engleski

Contemporary paradigms of child, childhood and ECEC practice as a rationale of institutional self-evaluation - lessons learned

Determining quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) stems from contemporary concepts of a child, its developmental and learning paradigms, and from contemporary concepts of an ECEC institution. These concepts represent a rationale for the self-evaluation model of ECEC institutions, developed in Croatia from 2010 to 2012. The process implementation in Croatian kindergartens began in the academic year of 2011/2012, and a total of 145 kindergartens saw the successful implementation of the self-evaluation process of ECEC institutions. The process consists of a systematic and holistic approach to monitoring and improving the quality of kindergarten activities - where an institution, using its own resources, takes responsibility for improving their current state, and that makes for a swift and effective involvement in the process of continuous improvement of its practice. Self-evaluation is administered on an institutional level, with the involvement of all of its key stakeholders: principals, members of the governing council, education and developmental experts, teachers, administrative and technical staff, and parents. The object of this paper is to introduce the theoretical and methodological background of the approach, and the results of process implementation analysis for ECEC institutions. Key findings confirm the applicability of the methodology and its instruments, point to the comprehensiveness and flexibility of the approach, and also confirm positive steps in quality improvements of ECEC institutions. Analysis results, along with experiences of ECEC institutions, represent a significant resource for further development and implementation of the self-evaluation process, as well as the promotion of the question of quality in ECEC.

quality, self-evaluation, early childhood care and education.

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