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Parents' views on the children's free time in the primary first cycle
Full text linkCompared to the past, parents are today increasingly actively involved in the lives of their children. They guide their education closely, plan school clubs, extracurricular activities and often even their free time. Free time can be defined in a variety of ways; usually this is the time remaining after obligations. While some authors also include leisure activities and optional activities of the individual in their free time, others exclude them in their definitions. Free time has an important role in the development of children, especially unsupervised free time and outdoor game play. It has a positive impact on physical activity, the development of motor skills, cognitive development, the child’s sense of identity, awareness in space, independence, confidence, responsibility and autonomy. Nevertheless, we notice at work at school a decrease in time children are spending outside without the supervision of adults and a reduction of children’s independent mobility. In this manner, the views of parents on the independent outdoor play of children and their experiencing of factors, which positively or negatively influence the level of trust in the safety of children during times without supervision (traffic, home surroundings, lifestyle, contact with people, maturity, independence, desires and interests of children etc.), have a fundamental role. Independent mobility of children of the first educational period and their free outdoor play from the view of parents are the subject of the research work in this thesis. In the performed research participated 135 parents of children of the first educational period, who attend primary school in the suburbs od Ljubljana. The data was collected during the Covid-19 epidemic with an online questionnaire. We analysed the definitions of free time, the presence of adults in outside play, factors, which influence the judgement of parents about the place and quantity of time they allow children to be unsupervised, and their worries in doing so. We analysed how and why children commute to/from school and extracurricular activities. We then quantitatively and qualitatively analysed the collected data and found that parents quiet differently define the free time of children. They mostly connect it with play and less often with time spent outside. The majority of children have at least three hours of free time daily, on average, they spend 2.22 hours outside. The educational view also plays an important role in the selection of the child’s activities. An adult is often or occasionally present during the child’s outside free time and in case an adult is not present, parents are relatively little worried. We found that more frequent presence of an adult is correlated with a lower age of children and lower number of people, known to parents in the surroundings. The average age of children at which the questioned parents allow them to spend unsupervised time outside is 7.5 years. More than half of the children are allowed to be alone outside for up to an hour, the majority is spatially limited to the home street. In this manner, the most important factors for parents are the child’s familiarity with the surrounding, playing in a quiet traffic area and trust in the reactions of people in the surroundings in case of problems. The level of trust in the reactions of others is high and correlated with the number of people, known to parents in the surroundings. Most children of the questioned parents use passive means of transportation to come to school and go home. The percentage of active types of motion is the highest on leaving school. The results of the research can contribute to a better understanding of free time of children, trust and worries of parents, linked to free play or the children’s outdoor mobility without adult supervision
Fourth graders personal health and hygiene perceptions
Full text linkHuman health is highly valued personal and social value amongst people as it affects all aspects of our lives. In addition to family, schools also have fundamental influence on health education and related behaviors. That is why learning goals related to personal health and hygiene are integrated into the curricula of various subjects in Slovenian primary schools. The latter is complemented by non-formal education in the form of preventive health care, taken care by NIJZ, which implements the Health Education program. The importance of health and related information is encountered by children outside and inside educational institutions first in the pre-school period, and later in primary schools. In that time they form individual health related conceptions, some of which are also wrong (misconceptions). By educating and actively involving students in the construction of their knowledge, we can improve students' perceptions of personal health and hygiene.
The aim of the research was to find out what perceptions students in the fourth grade of Slovenian primary schools have about personal health and hygiene and whether they are influenced by factors such as gender, teachers’ confidence in teaching science and teachers' competence to teach about human health.
The research was based on selected tasks solved by fourth grade primary school students from all over Slovenia who participated in the International Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2015. We analyzed the answers of 1879 Slovenian fourth graders. Part of the research was also based on the answers of 251 teachers who filled in the TIMSS questionnaire for teachers within the TIMSS 2015 survey.
Research has shown that students mostly have correct notions about personal health and hygiene. These are mainly related to data or knowledge with which students have personal experiences with and/or often and continuously appear in formal and non-formal forms of education. Incomplete perceptions or misconceptions occur mainly in connection with the transmission of infectious diseases and the importance of fluid intake in our body. The latter are mainly related to facts that are more abstract and difficult for students to imagine and/or have no concrete experience with – e.g. how the transmission of diseases by microbes occurs, the consequence of poor skin care is skin cancer, why is it important to get enough fluid into our body etc.
