Biserka Petrović-Sočo

Symbolic Play of Children at an Early Age / Simbolička igra djece rane dobi

This paper aims to approach the development of symbolic play of children of early age and its impact on their overall development from developmental, psychological, ecological, cultural, pedagogical and methodological points of view. Emphasis is placed on the development of this specific, holistic, immanent activity, important from the very beginning of its appearance and by analysing the theories of Piaget, Bruner and Vygotsky. In symbolic play a child gradually masters the symbolic representation of the world as a self-conscious, self-initiated, self-organized and active subject by mentally modifying experiences from its reality and is therefore considered by scientists to be a forerunner of abstract thinking. Furthermore, the paper briefly presents the contribution of the theory of mind to clarifying symbolic play and its complexity already at the early stages of a child’s development. The second part deals with the pedagogical and methodological fundamentals important for the emergence and development of symbolic play in an institutional context. By emphasizing sensitivity and the importance of educator’s role in a play and in creating the conditions for its functioning one comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to study the play from a child’s perspective and to take into consideration the implications it may have on the professional development of teachers/educators, on the quality of educational practice and the development of the early childhood pedagogy.

THE RECONCEPTUALIZATION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM AND CHILDREN’S CIVIC COMPETENCES / REKONCEPTUALIZACIJA KURIKULA RANOG ODGOJA I GRAĐANSKE KOMPETENCIJE DJETETA

72 1024x768 Normal 0 21 false false false HR X-NONE X-NONE ABSTRACT The paper discusses possible improvements of the conditions relevant for developing preschoolers’ civic competences, which implies a series of qualitative changes in the structure of preschool institutions and in the organization of educational process. Encouraging the development of childrens civic competences as well as the development of a new culture of preschool learning can contribute to the implementation of humanistic curriculum in the context of early childhood education, as the authors suggest. The paper promotes the idea of preparing children for self-evaluation in their learning process, which is required for their active process (co)modelling and (co)managing, and for the recognition of their active role in the curriculum research process. This is considered a precondition for developing a new concept of institutionalised childhood, also a possible direction for reconceptualizing the early childhood curriculum. Key words: institutionalised childhood, culture of learning, childrens rights ----- SAŽETAK U radu se raspravlja o unapređivanju uvjeta za razvoj građanskih kompetencija djeteta u vrticu, sto podrazumijeva niz kvalitativnih promjena u njegovu ustroju i organizaciji odgojno-obrazovnog procesa. Ostvarivanju humanisticki orijentiranog kurikula ranog odgoja, za koji se autorice opredjeljuju, mogu pridonijeti poticanje razvoja građanskih kompetencija djece kao i razvoj nove kulture ucenja u vrticu. U radu se promovira ideja osposobljavanja djeteta za samoevaluaciju u procesu vlastitog ucenja, kao pretpostavke njegova aktivnog (su)oblikovanja i (su)upravljanja tim procesom te afirmaciju aktivne uloge djeteta u procesu istraživanja kurikula. To se smatra pretpostavkom razvoja novog koncepta institucijskog djetinjstva te mogucim putem rekonceptualizacije kurikula ranog odgoja. Kljucne rijeci: institucijsko djetinjstvo, kultura ucenja, prava djece