Preschool Education and Kindergarten Teacher Training in Bulgaria and Slovakia

  • Rozalina Engels-Kritidis Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"
  • Miriam Valášková Comenius University in Bratislava Faculty of Education Department of Preprimary and Primary Education
  • Róbert Osaďan Comenius University in Bratislava Faculty of Education Department of Preprimary and Primary Education
DOI: https://doi.org/10.35765/mjse.2017.0612.03
Keywords: preschool education, modern theoretical framework of Bulgarian preschool education, significant reforms in Slovakia, Bulgarian State educational requirements/standards, Bulgarian educational preschool program systems, Slovak State educational program (ISCED 0), kindergarten teachers’ initial and in-service training

Abstract

While reviewing the modern theoretical framework of Bulgarian preschool education and some significant reforms in preschool  education  in Slovakia,  the  current  paper  presents  the  contemporary   situation   of preschool education in Bulgaria and Slovakia and considers  some  converging points  between  them,  but  some  differences  as  well.  Since  having   a university education for future kindergarten teachers is  influencing  their future  pedagogical  interaction  with  children,   the   university   level preparation of future kindergarten teachers is also detailed.

Author Biographies

Rozalina Engels-Kritidis, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"
Graduated from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” in  BA  in  preschool pedagogy with minor in history; BA in Bulgarian Philology; MA  in  Mass  and Arts Communication pedagogy
Assoc.  Prof.  Dr.  Rozalina  Engels-Kritidis  is  a   lecturer   at   Sofia University, leading academic courses on  two  main  disciplines:  Basis  and theory  of  preschool  education,  and  Language  acquisition   and   speech development in early years. She is one  of  the  authors  of  the  preschool educational programme system “Friends” (2009),  approved  by  the  Bulgarian
Ministry of Education and Science. She has been  a  visiting  scholar  at  a number of universities and institutions across Europe, including  University of Cambridge, Athens Kapodistrian University, University of Patras,  Central European  University   in   Budapest,   Catholic   University   of   Leuven, Municipality of Sundsvall in Sweden, Comenius University in Bratislava,  and
German Youth Institute in Munich. She is the author  of  more  than  seventy publications in both  Bulgarian  and  English  languages,  as  well  as  the following three books: “Intercultural Educational  Program  for  Preparatory Classes in  Bulgarian  Sunday  Schools  in  Greece”  (2013),  “Proverbs  and Sayings in  the  Educational  Interaction  with  Bulgarian  Children  Living
Abroad” (2013), and “The  Child  in  the  Allegory  World  of Proverbs  and Sayings” (2012).

Miriam Valášková, Comenius University in Bratislava Faculty of Education Department of Preprimary and Primary Education
Professional specialization: early literacy and its development in the kindergarten, development of reading and writing in primary school, general didactics.
Róbert Osaďan, Comenius University in Bratislava Faculty of Education Department of Preprimary and Primary Education
Assistant Professor at the Comenius University in Bratislava (Faculty of Education). Graduate of the Comenius University, Master’s degree in education and history and PhD in Cultural Anthropology; teaching gender studies in education, sociology of childhood, history of education, sociocultural differences.

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Published
2017-12-30
How to Cite
Engels-Kritidis, R., Valášková, M., & Osaďan, R. (2017). Preschool Education and Kindergarten Teacher Training in Bulgaria and Slovakia. Multidisciplinary Journal of School Education, 6(2 (12). https://doi.org/10.35765/mjse.2017.0612.03
Issue
Vol. 6 No. 2 (12) (2017): The Synergy of Educational Environments
Section
Thematic Articles

Copyright (c) 2017 Rozalina Engels-Kritidis, Miriam Valášková, Róbert Osaďan

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