PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES OF PRESCHOOL TEACHERS AND PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE PROCESSES OF FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION OF CHILDREN AND STUDENTS

Abstract

While adoption is a special form of family and legal care and protection of the child, foster care is considered the first and best temporary form of care. A normative basis is important for the successful implementation of applications for foster care and adoption. In addition, preschool teachers and primary school teachers should be educated about ways of involvement in foster care and adoption, as well as about their rights related to the promotion of these processes. The aim of this qualitative research was to examine the situation in the curricula (syllabuses) of preschool teacher education courses related to the foster care and adoption of children and students (N = 887) and to determine whether there is a normative framework or normative basis (N = 7 documents) that indicates the necessary professional competencies of preschool teachers and primary school teachers in the educational process with children excluded from their families of birth. This paper analyses the processes of foster care and adoption of children, providing insight into the rights and obligations of users, foster parents, and adoptive parents, as well as the rights and obligations of preschool teachers and primary school teachers in these processes. The problem addressed in this paper is the insufficiently defined professional competencies of preschool teachers and primary school teachers in the normative framework of education. Based on the research, the recommendations are that future preschool teachers and primary school teachers should be prepared to work with adopted and foster children and their families. Specific guidelines should also be adopted for preschool teachers in early childhood education and for teachers in primary schools, clearly describing their tasks and roles, and a programme should be prepared for the acquisition of competencies and cooperation between preschool and primary school teachers in cases of foster care and adoption, for the benefit of foster children and foster parents, adoptive families, and the well-being of children and students.