The study also found links between gender and students’ responses. We found out that girls had slightly more correct perceptions of health and hygiene than boys. The connection between teachers' confidence in teaching science and students' answers was found in only two answers, but due to the uneven distribution of the sample of teachers, no connection was found between teachers' competence to teach health and hygiene and students' answers
The application of specific principles of the behavioural approach and visual supports to introduce augmentative and alternative communication for preschool children with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities
Full text linkIn this Master's thesis, we have used the professional literature to introduce autism spectrum disorders (hereafter AM) and intellectual disabilities (hereafter MDR). We have focused on pre-school children because of the importance of early treatment. Children with these two disorders, which are hereafter abbreviated AM and/or MDR, because of their frequent co-occurrence, have significant developmental delays in verbal and non-verbal communication. As a result, they express their desires and needs through various forms of undesired behaviour, which can be very stressful for both, the child and those around him/her. Undesired behaviour is often challenging for professional workers, so we wanted to explore the causes and ways to help transform behaviour. First and foremost, we need to be aware that this is their way of communicating. In the following theoretical part, we have presented the undesirable behaviour of children with AM and/or MDR in a structured way. If we want to change them, we first need to understand them well. In addition, we also need to know the approaches that can help us change communication patterns into more functional and socially acceptable ones. Below we list common approaches to unwanted behaviour modification. When a child does not develop speech in the expected way, we can help with forms of augmentative and alternative communication (hereafter PINK), which include Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). The latter consists of the principles of the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) approach and the principles of visual supports. In the research part of the thesis, we tested the knowledge and use of the principles of the behavioural approach and visual supports for the introduction of augmentative and alternative communication. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire. The survey included professional workers employed in the development departments of kindergartens across Slovenia, where children with AM and/or MDR are most often enrolled. The questionnaire was answered by 85 respondents, the majority of whom were special education teachers and defectologists (68.2 %). First, we wanted to know which undesirable behaviours are most frequently noticed in children with AM and/or MDR. Passive and stereotypical behaviours were most commonly reported by professional workers. We then explored what approaches they use to modify the undesirable behaviours associated with deficits in social communication and interaction. The results showed that the PECS model is used by 88.0 % of the respondents. The main part of the questionnaire was about the knowledge and use of the principles of the behavioural approach and the visual supports for the introduction of PINK. The results showed that positive reinforcement is known and frequently used in practice by all respondents. This principle is one of the most effective and widely studied principles of the behavioural approach. The results also showed that all respondents are familiar with pictorial instructions and choice restrictions. However, when it comes to applying the principles, most of the persons interviewed chose the schedule of activities. It was established that it is also frequently used in practice by professional workers. The principle is part of the visual supports that provides a structure for children
Correlation between dadaism and children’s drawing
Full text linkThe purpose of the thesis is to understand the creative process offered by Dadaism in connection with children's drawing. The theoretical part contains the described developments of the movements Dadaism and Neo-Dadaism, which were formed in the 20th century. The second part of the theory deals with the research of the developmental stages of artistic expression. I presented and explained the parallels between the principles of children's drawing and the principles of Dadaism.
I analyzed and presented individual works of art and approaches used by the Slovenian painter Arjan Pregl, who is currently at the peak of his work. His principles helped me and the compass in creating my own paintings, which I created in order to support my predictions, which are tied to the common points of Dadaism and children's drawings.
I was interested in how I can change the spontaneity and nonsense in a painting (either children's or study) in a way that gives the artwork a multifaceted meaning. I will explore how the principle described above was achieved by the Dadaists and how I can achieve this today
Attitudes and behaviours of primary school teachers in relation to a healthy lifestyle
Full text linkEach person has a distinctive way of living or what we call a lifestyle. A lifestyle encompasses a group of distinct behaviours that occur consistently over a period of time. A person's lifestyle can include both health-promoting and health-damaging behaviours. It, therefore, has a significant impact on health and quality of life. This master thesis aimed to determine how healthy teachers' lifestyles were and their attitudes towards healthy lifestyles. The data was obtained using an online questionnaire. The survey included 217 primary school teachers, 87 of whom did not teach healthy lifestyle topics and 130 who did. The survey results showed that the majority of teachers did not meet healthy lifestyle criteria. We found that teachers did not follow the recommended amount of daily meals and did not consume enough fruits and vegetables and recommended foods such as fish and dairy products. Teachers very rarely consumed discouraged foods and beverages. We observed that teachers were not physically active enough, experienced stress often, and spent a lot of time on electronic devices. Teachers were aware that some of their health-related behaviours were inappropriate and that they needed to make lifestyle changes. They were also aware of the impact of lifestyle factors (e.g., a healthy diet) on health. We observed that teachers who taught healthy lifestyle topics attributed a much more significant impact on health to healthy lifestyle factors than teachers who did not. The results suggest that teachers who taught healthy lifestyle topics lived healthier lives and met healthy lifestyle recommendations to a much greater extent. According to the findings of the study, teachers should be encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles, and healthy lifestyle topics should be included in teacher education programmes. Teachers with the required knowledge can contribute to and promote the development of healthy lifestyles in their students by their example
Teaching the concepts of water, pouring, forces and motion outdoors in the science and technology subject in the fourth grade
Full text linkIn planning their lessons, all teachers have a considerable measure of autonomy. Although there are countless ways in which lessons can be delivered, the predominant teaching approaches are still individual teaching and teacher-centred delivery, which is often referred to as traditional instruction. While decades ago we may still have been able to develop life skills through such instruction, today that is no longer the case. Nowadays, what is valued are ideas, concepts, different abilities and skills, and alternative, divergent ways of thinking. Achieving these objectives, however, also requires a comprehensive learning approach. One possible approach is outdoor learning, which encourages learners to actively engage, experiment and interact with materials in a hands-on experience, as well as collaborative learning in groups.
