The Kindergartens Act (1996) (en) specifies the objectives and goals of early childhood education and care.
The Council of experts of the Republic of Slovenia for general education approved on 18 March 1999 the national Kindergarten curriculum as proposed by the National curricular commission for preschool education. Quality preschool education is the basic principle of the education programme in Slovenia. Public and private kindergartens with concession carry out their activities according to the Kindergarten curriculum. The document includes principles and guidelines for education by taking into consideration the rights and diversity of children. It outlines the implementation for day programmes, but it can be the background for the implementation of half-day programmes and a short programme, as well as activities in an education and care family. Kindergartens have to define their activities in accordance with the national curriculum in annual work plans. They can make allowances for specific local characteristics. Childminders do not have to follow the Kindergarten curriculum. Private kindergartens can apply the national curriculum or provide other programmes. In that case, they have to obtain a positive opinion for the programme by the relevant council of experts.
The Council of experts of the Republic of Slovenia for general education approved on 13 May 1999 the Programme guidelines for the kindergarten counselling service (.pdf sl). Public kindergartens have to have a counselling service. It is part of the kindergarten operations. The guidelines include basic principles and outline the framework of professional counselling in kindergartens. The basic aim of the counselling service is to provide for the optimal development of every child. Counsellors have to play a part in a complex solving of social, psychological and pedagogical issues of a kindergarten. Counsellors cooperate with all parties involved – children, education staff, leadership, parents, and other institutions.
The basic goal of preschool education is to give children what they need for their optimal development without any reference to their gender, social and cultural background, religious belief, ethnic affiliation, and physical and mental condition. Children are active participants in the process in which they explore, experiment, pursue simple activities, and in doing so gain knowledge and develop skills.
Aims of preschool education as specified by the Kindergartens Act (en):
As to content, the preschool education relates to the modern sociocultural theory of development and learning.
The curriculum is an open, flexible national document; it does not have a detailed structure. It states the principles, goals and objectives, child’s developmental characteristics, areas of activities, examples of content and activities. Certain multi-domain activities – moral development, health care, safety, traffic education, etc. – bear on all areas and on the life in a kindergarten.
The introduction to the curriculum highlights its basic principles:
The principles apply to all education and counselling staff.
Basic professional context:
In the second part of the curriculum, there is a description of the activity areas. These are common for all children from 1 to 6 years old, that is for the first age group (1 to 3 years) and the second age group (3 to 6 or until entry to school): locomotion, language, science, society, arts, and mathematics.
The curriculum does not specify the time span (hours) for individual activity area. There should be balance.
The staff has autonomy in choosing the content and methods for achieving goals. Alongside the annual work plan, kindergarten staff outlines operational goals and educational plan in which they determine the activities in more detail and by classes.
Goals and objectives in separate subject fields
Locomotion:
Language:
Arts:
Society:
Science:
Mathematics:
Alongside common goals, there are concrete goals and examples listed for every activity area. Goals are the same for both age groups. The recommended activities can be common or specific for the first and/or second age group. During the implementation, it is important to link the contents and activities, improve and amend them as circumstances demand.
Every activity area includes a description of the role the adult plays. Special attention is on the social learning and speech development for the entire time spent in a kindergarten. That is during planned as well as routine and transitional activities and playing. Kindergartens set up permanent and temporary corners for children to enjoy their privacy, individuality on one side and hang out with peers on the other.
The curriculum makes provision for activities to enrich the programme. Kindergartens implement them sporadically, for a longer or shorter time (depending on the activity, interest of children and wishes of parents). Certain activities are organised by kindergarten staff alone, others together with outside institutions. It involves, for example, visits to shows, libraries, museums, and interest activities (choirs, music, dance, fine arts, sports…), projects, visits to farms, ski courses. Activities to enrich the programme are free for parents or parents cover smaller portion of expenses, sometimes, they pay in full.
If parents so wish, kindergartens can provide supplementary activities, for example learning of foreign languages, dance classes, and so forth. These activities take place after the regular programme for all has ended. Parents pay in full for this kind of activities.
The kindergartens define activities to enrich the process or supplementary activities in the scope of their annual work plan.
The curriculum highlights the significance of the hidden curriculum. The hidden curriculum has several elements of educational influencing a child not elsewhere defined. Often, in the form of direct education, they are more effective than the indirect educational activities of the curriculum.
The kindergarten education staff plan and implement educational activities during meals and rest, for example health education (balanced meals, good dietary habits, personal hygiene and tidiness), education in preserving clean and healthy nature (environment), and so forth.
The kindergarten counselling staff has autonomy and professional responsibility to choose among different methods and approaches to deal with preschool children, namely according to the underlying principles and professional context. They organise life and work in a kindergarten flexibly, and choose freely among various content and activities. This is defined to a certain degree with the annual work plan, and in more detail in the scope of operative educational plans that the preschool teacher and preschool teacher assistant develop for their class.
