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Child gender has been proved to affect toddlers’/children’s language development in several studies, but its effect was not found to be stable across different ages or various aspects of language ability. The effect of gender on toddler’s, children’s and adolescents’ language ability was examined in the present meta-analysis of ten Slovenian studies (nine cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study). The ten studies were published between 2004 and 2016 and included a total of 3,657 toddlers, children and adolescents, aged from 8 months to 15 years. The language outcome measures refer to different aspects of language ability, including vocabulary, mean length of utterance, sentence complexity, language expression and comprehension, storytelling ability and metalinguistic awareness. Across the studies, language ability was assessed using different approaches and instruments, most of which were standardised on samples of Slovenianspeaking children. Based on the reported arithmetic means and standard deviations, the effect sizes of gender for each of the included studies were calculated, as well as the average effect size of gender across the different studies. The findings of the meta-analysis showed that the effect size of gender on toddlers’/children’s/adolescents’ language largely depended on their age and the aspect of language measured. The effect sizes increased with children’s increasing age. All significant effects proved to be in favour of girls. The findings were interpreted in relation to the characteristics of language development and social cultural factors that can contribute to gender differences in language ability. (DIPF/Orig.)

Child gender has been proved to affect toddlers'/children's language development in several studies, but its effect was not found to be stable across different ages or various aspects of language ability. The effect of gender on toddler's, children's and adolescents' language ability was examined in the present meta-analysis of ten Slovenian studies (nine cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study). The ten studies were published between 2004 and 2016 and included a total of 3,657 toddlers, children and adolescents, aged from 8 months to 15 years. The language outcome measures refer to different aspects of language ability, including vocabulary, mean length of utterance, sentence complexity, language expression and comprehension, storytelling ability and metalinguistic awareness. Across the studies, language ability was assessed using different approaches and instruments, most of which were standardised on samples of Slovenian-speaking children. Based on the reported arithmetic means and standard deviations, the effect sizes of gender for each of the included studies were calculated, as well as the average effect size of gender across the different studies. The findings of the meta-analysis showed that the effect size of gender on toddlers'/children's/adolescents' language largely depended on their age and the aspect of language measured. The effect sizes increased with children's increasing age. All significant effects proved to be in favour of girls. The findings were interpreted in relation to the characteristics of language development and social cultural factors that can contribute to gender differences in language ability. Rezultati več raziskav so pokazali, da ima spol otroka pomemben učinek na govorni razvoj malčkov in otrok, vendar učinek spola ni stabilen prek različnih razvojnih obdobjih in za različne vidike govorne kompetentnosti. V tej metaanalizi smo preučevale_i učinek spola na govorno kompetentnost malčic_kov, otrok in mladostnic_kov. Vključevala je 10 slovenskih študij (devet izmed njih je bilo prečnih, ena pa je bila vzdolžna), ki so bile objavljene med letoma 2004 in 2016; skupno so vključevale 3.657 malčic_kov, otrok in mladostnic_kov, starih od 8 mesecev do 15 let. Mere govorne kompetentnosti v vključenih raziskavah so bile različne in so vključevale: velikost besednjaka, povprečno dolžino izjave, zapletenost stavkov, govorno izražanje in razumevanje, pripovedovanje zgodbe, metajezikovno zavedanje. Govorna kompetentnost je bila ocenjena z uporabo različnih pristopov in pripomočkov, izmed katerih je bila večina standardizirana na vzorcih slovensko govorečih otrok. Na podlagi aritmetičnih sredin in standardnih odklonov, dobljenih v posamezni raziskavi, sva izračunali velikost učinka spola za vsako izmed njih ter povprečno velikost učinka spola prek vseh raziskav. Rezultati meta-raziskave so pokazali, da se je velikost učinka spola na govor malčic_kov, otrok, mladostnic_kov razlikovala glede na njihovo starost in glede na ocenjene mere govorne kompetentnosti. Velikost učinka je naraščala z naraščajočo starostjo otrok. Vsi pomembni učinki so bili v prid deklicam. Izsledke smo interpretirale_i v povezavi z značilnostmi govornega razvoja otrok in socialno-kulturnimi dejavniki okolja, ki lahko prispevajo k razlikam med spoloma v govorni kompetentnosti.

V prispevku obravnavamo strukturno kakovost vrtcev, ki jo v povezavi s procesno in posredno ravnjo kakovosti umeščamo v ekološko-sistemsko teorijo Bronfenbrennerja. Kakovost vrtca nas zanima kot eden od varovalnih oziroma kritičnih dejavnikov razvoja in učenja otrok, zato z različnimi konceptualnimi modeli kakovosti vrtca in rezultati domačih ter tujih empiričnih raziskav razlagamo zapleten in celovit odnos med kazalci kakovosti in učinkom vrtca, tudi v povezavi s kakovostjo družinskega okolja. Izsledke smo povezali v ugotovitev, da v Sloveniji, podobno kot v nekaterih državah z visokokakovostno predšolsko vzgojo, potrebujemo opredelitev nacionalnih standardov kakovosti za vrtce na zakonski ravni in vzporedno okvirno postavitev načinov in postopkov ocenjevanja kakovosti, in to tako na ravni samoevalvacije kot zunanje evalvacije.