The research for this Master's thesis aimed to provide an experiential and participatory learning experience for pupils in a selected class, using equipment and resources in the school environment. Our main focus was to identify the misconceptions that learners in our selected class had about water, flow, forces and motion. Another question we sought to answer was how popular the subjects of science and technology and physical education were among the learners, as well as how fond they were of outdoor learning. After the lessons, we investigated the progress in individual learners' knowledge and whether the progress remained consistent a month following the lessons. We also investigated whether there were differences in background knowledge, knowledge progression and long-term retention between the different groups of learners, which were formed based on gender, learners' attitude towards the subjects of science and technology and physical education, as well as the attitudes towards outdoor learning among the learners in the selected class. The information obtained through interviews with individual students was also used to gain a better insight into their attitudes towards the subjects of science and technology and physical education and outdoor learning, while also exploring their study habits and their perceptions of their own knowledge.
In the school year 2021/22, 23 selected 4th grade pupils were given the opportunity to experience outdoor learning. All the sessions were held outdoors in the school surroundings. In each session, the work was organised in groups, with each individual having a specific task. The first session was devoted to the exploration of forces and motion, the second to water and the third to flow. Before starting the sessions, learners took a preliminary test to assess their knowledge. The learners took post-tests after each session and a month following the sessions. The g-factor was used to assess the progress and sustainability of their knowledge. Three learners were further interviewed to gain an in-depth insight into their attitudes towards the subjects, teaching formats and approaches, and outdoor learning. All other learners also completed questionnaires assessing their own attitudes towards outdoor education, movement or PE and science and technology. Based on their answers, the learners were divided into groups. The results of the learners in the different groups were then compared to see if there were differences between the learners in terms of their background knowledge, their knowledge progression, and their ability to retain information more efficiently.
The findings of the master's thesis show that pupils enjoy outdoor learning. They feel better after the session, and believe that such a method of delivery results in better and more lasting retention. Similarly, the g-factor calculations also show that learners' knowledge progression, regardless of their gender or their attitude towards the subjects of physical education and science and technology or outdoor learning, is average to high. A month after the sessions, they do tend to be regressing in their knowledge, but the knowledge progression remains average in relation to their background knowledge. Analysis of the responses to the questions reveals that most learners successfully rectified their misconceptions, thus confirming that outdoor learning is an effective learning approach to do so.
In the present master's thesis, the benefits of outdoor education are demonstrated and supported by research results. Concrete lesson plans and other options for outdoor learning are described. They provide other teachers with an example of how they can independently plan and deliver outdoor lessons that are not necessarily linked to the content of the content being taught. For homeroom teachers and other educational practitioners, the research findings provide insights into learners' responses, their knowledge progression, and how misconceptions about water, flow, forces and motion can be transformed when taught in outdoor settings
Development and stimulation of child’s story-telling ability with KBG sindrom
Full text linkKBG syndrome is a rare genetic disorder affecting several organ systems. It was first described by J. Herrmann in 1975. The mutation is located in the ANKRD11 gene and follows an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. Typical symptoms include unusual facial features and skeletal abnormalities. These symptoms are present from birth, but may be overlooked until the onset of a general developmental delay. Most patients with KBG syndrome exhibit mild intellectual disability. Other common comorbidities include emotional and social difficulties, autism spectrum disorders, and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. The number of patients with a KBG syndrome diagnosis worldwide is extremely small, which is why there have been, to my knowledge, no studies dedicated exclusively to their speech and language development. The child with KBG syndrome who I provided with a year-long speech therapy treatment also had mild intellectual disability, which is why his storytelling scores were compared to those of children with the same intellectual disability, as well as to the expected scores for younger and same-age typical development groups. Language acquisition in children with intellectual disabilities is slower compared to typically developing children. Lexical development is impaired by a variety of factors – intellectual deficits affecting the ability to categorize objects and make generalizations, a short attention span, low memory functions and problems with recall, fewer strategies for word learning, and a less developed vocabulary. Their communicative skills are likewise less developed. The deficits manifest themselves in production, reception, and