Page 332 - Pedagoška vizija / A Pedagogical Vision

Blaž Klasinc and Mojca Žefran

tegration of immigrant children into their new environment. There is also
a lack of awareness of the importance of overcoming one’s own stereo-
types and prejudices and a lack of sufficient intercultural teacher training’
(Interviewee 6). Based on the findings of our study, pre-service preschool
teachers recognise the importance of multilingual and multicultural edu-
cation in kindergartens and emphasise the crucial role of the teacher in
its implementation. This is also argued by Rutar (2014) and Knaflič (2016),
who stress that such education is necessary in order to ensure positive out-
comes of early childhood education as well as mutual recognition and devel-
opment of children’s cultural identities and encourage intercultural accep-
tance and respect. Moreover, Knaflič (2016) discusses the issue of teacher’s
beliefs and competencies and their impact on teachers’ educational prac-
tices, highlighting that in the absence of professional training, teachers
may rely on their personal beliefs, past experience and spontaneous deci-
sions, which could potentially lead to unintended errors in their teaching
practices.

Slovenian Pre-Service Preschool Teachers’ Perceptions of their Own
Competencies for Successful Integration of Multilingual
and Multicultural Content in their Work
According to our study, there were mixed responses in terms of the respon-
dents’ perceptions of their competencies for successfully integrating multi-
lingual and multicultural content in their work. Ten participants evaluated
their competencies as relatively good, commenting that they mostly ac-
quired them by exchanging good practices with other colleagues, through
self-study, or in their student years at university. Several participants ex-
pressed confidence in their theoretical knowledge but acknowledged a
need for practical guidance, citing a lack of suitable training programmes.
On the other hand, six participants felt their competencies were insufficient,
attributing this to either limited experience or the scarcity of appropriate
training opportunities. Additionally, two respondents perceive their lack of
competencies as strongly connected to their (insufficient) knowledge of for-
eign languages. The results reveal the necessity for preschool teachers to
gain appropriate competencies for effectively implementing multilingual
and multicultural practices in kindergartens, a perspective echoed by several
Slovenian authors (Rutar 2014; Knaflič 2016; Licardo and Agić 2022; Žefran et
al.2024).Furthermore,Žefranetal. (2024) highlightthe lack,and advocate for
the creation, of teacher training programmes aimed at enhancing teachers’
multilingual and multicultural competencies.

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