Cilj rada bio je utvrditi razlikuju li se majke sigurno i nesigurno privržene djece s obzirom na osobine ličnosti. U ispitivanju je sudjelovalo 80 djece u dobi od 5 do 7 godina i njihove majke. Primijenjene su: Tehnika za procjenu vrste privrženosti djece dobi od 5 do 7 godina (Manchester Child Attachment Story Task – MCAST), (Green, Stanley i Goldwyn, 2000) i Revidirani NEO inventar ličnosti (NEO Personality Inventory-Revised), (Costa i McCrae, 2005). MCAST polustruktuirana je tehnika za procjenu privrženosti u kojoj se koristi igra lutkama, a sastoji se od 5 priča koje dijete treba završiti. Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da s obzirom na osobine ličnosti, majke sigurno privržene djece imaju više rezultate na ljestvicama ekstraverzije i ugodnosti u odnosu na majke nesigurno privržene djece. Na podljestvicama ljestvice ekstraverzije toplina, druželjubivost, asertivnost i aktivnost majke sigurno privržene djece imaju statistički značajno više rezultate od majki nesigurno privržene djece. Na podljestvicama ljestvice ugodnosti pomirljivost i blagost majke sigurno privržene djece imaju statistički značajno više rezultate od majki nesigurno privržene djece. S obzirom na druge ispitivane osobine ličnosti iz modela Velikih pet (neuroticizam, otvorenost i savjesnost) nije se pokazala statistički značajna razlika između majki sigurno i majki nesigurno privržene djece.

V prispevku so predstavljeni slovesnki psihodiagnostični pripomočki, ki so namenjeni ocenjevanju govora različno starih otrok. Predstavljeni so trije pripomočki (vsak ima dve obliki glede na starost dojenčkov/malčkov/otrok), in sicer njihov razvoj, ciljne skupine, ki so jim pripomočki namenjeni, področja ocenjevanja govora, načini uporabe pripomočkov ter mogoči načini interpretacije dosežkov otrok. Prav analiza (količinska in kakovostna) in interpretacija dosežkov otrok sta deležni posebne pozornosti, saj različni dejavniki, kot so spol otroka, izobrazba ter socialni, ekonomski in kulturni status staršev otrok, vključenost otroka v vrtec, lahko pomembno vplivajo na otrokov govor oziroma na najegov razvoj in učenje.

The present study explored gender differences in emerging language skills in 13,783 European children from 10 non-English language communities. It was based on a synthesis of published data assessed with adapted versions of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) from age 0.08 to 2.06. The results showed that girls are slightly ahead of boys in early communicative gestures, in productive vocabulary, and in combining words. The difference increased with age. Boys were not found to be more variable than girls. Despite extensive variation in language skills between language communities, the difference between girls and boys remained. This suggests that the difference is caused by robust factors that do not change between language communities.

The present study explored gender differences in emerging language skills in 13, 783 European children from 10 non-English language communities. It was based on a synthesis of published data assessed with adapted versions of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) form age 0, 08 to 2, 06. The results showed that girls are slightly ahead of boys in early communicative gestures, in productive vocabulary, and in combining words. The difference increased with age. Boys were not found to be more variable that girls. Despite extensive variation in languge skills between language communities, the difference between girls and boys remained. This suggests that the difference is caused by robust factors that do not change between language communities.

In the study that strives to contextualize the findings of several international comparative knowledge assessment studies within the broader context of educational systems and critically analyzes certain shifts in the interpretation of the results, we have carried out a separate comparative analysis of reading literacy (i.e., scores in the international comparative study PIRLS 2006) for children in eight- and nine-year primary schools in Slovenia. We demonstrated that the differences between the two groups are not statistically significant on any of the measures of reading literacy; however, score differences are sigificant with regard to sex, parental education, and preschool attendance for both groups. We separately examined whether possible differences in the samples of children from eight- and nine-year primary school programs (differences in sex ratio, or subgroups with regard to parental education or preschool attendance) could have been the reason for nearly the same scores in both groups. While these hypotheses were not confirmed too, we went on to consider possible systemic and substantive reasons for the relatively small (and, in our view, insufficient) effect of an additional year of schooling in the nine-year program in comparison to the eight-year program, which among other things may also be reflected in major or excessive pressure on teaching and learning in the upper grades of primary school. V študiji, v kateri sva izsledke več mednarodnih primerjalnih raziskav znanja umestila v širši kontekst edukacijskih sistemov in posebej kritično analizirala nekatere zasuke v interpretacijah dosežkov, sva posebej primerjalno analizirala bralno pismenost otrok (dosežke v mednarodni primerjalni raziskavi PIRLS 2006), ki so bili vključeni v osem- in devetletno osnovno šolo. Ugotovila sva, da razlike med obema skupinama niso statistično pomembne na nobeni od mer bralne pismenosti, pomembne pa so razlike v dosežkih glede na spol, izobrazbo njihovih staršev in vključenost v vrtec, in to tako v osem- kot devetletki. Posebej sva preverila, ali bi lahko bile morebitne razlike v vzorcih otrok, ki so bili v osem- oz. devetletki (razlike v deležih deklic in dečkov; podskupin glede na izobrazbo staršev in glede na čas vključenosti v vrtec), razlog za skorajda enake dosežke v obeh skupinah. Ker tudi te hipoteze nisva potrdila, sva v nadaljevanju razmišljala o moznih sistemskih in vsebinskih razlogih za relativno majhen oz. po najini presoji nezadosten učinek enega leta šolanja več v devetletni osnovni šoli v primerjavi z osemletno, ki med drugim lahko povzroči tudi (pre)velike pritiske na poučevanje in učenje v višjih razredih osnovne šole.

V prispevku obravnavamo pismenost kot otrokov individualni mentalni proces, ki je socialno posredovan in poteka v kontekstu jezika in kulture ter ima svoje korenine v porajajoči se pismenosti. Rekonceptualizacija pismenosti je v veliki meri podprta z izhodišči sociokulturnih in psiholingvističnih teorij ter z izsledki velikega števila raziskav o razvoju spoznavnih procesov (zlasti govora), ki so v ozadju pismenosti in so zanesljiv napovednik otrokove zgodnje ter kasnejše pismenosti, in o vplivu sociokulturnih dejavnikov okolja (izobrazba staršev otrok, kakovost interakcij med odraslimi in otroki, kakovost in pogostost spodbujanja otrokovega govornega razvoja, s simboli podprto okolje, poučevanje in učenje v vrtčevskih formalnih in neformalnih kontekstih) na pismenost. Posebno pozornost namenjamo razlagi pozitivnega učinka posameznih komponent otroškega govora (besednjaka, metajezikovnega zavedanja, pripovedovanja) na razvoj porajajoče se pismenosti in prikazu različnih kontekstov in dejavnosti v družinskem in vrtčevskem okolu, ki imajo neposreden ali posreden pozitivni učinek na razvoj in učenje pismenosti. Razmislek je namenjen tudi umeščenosti novejših pogledov na porajajočo se pismenost v slovenske vrtce in v obdobje prehoda iz vrtca v osnovno šolo.

