The perspective of pre-school teachers and parents on the development of initiative, cooperation and creativity at preschool age

Abstract

The starting point of the paper is a conceptual model which unites the concepts of initiative, cooperation and creativity (the ICC model) in the context of the post-modern visions of the desirable changes in educational practice at preschool institutions. Considering the immediate relevance of the opinion of preschool teachers and parents for the affirmation and support of the changes in educational practice, we examined their beliefs and assessments of the meaning, significance and possible personal contribution to the development of initiative, readiness for cooperation and creative behaviour in children. Preschool teachers (N=86) and parents (N=108) of the children who attend the preschool facilities of Belgrade municipality filled in the questionnaire containing open-ended and close-ended questions. The obtained data were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Research results indicate that preschool teachers and parents hold the widely accepted traditional notions of indicative aspects of initiative, cooperation and creativity. Preschool teachers ascribe the greatest developmental significance to the development of cooperation among children, which is assessed as a field in which they can provide the greatest personal contribution. This is an important difference compared to parents, who ascribe greater developmental significance to developing initiative in children. A slightly larger number of parents than preschool teachers assessed as significant the balanced development and support to initiative, readiness for cooperation and creative behaviour. The concluding part of the paper discusses the implications of the match/mismatch between the conceptualisations of the ICC model and the beliefs of preschool teachers and parents, as well as the potential of the ICC model to enhance the quality of practice in preschool education.