expression alike. Storytelling provides an insight into the linguistic, cognitive, and social development of a child. The activity requires an integration of all three abilities. Studies of children with intellectual disability have found that their storytelling ability levels in terms of sentence length, morphological and lexical variety, and the use of narrative devices is on a par with their mental age. However, they perform worse when it comes to the use of linguistic cohesion markers, recognizing the emotional state of characters, and appropriate use of reference. The initial goal of our sessions was to establish what the story-telling ability level of the child with KBG syndrome was. This served as the basis for a detailed work plan, with the aim of developing the storytelling ability further. At the beginning and the end of the treatment an assessment was made by means of two standardized tests – Preizkus pripovedovanja zgodbe: Žabji kralj1 and Splošni govorni preizkus: pisno sporočanje2. Improvements to the cohesion and coherence levels were tracked by means of an analysis of the child’s retelling of a story after listening to it being read from a picture book, his independent storytelling based on picture prompts, and his self-description. The child with KBG syndrome and mild intellectual disability achieved significant progress in language development during the course of the speech therapy sessions. At the start of the therapy the child was 9 years and 2 months old and his speech and language competence matched that of typically developing 4 to 6 year olds. At the end of the sessions the child was 10 years and 2 months and achieved the level of competence equivalent to that of typically developing 8 to 9 year olds. Major progress was observed in the area of coherence and minor progress in the area of cohesiveness
Sexual life of the persons in care in the Hrastovec Social Protection Institution
Full text linkThe master thesis deals with sexuality of the people who live in institutional care, especially in the Hrastovec Social Protection Institution. In the theoretical section, we introduce social protection institution as a form of institutional care system, more specifically the Hrastovec Social Protection Institution. We also introduce a total institution according to Goffman and sexuality inside of institutional care system. In the empirical part of the master thesis, we used qualitative empirical research in which we conducted six interviews with people living in the Hrastovec Social Protection Institution. We researched experiences about their sexuality in general and also their sexuality inside the institution. Furthermore, we researched their needs in the field of sexuality and their experiences so far. In the second part of the empirical part of the master thesis we researched what kind of restrictions, house rules and limits do the people living in the Hrastovec Social Protection Institution need to follow and how these restrictions, rules and limits restrict their sexual life. The results of the research show that the sexuality in the Hrastovec Social Protection Institution is quite overlooked. Participants in the survey rate their sexual life in institution as inactive. They also warn about spatial conditions that complicate their sexual life because they do not enable them privacy
Monitoring the pupils reading with the aid of the therapy dog
Full text linkReading is important for children's development and performance at school and in life, as it strengthens their attention and concentration and expands their horizons. We start reading when we are young, so it is important to familiarize children with reading by reading them fairy tales. In that way, they might gain interest to continue reading and learning independently at a later stage. Fairy tales open up a world of imagination and play. They also help children learn about the real life, problems and ways to deal with these problems. In that way, children learn about different cultures and values. Reading thus affects their comprehensive development. This master's thesis presents children’s reading with the assistance of a therapy dog. In particular, we wanted to determine how children read in the presence of a therapy dog, what the role of its presence is for children and whether motivation for reading changes through different reading sessions. We conducted a research with a Slovene association for animal-assisted therapy, Smile Ambassadors (sl. Ambasadorji nasmeha), and monitored third-graders' motivation for reading during sessions. Before and after sessions, a pretest and posttest were conducted to monitor the progress of motivation. Once the sessions were over, we also surveyed the children's parents to obtain their feedback regarding the sessions. In the research, qualitative and quantitative research methods were used (surveys, monitoring, observation scheme). The acquired data were continuously recorded and suitably analysed. According to the analysis, children's motivation for reading as well as their interest in reading increased. It is also evident that parents gave positive feedback about reading in the presence of a therapy dog, so they recommend this approach to others. The results of this master's thesis provide an insight into how children actually read in the presence of a therapy dog. It also encourages teachers to introduce this approach in their teaching, as it is something new, positive and exciting, while at the same time providing incentive and possibly increasing children's motivation for reading
Odpadanje listov
Full text linkJesen je čas, ko listopadnim listavcem začnejo
odpadati listi. Listi odpadajo, da rastlina v zimskem
času ne bi izgubila preveč vode in se izsušila. Voda v
tleh je namreč v zimskem času v trdnem agregatnem
stanju in tako za rastlino nedostopna