partnera procijenile
najvažnijom. Također, rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da roditelji, ali i odgojitelji,
ne shvaćaju razliku između pojmova suradnje i partnerstva. Iako su se obje strane
složile o važnosti partnerskoga/suradničkoga odnosa, postoji i manji broj onih koji
smatraju takav odnos nevažnim ili manje važnim.
Ključne riječi: odgojitelji; partnerstvo; roditelji; suradnja; trajno učenje.