The culture of institutions of early education is a strong network of customs, rules, norms and behaviours that affect the daily life and work of all its individuals. Consequently, the professional development of preschool teachers is not only an individual process of professional advancement, but also a process that changes the culture of the institution of early education and includes all participants of the educational process. In this paper, we examine the perception of the preschool teacher profession and the connection between the preschool teachers’ attitudes about their profession and their focus on continuous learning and exploring personal practice. The research was conducted on a random sample of N = 238 preschool teachers in Croatia. For data collection, we used the Questionnaire for the assessment of the culture of the educational institution designed for the needs of the scientific research project ‘Culture of the educational institution as a factor of co-constructing knowledge’.

The culture of an educational institution is defined as a set of common beliefs and values that closely connect the members of a community. Structural dimensions (space, time, teaching materials, and teaching strategies), social dimensions (relationships among school staff, between teachers and children, and among children), common rituals, and customs and traditions of the school are manifestations of school culture in which it is recognized and becomes visible. The aim of this research is to determine the connection between structural dimensions and social relations in the institution. The research was conducted in 2022 on a sample of 174 primary teachers employed in various schools in the Republic of Croatia. The Questionnaire for the Assessment of the Culture of the Educational Institution was used for data collection. An exploratory factor analysis on the Scale of the State of School Culture, which measured the state of structural dimensions, extracted two factors, based on which two subscales of good metric characteristics were created: organization of educational work and spatial and temporal dimensions. The Scale of the State of Relations in the Institution consists of 13 items and has high reliability. In order to determine the existence of a connection between the structural and social dimensions of school culture, Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated. Moderate to relatively high positive correlations between the examined variables were found, which confirms the intertwining and interdependence of different dimensions of school culture, which significantly determines the quality of life and education of children in the institutional context.

The culture of an educational institution is a set of individual values and norms, attitudes, beliefs, rituals, expectations, and actions of its members. Without changing the basic assumptions (implicit theories) of individuals working in an institution, there are no fundamental changes in the quality of the educational process. Professional development is understood as continually testing the quality of our own educational interventions, and redefining and modifying them based on the feedback from practice. In this chapter, the authors will focus on the results of preschool teachers' attitudes towards the different aspects of the educational process and the results of the frequency of using modern forms of professional development, obtained by survey method. There is a positive correlation between the modern educational paradigm of the preschool teacher and her participation in the contemporary forms of professional development, which testifies of the mutuality and interdependence of these two dimensions of the culture of the institution of early education.

Initial education of future preschool teachers is discussed in the context of them being researchers of their own educational practice, who, on a daily basis, think about and discuss their work. Even at university level, students should be encouraged to develop competencies that will help them build their professional knowledge in interaction with other students.We will present the results of research on practical exercises for students as part of the course Integrated Curriculum of Early and Preschool Education within university undergraduate study Early and Preschool Education. The purpose of this research is to carry out an analysis of the frequency of situations from the social environment that influence the quality and direction of children's interactions. The instrument for data collection consisted of video recordings of children’s and students’ activities. The total material consisted of 660 video recordings, 174 reflections and self-reflections of students. After their analysis, we designed a written protocol (a posteriori), which formed the basis of the content analysis.The research results show that, during their initial education, students perform exercises in kindergarten as a form of reflexive practice, and in that way they develop the skills of reflexive practitioners who continuously evaluate the effects of their own achievements.Keywords: initial education of preschool teachers; reflexive practitioner; social interaction.---SažetakO inicijalnom obrazovanju studenata budućih odgojitelja raspravlja se kao o istraživačima odgojno-obrazovne prakse koji svakodnevno razmišljaju i raspravljaju o svome radu. Već na fakultetima studente treba poticati na razvoj kompetencija kojima će moći graditi svoje profesionalno znanje u interakciji s drugim studentima.Predstavit će se rezultati istraživanja o praktičnim vježbama studenata, odnosno refleksivnom praktikumu unutar kolegija Integrirani kurikulum ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja na sveučilišnom preddiplomskom studiju Rani i predškolski odgoj i obrazovanje. Svrha istraživanja je sadržajna analiza učestalosti situacija iz socijalnog okruženja koje su utjecale na kvalitetu i smjer dječjih interakcija. Instrument za prikupljanje podataka činile su videosnimke aktivnosti djece i studenata. Ukupan materijal sastojao se od 660 videozapisa i 174 refleksije i samorefleksije studenata. Nakon njihove analize, pristupilo se izradi pisanog protokola (a posteriori) koji je činio temelj sadržajne analize.Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da studentice tijekom svoga inicijalnog obrazovanja, provedbom vježbi u dječjem vrtiću kao refleksivnih praktikuma, razvijaju sposobnost refleksivnog praktičara koji kontinuirano vrednuje učinke svojih postignuća.Ključne riječi: inicijalno obrazovanje odgojitelja; refleksivni praktičar; socijalna interakcija.

Background/Objectives: In light of the concerning research data on students’ mental health, it is essential to provide high-quality programs that support children and young people in strengthening their psychological well-being. To address this need, the three-year Erasmus+ KA3 international project PROMEHS: Promoting Mental Health at Schools was developed. The project involved universities and education policy representatives from seven European countries, Italy (project leader), Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, and Romania. Its core activities included the development of the PROMEHS curriculum, grounded in three key components: social and emotional learning, resilience, and the prevention of behavioral problems, alongside a rigorous evaluation of its implementation. The main research aim was to test the effect of PROMEHS on students’ and teachers’ mental health. Methods: In Croatia, the curriculum was introduced following the training of teachers (N = 76). It was implemented in kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools (N = 32), involving a total of 790 children. Using a quasi-experimental design, data were collected at two measurement points in both experimental and control groups by teachers, parents, and students. Results: The findings revealed significant improvements in children’s social and emotional competencies and resilience, accompanied by reductions in behavioural difficulties. These effects were most evident in teachers’ assessments, compared to parents’ ratings and student self-reports. Furthermore, teachers reported a significantly higher level of psychological well-being following implementation. Conclusions: Bearing in mind some study limitations, it can be concluded that this study provides evidence of the positive effects of PROMEHS in Croatian educational settings. Building on these outcomes and PROMEHS as an evidence-based program, a micro-qualification education was created to ensure the sustainability and systematic integration of the PROMEHS curriculum into Croatian kindergartens and schools.

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