Óvodapedagógusok a romániai kisgyermeknevelés intézményi változásának sodrásában

Abstract

In Romania since 2022 the nursery education has been moved from the social area into the educational system, according to 100/2021 Emergency Government Decree. The effects of the changes caused by this regulation in the institutional system are wide-ranging and may affect kindergarten teachers as well. In our paper we are going to the answer on one hand, to what extent the appearance of early childhood education within the framework of educational institutions is known by kindergarten teachers; on the other hand, what kind of reception reactions to the changes brought about by the modification can we outline; and what new alternative career opportunities it reveals for the research sample. Accordingly, the aim of our research is to map the institutional structure variants outlined by the legal regulations, the examination of attitudes towards these changes and exploring the effects on career aspirations of kindergarten teachers. We start from the assumption that the changes in the law reveal alternative career paths for kindergarten teachers, which is more attractive for those with a pragmatist approach. Our second hypothesis is that the movement of early childhood education into the educational segment is ambivalently judged, as opinions are nuanced on the scale of risk association and opportunity recognition. We have used the method of document analysis, and the empirical research is based on a self-made questionnaire. Using an access sampling procedure, we included 213 Hungarian kindergarten teachers from Romania in our study. Through the investigation, we clarify the institutional alternatives of early childhood education in Romania, outline the professional framework of the early childhood education profession, and the possible alternative career paths, as well as their assessment by kindergarten teachers. Our results show that the reception reactions of the mentioned institutional changes are positive among kindergarten teachers, who emphasize also that this structural modification provides the possibility of validation of the early education curriculums integrated approach and practical application.