There has been an increase in prevalence of low severity dysfunctions such as minor neurological dysfunction and cognitive deficits which consequently lead to school and behavior problems. The study presents the outcomes of a small group of preterm children with different medical complications at birth on follow-up at toddler age. In the neonatal period and at three months corrected age the neurological examination by the Amiel-Tison neurological assessment and the assessment of general movements was done. Both measures were compared with the criterion measure Bayley Scales of Infant Development - II. Results of the preterm group were compared with results of the normative group. According to results for both methods of neurological examination, children were classified into different categories meaning optimal or different degrees of non-optimal neurological results. The results of the children from different categories of neurological functioning were compared with the criterion measure. Children from the preterm group attained lower results on the developmental test compared to normative data. Children from groups with the lowest birth weight and gestational age attained the lowest results. These findings suggest that children from less optimal or non-optimal categories according to both methods of neurological examination attained lower developmental scores. The difference between groups was higher on the mental scale than on the motor scale of the developmental test. V zadnjih letih se povečuje delež otrok s t. i. blažjimi razvojnimi težavami, med katere sodijo blažje gibalne težave in težave na spoznavnem razvojnem področju, ki posledično lahko vodijo h kasnejšim učnim in vedenjskim težavam. V prispevku so predstavljeni izsledki spremljanja manjše skupine prezgodaj rojenih otrok s prisotnimi zdravstvenimi zapleti ob rojstvu od obdobja novorojenčka do malčka. V obdobju novorojenčka in dojenčka smo nevrološko oceno opravili na osnovi nevrološkega pregleda C. Amiel-Tison in ocene spontanega gibanja, v obdobju malčka pa na osnovi nevrološkega pregleda. Obe oceni smo primerjali z dosežki malčkov pri razvojnopsihološkem preizkusu Lestvice zgodnjega razvoja N. Bayley - II. izdaja. Dosežke skupine prezgodaj rojenih otrok pri razvojnopsihološkem preizkusu smo primerjali z normativnimi vrednostmi. Glede na nevrološke ocene, dobljene s posamezno metodo nevrološkega ocenjevanja, smo otroke razvrstili v kvalitativno različne skupine ter ugotavljali, ali se dosežki otrok pri razvojnopsihološkem preizkusu razlikujejo glede na nevrološko oceno. Rezultati kažejo pomembno nižje dosežke skupine prezgodaj rojenih otrok pri razvojnopsihološkem preizkusu v primerjavi z normativnimi dosežki. Otroci iz skupin z najnižjo porodno težo in gestacijsko starostjo so pri razvojnopsihološkem preizkusu dosegli najnižje dosežke. Z obema metodama nevrološkega ocenjevanja smo v vseh razvojnih obdobjih ugotovili, da otroci iz skupin z bolj optimalno ocenjenim nevrološkim statusom pri razvojnopsihološkem preizkusu dosegajo višje dosežke v primerjavi s skupinama otrok z manj optimalnim oz. neoptimalnim nevrološkim statusom. Razlike med skupinami glede na nevrološko oceno so bile bolj izražene pri dosežkih na mentalnem kot na gibalnem področju razvojnopsihološkega preizkusa.

Storytelling is an important aspect of child's language competence, which largely depends on her/his understanding and expression of a decontextualised content and develops rapidly in the period between the second and sixth year of life. The purpose of this study was to examine age differences in children's storytelling in the period between the third and sixth year of age. In addition, we considered the effect of gender on storytelling of children of different ages. The sample included 156 children aged from 3 to 6 years, who were divided into 3 age groups, namely children, aged 3, 4 and 5 years. Child's storytelling competence was assessed with the Little Glove Storytelling Test. Children's stories told by a standard set of illustrations were analyzed in terms of criteria, designed to assess the developmental level of the stories. The criteria refer to the words, included in the story, the grammatical structure and the content of the story. The obtained results suggested that several important changes in the development of storytelling occur within the period of early childhood. The 5-years-old children told longer stories with a more complex grammatical structure and a coherent content as the 3-years-old children. Children's achievements on the individual criteria for assessing the developmental level of the stories progressed relatively steadily through all three age groups. The results also showed that gender had no significant effect on the storytelling of children of different ages. Pripovedovanje zgodbe predstavlja pomemben vidik otrokove govorne kompetentnosti, ki je v celoti vezana na razumevanje in izražanje dekontekstualizirane vsebine in se v obdobju med drugim in šestim letom otrokove starosti hitro razvija. Namen raziskave je bil preučiti starostne razlike v pripovedovanju zgodbe otrok v obdobju med tretjim in šestim letom starosti. Poleg tega smo želele preučiti učinek spola na pripovedovanja zgodbe različno starih otrok. V vzorec je bilo vključenih 156 otrok, starih od 3 do 6 let, ki so bili razdeljeni v 3 starostne skupine, in sicer otroci, stari 3, 4 in 5 let. Otrokovo kompetentnost pripovedovanja zgodbe smo ocenile s pomočjo Preizkusa pripovedovanja zgodbe Rokavička. Zgodbe, ki so jih ob standardni slikovni predlogi povedali otroci, so bile analizirane z vidika meril, ki smo jih oblikovale za ocenjevanje razvojne ravni povedanih zgodb in posegajo na področja besed v zgodbi, slovnične strukture in vsebine zgodbe. Dobljeni rezultati kažejo, da v obdobju zgodnjega otroštva prihaja do nekaterih pomembnih starostnih sprememb v otrokovem pripovedovanju zgodbe. Petletni otroci pripovedujejo daljše zgodbe z bolj zapleteno slovnično strukturo in koherentno vsebino kot triletni otroci. Dosežki otrok po posameznih merilih za ocenjevanje razvojne ravni zgodbe s starostjo razmeroma enakomerno naraščajo. Rezultati so prav tako pokazali, da spol nima pomembnega učinka na pripovedovanje zgodbe različno starih otrok.

