Health Education within the Curricula of Preschool Teacher Education: Comparative Pedagogical Study among Slovenian Universities

Савремено предшколско васпитање и образовање – тенденције, изазови и могућности (2023) (217-234)

АУТОР(И) / AUTHOR(S): Joca Zurc

Е-АДРЕСА / E-MAIL: joca.zurc@um.si

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DOI: 10.46793/SPVO23.217Z

САЖЕТАК / ABSTRACT:

A healthy lifestyle, especially regular physical activity, has been shown to be a significant predictor of a childʼs health and academic success throughout the lifespan. The early years of childhood are crucial in developing a healthy lifestyle. Positive effects can be achieved with planned and organized health education in kindergartens as one of the central communities that reach most preschool children and their families. In this paper, we studied health education from the perspective of the curricula of preschool teacher education. A comparative pedagogical study was designed to investigate the characteristics of health education in the university curricula of prospective preschool teachers in Slovenia. The findings showed that students encounter health education to a greater extent during their undergraduate studies. Physical activity seems to be the most prevalent among the topics. However, future studies are needed to fully evaluate the role and potential of health education in the curricula of preschool teachers.

КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ / KEYWORDS:

health education, health pedagogy, preschool education, Slovenian universities.

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