PRESCHOOL EDUCATION CURRICULUM OF THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA AS A MODERN MULTIFUNCTIONAL CURRICULUM

Abstract

The reform of the elementary school and entering six-year old children into first class imposed a need for creation of a “firm” program of a preschool upbringing and education. This paper presents first national program of preschool upbringing and education of Republika Srpska as a modern multifunctional curriculum. Besides a review on the situation in preschool education in past two decades in this area, the author states essential elements of contemporary preschool curricula (direction of planning on learning goals, their hierarchy and control of their fulfillment). Structure and content of the Program has been described in the paper, in order to emphasize its main characteristics and qualities: child in the center of activities, direction of aims toward development aspects (physical development; socio-emotional and personality development; intellectual development; development of speech, communication and creativity), goals concreted through the network of outcomes, partner relationships teacher – child – parent; small group work, in learning centers. The program led to final distancing from teaching and academic contents of learning, which opened completely new space for teachers’ work, putting children needs and interests in the first place and creating the kindergarten to match the child. Based on the various classifications of preschool curricula, the Program can be defined as an open cognitive-developmental program with humanistic meta-orientation, which partially corresponds to process – model curriculum. The author’s goal was to point to the importance of the application of this program in preschool institutions, which finally enabled preschool education, along with the Law on preschool upbringing and education, to become the first link in the united upbringing and educational system of the Republika Srpska.