Govorni razvoj poteka v obdobju malčka zelo hitro, tako z vidika kakovostnih kot tudi količinskih razvojnih sprememb. Na razvoj govora vpliva več dejavnikov, med njimi sta predvsem pomembna malčkov spol in izobrazba njegovih staršev. Ker je obdobje malčka kritično obdobje za razvoj govora pa tudi zgodnje in poznejše pismenosti, raziskovalce pogosto zanima, s katerimi pripomočki ter v kakšnih socialnih kontekstih lahko zanesljivo ocenimo malčkovo govorno kompetentnost. V prispevku sta prestavljeni dve slovenski študiji, v kateri so bili vključeni malčki, stari od 16 do 30 mesecev, ki so obiskovali vrtec. Za ocenjevanje malčkove govorne kompetentnosti sva uporabiliListo razvoja sporazumevalnih zmožnosti za malčke, stare od 16 do 30 mesecev (Marjanovič Umek, Fekonja, Kranjc in Bajc 2008 a). V prvi študiji sva na vzorcu 953 malčkov proučevali učinek malčkovega spola in izobrazbe staršev na govorno kompetentnost malčkov; v drugi študiji pa sva na vzorcu 140 malčkov analizirali ujemanje med ocenami, ki so jih o govorni kompetentnosti malčkov podali njihovi starši in vzgojiteljice v vrtcu. Dobljeni rezultati prve študije so pokazali, da sta spol malčkov in izobrazba njihovih staršev pomembna dejavnika malčkove govorne kompetentnosti. Straši so govor malčic na večini lestvi ocenili z višjimi ocenami kot govor malčkov, prav tako pa so starši z višjo izobrazbo svoje malčke ocenili z višjimi ocenami kot starši z nižjo izobrazbo. Ugotovitve druge študije pa kažejo, da kljub različnim kontekstom, v katerih starši in vzgojiteljice poslušajo malčke in se z njimi pogovarjajo, njihov govor ocenjujejo relativno podobno. Malčkov spol in izobrazba staršev pa nista enako učinkovala na ocene staršev in vzgojiteljic.

The reform of the Slovenian educational system in the mid-1990s, including preschool reform, was not only part of the political, social, and economic changes that Slovenia underwent at that time, but also part of establishing certain new theoretical paradigms and the conceptualization of individual subsystems. In preschools it was necessary to move beyond individual organizational and content-related divisions of preschool education to care and education activities, and the prevailing normative developmental-psychological concepts that defined the system and its content. Later on, expert analyses and the findings of Slovenian empirical studies (of which there were not many) indicated the direction for the further development of preschool education. With the backing of in-depth research on early learning in studies from abroad, these Slovenian studies have also indicated certain important steps that still need to be taken to democratize preschools: it is necessary to establish the preschool as a protective factor for children from socio-economically and culturally disadvantaged backgrounds,children of migrants, and children with special needs - and this in the manner already established in modern concepts of early development and learning. Because this involves more than making individual corrections to the system and the curriculum (which inevitably prove to be unsuccessful and eventually undermine an internally coherent system), it is necessary to prepare a new concept for preschools, or white paper on education, if Slovenian preschools are to remain among quality European preschools. Reforma vzgojno-izobraževalnega sistema, z reformo vrtcev vred, ki je potekala v sredini devetdesetih let prejšnjega stoletja, je bila na eni strani vpeta v takratne politične, socialne in ekonomske spremembe v Sloveniji, na drugi strani pa v vzpostavitev nekaterih novih teoretskih paradigem in konceptualizacijo posameznih podsistemov. V vrtcih je bilo treba preseči posamezne organizacijske in vsebinske delitve predšolske vzgoje na dejavnosti varstva in vzgoje ter prevladujoče normativne razvojnopsihološke koncepte, ki so določali sistem in vsebino. Pozneje so strokovne analize in izsledki domačih empiričnih raziskav, ki pa jih ni bilo veliko, nakazali smer nadaljnjega razvoja predšolske vzgoje v vrtcih, hkrati pa, tudi ob podpori intenzivnega proučevanja zgodnjega učenja v tujih raziskavah, pokazali na nekatere pomembne korake, ki jih je treba še narediti za demokratizacijo vrtcev: vzpostaviti je treba vrtec kot varovalni dejavnik na primer za otroke, ki prihajajo iz socialno, ekonomsko in kulturno nespodbudnega okolja, otroke migrantov, otroke s posebnimi potrebami, in to tako, kot je v sodobnih konceptih zgodnjega razvoja in učenja že vzpostavljen. Ker gre za več kot posamezne popravke sistema in kurikula, ki se izkazujejo kot neuspešni in prej ali slej zamajejo notranje koherentni sistem, je, če naj vrtci ostanejo med kakovostnimi evropskimi vrtci, treba pripraviti nov koncept vrtcev oziromanovo Belo knjigo o vzgoji in izobraževanju.

