Kindergarten as a Protective Factor in the Development of Preschool Children from Risk Groups: Perception of Preschool Teachers’ Capacities

The study included 161 preschool teachers from different kindergartens in PrimorjeGorski Kotar County. The Scale for assessing the risk conditions for children and capacity of kindergartens to work with families at risk was applied. It consists of two subscales that measure the level of risk conditions and preschool teachers’ competences to work with children from risk groups (children: with disabilities, members of the Roma minority, safeguarded by the Social Services, the ones who come from families which provide a low level of stimulation, from families with chronically ill member(s), with divorced/divorcing parents, and whose mother suffers from depression). The higher levels of risk of particular conditions of preschool children and expected difficulties in their development were determined. Preschool teachers evaluated that they have moderate possibilities for work with children from families at risk, and estimated there is a higher level of benefit that children can have from being in kindergarten. The significant positive correlations between the levels of risk, the expected difficulties and the benefit that children could have from being in kindergarten, but only for some of the explored types of risk, were determined. The contribution of this study lies in the significant implications for improving educational practices in the direction of articulating the needs for further education of preschool teachers in the context of different developmental risk.