Social Environment and the Quality of Social Interactions: The Perspective of Future Preschool Teachers

Abstract

Initial education of future preschool teachers is discussed in the context of them being researchers of their own educational practice, who, on a daily basis, think about and discuss their work. Even at the university level, students should be encouraged to develop competencies that will help them build their professional knowledge in interaction with other students. We will present the results of research on practical exercises for students as part of the course Integrated Curriculum of Early and Preschool Education within university undergraduate study Early and Preschool Education. The purpose of this research is to carry out an analysis of the frequency of situations from the social an environment that influences the quality and direction of children’s interactions. The instrument for data collection consisted of video recordings of children’s and students’ activities. The total material consisted of 660 video recordings, and 174 reflections and self-reflections of students. After their analysis, we designed a written protocol (a posteriori), which formed the basis of the content analysis. The research results show that, during their initial education, students perform exercises in kindergarten as a form of reflexive practice, and in that way they develop the skills of reflexive practitioners who continuously evaluate the effects of their own achievements.