By primarily considering recent views on the child's/adolescent's development and education, in the article the author discusses the definition of the term knowledge and, consequently, the understanding of knowledge in relation to its evaluation and assessment. She places the different ways of understanding knowledge in the space between older behavioural and normative development psychology theories and more recent theories that particularly highlight epistemology and metaprocesses; she also explains knowledge concepts by means of the results of empirical research pointing to certain key variables which best explain school knowledge. Afterwards, the author critically assesses various taxonomies of education targets and/or knowledge and, as ahe finds, the frequently simplified transposition of taxonomic levels into criteria for knowledge assessment. She also connects the understanding and assessment of knowledge with the status' and definition of competencies in curricula, especially with regard to the raletionship between the pragmatics of competencies and fundamental or theoretical knowledge. Avtorica se v prispevku, upoštevajoč predvsem novejše poglede na otrokov/mladostnikov razvoj ter edukacijo, ukvarja z opredelitvijo pojma znanja in posledično z razumevanjem znanja v povezavi z vrednotenjem in ocenjevanjem le-tega. Različna pojmovanja znanja umesti v prostor med starejše vedenjske in normativne razvojnopsihološke teorije ter novejše teorije, ki pri pojmovanju znanja posebej izpostavljajo epistemologijo in metaprocese; koncepte znanj pa razlaga tudi s pomočjo režultatov empiričnih raziskav, ki kažejo na nekatere ključne spremenljivke, ki v največjem deležu pojasnjujejo šolsko znanje. Avtorica v nadaljevanju kritično presoja različne taksonomije učnih ciljev in/ali znanja in, kot ugotavlja, pogosto poenostavljeno preslikavanje taksonomskih stopenj v merila za ocenjevanje znanja. Pojmovanje in ocenjevanje znanja pa poveže tudi s "statusom" in opredelitvijo kompetenc v učnih načrtih, še posebno glede na odnos med pragmatičnostjo kompetenc in temeljnim oz. teoretičnim znanjem.

In the article, we compare the concepts of childhood, typical of constructivism, as a way of the development of child's mental structures and the formation of knowledge with childhood concepts, which are in the background of social constructivism. Constructivism, which is to the large extent derived from Piaget's theory of cognition, treating the child in its early childhood as an epicentric individual, who is "insensitive" to social and symbolic environment, as an individual whose thinking is perceived, preoperative, little or not at all connected to speech and other symbolic waysof expression, has consenquently some weak points also in carrying out concepts of learning and teaching. In the process of learning, child's maturity is extremely important. Teaching is directed to the child and it is derived from the child respectively. Besides, the child itself constructs its knowledge, the development is universal and individual differences between children are overlooked as well as environmental factors and planned learning and teaching respectively. Social constructivism, derived from sociocultural theories of development and learning, regards infants and children in their early childhood as socially and cognitively competent individuals, from whom learning and teaching in the area of near development which is going on symbolically rich social context, is of significant importance for their present and later development and learning. Its implementation into school area created new educational concepts, which are focused on metacognitive and metalinguistic children's abilities, peers' social interactions, cooperative learning, adults' stimulating andd learning in developmental periods, different kinds of knowledge. V prispevku primerjamo koncepte otroštva, značilne za konstruktivizem kot način razvoja otrokovih mislenih struktur in pridobivanja znanja, s koncepti otroštva, ki so v ozadju socialnega konstruktivizma. Konstruktivizem, v veliki meri izpeljan iz Piagetove spoznavne teorije, ki otroka v obdobju zgodnjem otroštvu razume kot egocentričnega posameznika, "neobčutljivega" za socialno in simbolno okolje, kot posameznika, katerega mišljenje je zaznavno, preoperativno, malo ali nič povezano z govorom in drugimi simbolnimi načini izražanja, ima posledično nekatere šibke točke tudi pri izpeljavi v koncepte učenja in poučevanja. V procesu učenja je ključnega pomena otrokova zrelost, poučevanje je usmerjeno na otroka oz. izhaja iz njega, otrok sam konstruira svoje znanje, razvoj je univerzalen, individualne razlike med otroki so, podobno kot dejavniki okolja oz. načrtno učenje in poučevanje, spregledani. Socialni konstruktivizem, izpeljan iz sociokulturnih teorij razvoja in učenja, razume malčka in otroka v zgodnjem otroštvu kot socialno in spoznavno kompetentnega posameznika, za katerega sta učenje in poučevanje v območju bližnjega razvoja, ki poteka v simbolno bogatih socialnih kontekstih, bistvenega pomena za aktualni in poznejši razvoj ter učenje. Njegova implementacija v šolski prostor je ustvarila nove koncepte vzgoje, pri katerih so v ospredju metaspoznavne in metajezikovne zmožnosti otrok, vrstniške socialne interakcije, sodelovalno učenje, spodbujanje in učenje s strani odraslih vseh razvojnih obdobjih, različno znanje.

This study examines different factors of children's language competence at 6 years of age, namely the duration of child's enrolment into preschool, parental education, characteristics of home environment and child's intellectual abilities. The sample included 147 Slovenian children, approximately 6 years old, who were attending first grade at the time of the assessment. Prior to primary school children attended preschool for 5, 3, or 0 years. The findings suggest that parental education and home environment along with child's gender and intellectual abilities represent important predictors of child's language competence as they explain a sustantial share of variance in children' language comprehension, expression, meta-linguistic awareness and storytelling ability. The duration of child's enrolment into preschool explains only a small share of additional variance in language comprehension, expression and storytelling ability and an important share of variance in children's meta-linguistic awareness. The duration of child's enrolment into preschool is an important predictor of his/her storytelling ability. Children who, prior to entering primary school, attended preschool for three years, told stories on the highest developmental levels. The finidngs were interpreted in the light of the role of child's home environment and the opportunities offered by different preschool activities for supporting toddler's/child's language development. V tej raziskavi smo proučevale nekatere dejavnike govorne kompetentnosti šestletnih otrok, in sicer: dolžino otrokove vključenosti v vrtec, izobrazbo otrokovih staršev, znaličnosti družinskega okolja in otrokove intelektualne sposobnosti. V vzorcu je bilo zajetih 147 otrok, starih približno šest let, ki so bili ob testiranju vključeni v prvi razred osnovne šole. Otroci so bili pred vstopom v šolo vključeni v vrtec 5 let, 3 leta ali 0 let. Dobljeni rezultati kažejo, da so izobražba staršev in družinsko okolje skupaj z otrokovim spolom in inteligentnostjo pomembni napovedniki govorne kompetentnosti otrok, saj lahko z njimi pojasnimo pomemben delež variance v govornem razumevanju, govornem izražanju, metajezikovnem zavedanju in otrokovem pripovedovanju zgodbe. Z dolžino otrokove vključenosti v vrtec smo pojasnili majhen delež dodatne variance v govornem izražanju in razumevanju ter pripovedovanju zgodbe in pomemben delež variance v metajezikovnem zavedanju. Sicer pa je dolžina vključenosti otroka v vrtec pomemben napovednik otrokovega pripovedovanja zgodbe. Otroci, ki so bili do vstopa v šolo v vrtec vključeni 3 leta, so pripovedovali razvojno najvišje zgodbe. Ugotovitve raziskave smo interpretirale tudi z vidika vloge otrokovega družinskega okolja ter možnosti, ki jih za spodbujanje govornega razvoja malčkov oz. otrok dajejo različne dejavnosti v vrtcu.

