Page 227 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, št. 3-4: K paradigmam raziskovanja vzgoje in izobraževanja, ur. Valerija Vendramin
P. 227
povzetki ■ abstracts
Key challenges in addressing autism in preschool education
– a case study in Slovenia
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has a potential to support
child´s development (EC, 2012), even more so for the most disadvantaged
children, including those on the autism spectrum. However, these chil
dren tend to be less represented in ECEC due to the lack of adapted set
tings (EC, 2013). The European project Early Attention for the Inclusion
of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Early Childhood
Education and Care Systems (ETTECEC) addresses this issue. It aims to
improve the ECEC systems in the partner regions, making them inclusive
for all children (by developing and implementing an innovative didactic
online course for preschool teachers). The first step in this process is iden
tification of real-life classroom situations in preschools that have children
with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) enrolled. The aim of this article is
to present the real-life situations in Slovenia based on case study of two
preschools, identify the key challenges and propose solutions (e.g. train
ing of competences). In Slovenia, real-life situations were collected via ob
servations in two preschools. In each preschool, we observed two groups
(using an observational scheme) and conducted structured interviews
with teachers and assistant teachers, children with ASD and their par
ents. The results show some of the challenges in implementing the inclu
sion paradigm in ECEC in Slovenia. On one hand, teachers are generally
not trained in recognizing signs of ASD or how to help a child with ASD
(not equipped with strategies of teaching a child with ASD); on the oth
er hand, a few of them possess the necessary knowledge and competenc
es. All teachers feel overwhelmed with many different special needs that
they need to attend to. Some guidelines for teacher training are proposed.
Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, ECEC, observations, pre-school
teachers, real-life situations
Karmen Osterc Kokotovič
Vključenost staršev v šolanje otroka in uporaba
psihoaktivnih snovi pri mladostnikih
Vključenost staršev v otrokovo šolanje lahko izboljša otrokove učne
dosežke tako, da zmanjšuje otrokove vedenjske težave, ki bi lahko ovirale
proces učenja. Nadalje raziskave potrjujejo, da segajo začetki prvih posk
usov psihoaktivnih snovi prav v obdobje mladostništva. Obdobje mla
dostništva je obdobje, v katerem posameznik postavlja temelje, na katerih
bo temeljila njegova odraslost, in izhodišča za njegovo nadaljnje življenje.
To je tudi čas, ko se začnejo mladostniki intenzivneje soočati z zahtevami
225
Key challenges in addressing autism in preschool education
– a case study in Slovenia
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has a potential to support
child´s development (EC, 2012), even more so for the most disadvantaged
children, including those on the autism spectrum. However, these chil
dren tend to be less represented in ECEC due to the lack of adapted set
tings (EC, 2013). The European project Early Attention for the Inclusion
of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Early Childhood
Education and Care Systems (ETTECEC) addresses this issue. It aims to
improve the ECEC systems in the partner regions, making them inclusive
for all children (by developing and implementing an innovative didactic
online course for preschool teachers). The first step in this process is iden
tification of real-life classroom situations in preschools that have children
with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) enrolled. The aim of this article is
to present the real-life situations in Slovenia based on case study of two
preschools, identify the key challenges and propose solutions (e.g. train
ing of competences). In Slovenia, real-life situations were collected via ob
servations in two preschools. In each preschool, we observed two groups
(using an observational scheme) and conducted structured interviews
with teachers and assistant teachers, children with ASD and their par
ents. The results show some of the challenges in implementing the inclu
sion paradigm in ECEC in Slovenia. On one hand, teachers are generally
not trained in recognizing signs of ASD or how to help a child with ASD
(not equipped with strategies of teaching a child with ASD); on the oth
er hand, a few of them possess the necessary knowledge and competenc
es. All teachers feel overwhelmed with many different special needs that
they need to attend to. Some guidelines for teacher training are proposed.
Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, ECEC, observations, pre-school
teachers, real-life situations
Karmen Osterc Kokotovič
Vključenost staršev v šolanje otroka in uporaba
psihoaktivnih snovi pri mladostnikih
Vključenost staršev v otrokovo šolanje lahko izboljša otrokove učne
dosežke tako, da zmanjšuje otrokove vedenjske težave, ki bi lahko ovirale
proces učenja. Nadalje raziskave potrjujejo, da segajo začetki prvih posk
usov psihoaktivnih snovi prav v obdobje mladostništva. Obdobje mla
dostništva je obdobje, v katerem posameznik postavlja temelje, na katerih
bo temeljila njegova odraslost, in izhodišča za njegovo nadaljnje življenje.
To je tudi čas, ko se začnejo mladostniki intenzivneje soočati z zahtevami
225