The Kindergarten curriculum (en) includes only general instruction on how to conduct activities in different areas (examples). The document does not prescribe the structure, timespan and organisation of and in rooms. The emphasis is on making allowances for the characteristics of the child’s development and learning during the activity in the class. The education staff plan the routine activities (eating, rest, etc.) by respecting the differences among children (gender, social and cultural background, beliefs, special needs. They consider and respect the child’s particularities and their right of choice.
The focus is on social learning (relationships among children, as well as between children and adults), good communication, and flexible, safe and inspiring environment. The instructions on how to arrange and use the room, as well as participation with parents, are provided, too.
Adults and children prompt the dynamics and the flow of individual activities and (small) group activities. There is also project learning combined with the experience of children.
The (free) play of children it is also very important. This activity combines basic principles of preschool education in the most natural way. If playing is defined broadly enough to surpass its integration into the so-called academic or development approach, it is a way for a child to develop and learn in the early period of activity.
There are no rules regulating the guidebooks, didactical material, and learning-educational aids for activities in kindergartens. Kindergartens purchase didactical and learning material, books, and aids of their own choosing. Education staff have various guidebooks on hand for all activity areas, in which the individual phases of educational activities are broken down in more methodical and didactical detail: planning, education, assessment, and evaluation. The use of the didactical material and teaching-learning aids is free in kindergartens.
In a class, children have different toys, books, and other material (paper sheets, crayons, etc.) available at all times. There are no rules regulating the learning aids. However, there is the toys’ safety decree (sl) by the Minister responsible for health specifying the safety of toys.
The Kindergarten curriculum (en) promotes the development-process approach. That means that education staff plan, implement and evaluate the quality learning process. It considers the characteristics and developmental progress of the individual child, because the process of learning is more important than individual outcomes.
The Kindergarten curriculum does not define knowledge and skills for children to master on a specific level of development. The education staff does not assess the child’s achievements. By the curriculum’s principles of critical assessment, development and in process based approach, as well as active learning, preschool teachers observe the development and learning of an individual child. Based on the information from the observation, they plan and realise objectives, implement activities, educational process, and individualisation. The observation is thus the most common method of monitoring the development and learning. The education staff talks to, motivates, explains, clarifies, and helps the children. They provide oral information to parents about the progress and/or eventual problems of their children. Kindergartens define different ways to record the observation (protocols, portfolios of children, etc.). Kindergarten keep personal records only for children with special needs and for children in need of counselling and support.
The child’s preparedness for school can be determined if so required by parents. It is compulsory to determine the preparedness of children for whom parents or health service recommend suspension of schooling.
The education system promotes cooperation between kindergartens and basic schools (single structure of primary and lower secondary education). The cooperation has reference in different legislative and/or systemic, steering and curricular documents in education.
The national Kindergarten curriculum (en) highlights the importance of cooperation and interaction. The principle of vertical interaction and continuity emphasises the significance of maintaining relationship between kindergartens and basic schools. The kindergartens cannot allow the schooling approach to overshadow the curriculum. They have to maintain their fundamental role and continue the team planning and implementation of preschool education. They have to support the continuous professional development with a focus on cooperation of kindergartens with other educational and professional or different institutions, as well.
The transition from a kindergarten to a basic school is in the domain of the counselling services in a kindergarten and a basic school, as well (Programme guidelines for a counselling servica in a kindergarten .pdf, sl). Public kindergartens have to provide a counselling service. The counsellors who all have pedagogical qualification participate in planning, setting up and maintaining proper surrounding for a safe and supportive learning environment in which the children can progress best. They support and help all involved in the educational process during transition: children, students, parents, teachers, and leaders.
The Kindergarten curriculum and school subject-curricula are harmonised to a point. They are the product of the same curricular reform (1996–1999). One of the principles of the reform was the principle of harmonisation of education programmes and subject-curricula, their vertical and horizontal alignment. The areas of curriculum activities are harmonised with the basic education programmes, in particular, for the first three grades.
Kindergartens and school determine the forms of cooperation in their annual work plans. There are several options of cooperation.
At the level of a kindergarten:
At the level of a school:
By law, children start school in the calendar year in which they will turn six years. (Basic School Act, en).
The entry to school is an important aspect of the transition (deferred or early entry to school, and establishing preparedness for school, as well).
On the recommendation by parents or physician, it is possible to defer the entry to school for a year. The preparedness for school is a criterion. It is examined and determined by the relevant commission. The commission is appointed by the head teacher. It includes a physician, a school counsellor, and a teacher. It issues a recommendation; the head teacher reaches the final decision on deferring the entry to school.
A child can enrol in school one year sooner. The law does not specify the procedure of early entry. Schools enrol children on the recommendation by parents.