Many researchers include child's parents as assessors of his/her language development as the results of many studies suggest their assessments to be valid and reliable measures of child's language competence. In their longitudinal study, presented in this paper, we examined whether child's mother and his/her preschool teacher can provide a valid estimation of child' language development. The sample included 80 Slovenian children from different preschool institutions, aged 3;1 years at first and 4;1 years at second assessment. Children's language competence was assessed individually, directly by the testators using Language development scale and Storytelling test and indirectly by mothers and preschool teachers using the Child's language competence questionnaire for parents and preschool teachers. The achieved results showed that the estimates given by mothers and preschool teachers represent valid measures of child's language competence but not stable in time. The estimations given by mothers and preschool teachers explain a small share in variability of children's achievements on the Language development scale and Storytelling test Otrokovi starši so pogosto ocenjevalci otrokovega govornega rzvoja, saj so se njihove ocene v mnogiš študijah pokazale kot veljavne in zanesljive mere otrokovega govora. V pričujoči vzdolžni raziskavi naju je zanimalo ali lahko, poleg otrokove mame, tudi vzgojiteljica v vrtcu poda veljavno oceno otrokove govorne kompetentnosti. V vzorec je bilo vključenih 80 slovenskih otrok, ki so obiskovali vrtec. Ob prvem ocenjevanju so bili stari 3;1 let, ob drugem pa 4;1 let. Govorno kompetentnost otrok sva ocenjevali individualno, in sicer neposredno v testni situaciji z Lestvico govornega razvoja in Preizkusom pripovedovanja zgodbe ter posredno z Vprašalnikom o otrokovi govorni kompetentnosti za starše in vzgojiteljice, s katerim so govor otrok ocenile mame in vzgojiteljice. Dobljeni rezultati so pokazali, da sta ocena mame in vzgojiteljice veljavni meri otrokove govorne kompetentnosti, vendar nizko stabilni v času. S pomočjo mamine in vzgojiteljičine ocene lahko pojasnimo majhen delež v variabilnosti dosežkov otrok na Lestvici govornega razvoja in Preizkusu pripovedovanja zgodbe.

Cognitive models explain knowledge quality or school achievement mainly in connection with pupil competences and variables of home and school environment. In the first part of the paper we closely examine the findings ofmultiple secondary analyses made on the results gathered in the international comparative TIMSS research on achievements in natural science and mathematics. The authors of this research establish that in all countries (25 countries participated), except in the Netherlands, grater proportion of interpersonal variability can be accounted for by inter-pupil rather than inter-school differences Furthermore, they conclude that measured "pupil" and"school" variables explain a relatively small proportion of total variability in pupils' achievements. Findings such as these led us to closely examine pupil variables in terms of their psychological characteristics and the quality of home environment. The results of the Slovene research are shownin the second part of the paper. Results show (the sample consisted of pupils in the 3rd year of primary school) that we can explain 39% of differences in pupils' achievements in the national knowledge assessment of the Slovene language and 29% of interpersonal variability in the mathematical knowledge measured at the national level. If we try to explain the differencesin the knowledge of the Slovene language, the best predictors are pupils' language competences, their intellectual abilities and maternal education, whereas in explaining the differences in achievements in the national assessment of mathematical knowledge the greatest predictive validityis shown by pupils' language competences, their intellectual abilities and paternal education. Kognitivni modeli razlagajo kakovost znanja oz. učno uspešnost predvsem v povezavi z učenčevimi kompetentnostmi, družinskimi in šolskimi spremenljivkami. V prvem delu prispevka podrobno analiziramo rezultate več sekundarnih analiz, izvedenih na podatkih, zbranih v okviru mednarodnih primerjalnih raziskav znanja TIMSS. Avtorji teh ugotavljajo, da lahko v vseh državah (vključenih 25 držav), razen na Nizozemskem, večji delež variabilnostimed dosežki učencev razložimo z razlikami na ravni učenca kot z razlikami na ravni šole, hkrati pa tudi, da v raziskavah uporabljene "učenčeve" in "šolske" spremenljivke pojasnjujejo relativno majhen delež celotne variabilnosti med dosežki učencev. Tovrstne ugotovitve so nas v okviruslovenske raziskave vodile k podrobnejšemu preučevanju učenčevih tako psiholoških kot družinskih spremenljivk. Te rezultate prikazujemo v drugem delu prispevka. Kažejo nam (v raziskavo so bili vključeni učenci 3. razreda osnovne šole), da lahko pojasnimo največ, to je 39% razlik med rezultati učencev na nacionalnem preizkusu znanja iz slovenščine na podlagi otrokovih govornih kompetentnosti, intelektualnih sposobnosti in izobrazbe mame ter 29% razlik med rezultati učencev na nacionalnem preizkusu znanja iz matematike z otrokovimi govornimi kompetentnostmi, intelektualnimi sposobnostmi in izobrazbo očeta.

V prispevku predstavljamo rezultate raziskave, v kateri proučujemo strukturo šolske ocene. V vzorec smo zajeli 362 otrok, ki so v šolskem letu 2004/05 obiskovali tretji razred devetletne osnovne šole. Rezultati več sekundarnih analiz, izvedenih na podatkih, zbranih v okviru mednarodnih primerjalnih raziskav znanja TIMSS in PISA, kažejo, da z vključenimi "šolskimi" in "učenčevimi" spremenljivkami ne morejo pojasniti relativno velikega deleža razlik v dosežkih učencev. V naši raziskavi smo želeli predvsem ugotoviti, alilahko z vklučitvijo psiholoških spremenljivk (otrokova govorna kompetentnost, intelektualne sposobnosti, osebnostne značilnosti) in nekaterih družinskih spremenljivk izboljšamo napoved učenčevih dosežkov. S pomočjo hierarhičnega linearnega modeliranja (HLM) smo ugotovili, da lahko 20% variance med učenci pri dosežkih na nacionalnih preizkusih znanja iz slovenščine in matematike pripišemo razlikam med šolami glede na povprečne dosežke učencev (raven šole), 80% pa razlikam med učenci v posamezni šoli (učenčeva raven). Z vključenimi neodvisnimi spremenljivkami lahko pojasnimo 35% razlik med učenci pri dosežkih na nacionalnem preizkusu znanja iz slovenščine in 33% razlik med učenci pri dosežkih na nacionalnem preizkusu znanja iz matematike.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of preschool on children's school readiness in connection with their intellectual abilities, language competence, and parents' education. The sample included 219 children who were 68 to 83 months old and were attending the first year of primary school. Children were differentiated by whether or not they had attanded preschool before starting school. Children's intelectual ability was determined using Raven's coloured progressive matrices (CPM; Raven, Raven & Court, 1999), language competence using the Lestvice splošnega govornega razvoja - LJ (LSGR-LJ, Scales of general language development; Marjanovič Umek, Kranjc, Fekonja in Bajc, 2004), and school readiness with the Preizkus pripravljenosti za šolo (PPŠ, Test of school readiness; Toličič, 1986). The results indicate that children's intelectual ability and language competence have a high predicitve value for the school readiness - they explained 51% of the variance in children's scores on the PPŠ. Preschool enrolment has a positive effect on school readiness for children whose parents have a low level of education, but not for those whose parents are highly educated. Namen pričujoče raziskave je bil preučiti učinek vrtca na otrokovo pripravljenost za šolo v povezavi z njegovimi intelektualnimi sposobnostmi, govorno kompetentnostjo ter izobrazbo staršev. V vzorec je bilo vključenih 219 otrok, starih od 68 do 83 mesecev, ki so obiskovali 1. razred osnovne šole ter so se med seboj razlikovali po tem, ali so bili pred vstopom v šolo vključeni v vrtec ali ne. Intelektualne sposobnosti otrok smo ugotavljale s pomočjo Ravenovih barvnih progresivnih matric - CPM (Raven, Raven in Court, 1999), govorno kompetentnost s pomočjo Lestvic splošnega govornega razvoja - LJ (Marjanovič Umek, Kranjc, Fekonja in Bajc, 2004), pripravljenost za šolo pa s pomočjo Preizkusa pripravljenosti za šolo -PPŠ (Marjanovič Umek, Fekonja in Bajc, 2005). Rezultati kažejo, da otrokove intelektualne sposobnosti in govorna kompetentnost visoko napovedujejo njegovo pripravljenost za šolo, saj pojasnijo 51% variance v rezultatih, ki so jih otroci dosegali na PPŠ. Vključenost v vrtec ima pozitiven učinek na pripravljenost za šolo pri otrocih, katerih starši imajo nizko stopnjo izobrazbe, ne pa tudi tistih, katerih starši imajo visoko izobrazbo.

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to study the effect of preschool on children's language development in connection with the age at which children enrol in preschool and children's family environments. The sample included children who attended a Slovenian preschool and/or a Slovenian primary school at the last assessment. Approximately half of the children in the sample began attending preschool at the age of 1 and the other half at theage of 3. We first assessed the children when they were approximately 3 years old and they were then followed for 3 years. Children's language competence was assessed four times at one-year intervals and the quality of the children's family environment twice (when the children were approximetely 4 and 6 years old). The results obtained indicate that the effect of preschool alone, or age at preschool enrolment, is low but increases in combination with the education of the children's mothers. Preschool has a statistically significant effect on the language development of children whose mothers have a low education level and who often have a less stimulating family environment. The results also show that the effect of the mother's education on a child's language development increases with the child's age. Namen pričujoče vzdolžne raziskave je bil proučiti učinek vrtca na otrokov govorni razvoj, in sicer v povezavi s starostjo, pri kateri so bili otroci vključeni v vrtec, in v povezavi z otrokovim družinskim okoljem. V vzorec so bili vključeni otroci, ki so obiskovali enega izmed slovenskih vrtcev oz. pri zadnjem ocenjevanju eno izmed šol. Približno polovica otrok iz vzorca je bila v vrtec vključena pri enem, druga polovica pa pri treh letih starosti. Otroke smo prvič ocenjevale, ko so bili stari približno tri leta, potem pa smo jih spremljale še tri leta. Govorno kompetentnost otrok smo štirikrat ocenjevale včasovnem presledku enega leta, kakovost otrokovega družinskega okolja pa dvakrat (pri starosti otrok približno 4 in 6 let). Dobljeni rezultati kažejo, da je učinek zgolj vrtca oz. starosti pri kateri so bili vključeni v vrtec, majhen, se pa poveča v povezavi z izobrazbo mater otrok. Vrtec pomembno učinkuje na govorni razvoj otrok, katerih matere imajo nizko izobrazbo in ki pogosto žive v manj spodbudnem okolju. Rezultati tudi kažejo, da se učinek materine izobrazbe na otrokov govorni razvoj veča z otrokovo starostjo.

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to study the effect of preschool on children's language development in connection with the age at which children enrol in preschool and children's family environments. The sample included children who attended a Slovenian preschool and/or a Slovenian primary school at the last assessment. Approximately half of the children in the sample began attending preschool at the age of 1 and the other half at theage of 3. We first assessed the children when they were approximately 3 years old and they were then followed for 3 years. Children's language competence was assessed four times at one-year intervals and the quality of the children's family environment twice (when the children were approximetely 4 and 6 years old). The results obtained indicate that the effect of preschool alone, or age at preschool enrolment, is low but increases in combination with the education of the children's mothers. Preschool has a statistically significant effect on the language development of children whose mothers have a low education level and who often have a less stimulating family environment. The results also show that the effect of the mother's education on a child's language development increases with the child's age. Namen pričujoče vzdolžne raziskave je bil proučiti učinek vrtca na otrokov govorni razvoj, in sicer v povezavi s starostjo, pri kateri so bili otroci vključeni v vrtec, in v povezavi z otrokovim družinskim okoljem. V vzorec so bili vključeni otroci, ki so obiskovali enega izmed slovenskih vrtcev oz. pri zadnjem ocenjevanju eno izmed šol. Približno polovica otrok iz vzorca je bila v vrtec vključena pri enem, druga polovica pa pri treh letih starosti. Otroke smo prvič ocenjevale, ko so bili stari približno tri leta, potem pa smo jih spremljale še tri leta. Govorno kompetentnost otrok smo štirikrat ocenjevale včasovnem presledku enega leta, kakovost otrokovega družinskega okolja pa dvakrat (pri starosti otrok približno 4 in 6 let). Dobljeni rezultati kažejo, da je učinek zgolj vrtca oz. starosti pri kateri so bili vključeni v vrtec, majhen, se pa poveča v povezavi z izobrazbo mater otrok. Vrtec pomembno učinkuje na govorni razvoj otrok, katerih matere imajo nizko izobrazbo in ki pogosto žive v manj spodbudnem okolju. Rezultati tudi kažejo, da se učinek materine izobrazbe na otrokov govorni razvoj veča z otrokovo starostjo.

Our paper presents results of a research of factors of the academic achievement of the ninth-grade elementary school students. Four hundred twenty-seven adolescents participated, among them 225 girls and 202 boys. We attempted to determine the extent in which the academic achievement (evaluated by means of national examinations and teachers' marks) in Slovene, mathematics and biology can be predicted by students' individual characteristics (language competence, intellectual abilities and personality dimensions) and some variables related to the family environment (parents' educational level, parental pressure on adolescent's learning, number of books at home, parents' wishes concerning the continuation of adolescent's education). By means of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) we found rather small across-schools differences in average students' achievement; the proportion of the school-level variance ranged between 0% and 9%. On the otherhand, variation between students within schools was larger; the proportion of the student-level variance in achievement ranged between 91% and 100%. The variables related to the student and the family environment explained between 37% and 63% of the variance in achievement evaluated by means of national examinations, and between 56% and 62% of the variance in achievement evaluated by means of teachers' marks, respectively. The most important predictors of the achievement were language competence, intellectualabilities, personality dimensions conscientiousness and openness/intellect, two components of parental influence to the school work, namely parental pressure and help with the school work, and the parents' educational level. We further tried to determine the extent in which schools differ with regard to the evaluated individual characteristics of adolescents and to the family environment variables. We found out that the across-school variation of adolescents' intellectual abilities, parents' educational level and certain components of parental influence on the student's school work is larger than the across-school variation of students' achievement, with the exception of the national examination in biology. V prispevku predstavljamo rezultate raziskave, v kateri smo preučevali dejavnike učne uspešnosti učencev ob zaključku devetega razreda osnovne šole. V vzorec smo vključili 427 mladostnikov (225 deklet in 202 fanta). Zanimalo nas je, v kolikšni meri lahko učenčevo znanje (ocenjeno je bilo z nacionalnimi preizkusi znanja in učiteljevo oceno) pri predmetih slovenščina, matematika in biologija napovemo z individualnimi značilnostmi mladostnikov (govorno kompetentnostjo, intelektualnimi sposobnostmi in osebnostnimi dimenzijami) ter nekaterimi spremenljivkami družinskega okolja (izobrazbo staršev, starševskim vplivanjem na mladostnikovo učenje, številom knjig doma, željo staršev o nadaljevanju mladostnikovega šolanja). S pomočjo hierarhičnega linearnega modeliranja (HLM) smo ugotovili, da se šole med seboj malo razlikujejo glede na povprečno znanje učencev in da lahko ravni šole pripišemo od 0 % do 9 % variabilnosti v učenčevem znanju, medtem ko so razlike med učenci znotraj šol večje, saj lahko ravni učenca pripišemo od 91 % do 100 % variabilnosti v učenčevem znanju. Z ocenjevanimi spremenljivkami učenca in družinskega okolja smo lahko pojasnili od 37 % do 63 % celotne variabilnosti v učenčevem znanju, ko je bilo le-to ocenjeno z nacionalnimi preizkusi znanja, in od 56 % do 62 % celotne variabilnosti v učenčevem znanju, ko je bilo le-to ocenjeno z učiteljevo oceno. Najpomembnejši napovedniki učne uspešnosti so bili mladostnikova govorna kompetentnost, njegove intelektualne sposobnosti, osebnostni dimenziji vestnost in odprtost/intelekt, dve komponenti starševskega vpliva na delo v šoli, in sicer starševski pritisk in pomoč za delo v šoli, ter izobrazba mladostnikovih staršev. V raziskavi nas je zanimalo tudi, koliko se šole med seboj razlikujejo glede na ocenjevane individualne značilnosti mladostnikov ter spremenljivke njihovega družinskega okolja. Ugotovili smo, da se šole, razen pri dosekih učencev na nacionalnem preizkusu znanja iz biologije, med seboj bolj razlikujejo glede na mladostnikove intelektualne sposobnosti, izobrabo njihovih staršev in nekatere komponente starševskega vplivanja na šolo kot glede na učenčevo znanje.