the preschool educational system in montenegro: current ... · cultural process, and (c) preschool...

172 Sodobna pedagogika/Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies Let./Vol. 68 (134)

Št./No. 2/2017 Str. 46–63/pp. 172–189

ISSN 0038 0474Tatjana L. Novović

The preschool educational system in Montenegro: Current state and prospects

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of the current preschool educational system in Montenegro. By analysing current structural and functional variables, we identify new opportunities in the current preschool system, indicating the level of responsiveness of the kindergarten pedagogical environment. The Strategy for Early and Preschool Education in Montenegro (2016–2020) has introduced future development directions of the segment early and preschool education, including the further extension of preschool education coverage, the efficient accessibility of services, and the diversification of educa-tional programmes. The key factors related to high-quality pedagogical practice in preschools are the teachers, who are expected to be reflective practitioners, researchers, and promoters of functional change in the institutional context and, consequently, in the wider social environment. The functioning of the institutional preschool context in Montenegro is in line with the new paradigm of the competent child, taking into account the cultural and process-interpretative variables in the particular environment. Moreover, numerous obstacles to building a quality learning community—such as class size, lack of space, and lack of a support system—are evident. Due to the lack of structural and qualitative responsive conditions, children from the northern region, especially the rural areas; Roma and Egyptian children; and children with developmental difficulties are unable to effectively exercise their right to full and active participation in Montenegro’s current preschool institutional context.

Key words: preschool education, children, preschool teachers, quality, coverage, inequality

UDC: 373.2

Scientific article

Tatjana L. Novović, PhD, associate professor, University of Montenegro, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Pedagogy, Ulica Danila Bojovića bb, ME-81400 Nikšić, Montenegro, e-mail: [email protected]

� Novović��173

Introduction

One of the fundamental theses that determine social attitudes towards the organised care and education of preschool children in the existing social context is the idea of the early development stages being “the formative years” in which the full development capacity of each individual is realised. At the beginning of the 20th century, a number of scientists, experts, and practitioners focused their research on preschool development potential from different disciplinary perspectives. This resulted in more comprehensive, complex, and meaningful representations of ge-netic predispositions, the directions of stimulation, and the overall preservation of childhood. The melding of the reform–pedagogical, cognitive, and psychoanalytic perspectives advances the notion of a child as “an actor of its own development” and�“a�being�of�relationships”�(Bašić�2011,�p.�25).

With regard to child development issues and the characteristics of the de-velopment stages, different polysemy criteria may be applied. Martin Woodhead (2012) outlined three important issues arising from the contextual concept of childhood: (a) differences in early childhood, (b) development as a social and cultural process, and (c) preschool as a social construct. In his book Child and Culture,�Igor�Semjonovič�Kon�(1991)�identified�three�criteria�for�determining�child�development. The first refers to individual development through biological matura-tion—that is, physical features and functions that are expected to occur according to chronological age. The second criterion is social age, which indicates the degree of maturity in terms of social skills and the capacity to accept and understand dif-ferent social roles and relations in society. The third is the child’s mental age, as determined by specific achievement standards and competencies that are typically evident at his or her developmental stage (ibid.). Each age level is characterised by a set of expected behavioural patterns related to cognitive, social–emotional, and motor development. In addition to the above-mentioned criteria for monitoring development, some specific standardised indicators of maturation in all these spheres are used for periodisation and to more effectively stimulate development progress to achieve its full capacity. For the representatives of various scientific disciplines, development has different frames, borders, symbols, meanings, and

174� Sodobna�pedagogika/Journal�of�Contemporary�Educational�Studies� Novović

repercussions depending on interpretive reification of a given cultural context (Woodhead 2012).

The socio-historical development, within the natural genesis and evolution, shifts the boundaries of expected behaviour and, to some extent, changes the aforementioned development criteria or demands their review. The widespread, hypothetically absolutised age patterns interfere partially with individual and developmental behaviour; therefore, today, we often hear about the premature “social smile”, the phenomenon of a child “I”, or “precocious puberty”. Within dif-ferent family and cultural matrices, the interindividual differences, along with the aforementioned factors of influence, show that there is no single, ideal periodisation of development and prove that certain universally designed guidelines for general growth rules are meaningful and necessary. Transitions from one development stage to another entail specific, filigree-woven, pliable behavioural cells and they require serious and comprehensive attention and additional support for children to stimulate more natural movement through the stages of life. The age transitions are critical, sensitive periods, and the ways in which they are lived out are closely linked to the structure of the social, cultural, traditional, and transgenerational “legacy”�(Kon�1991).�

Kon�(ibid.,�p.�213)�discusses�the�three�major�macro�trends�in�the�modern�world: the increasing number of social institutions, the increasing activity and subjectivity of a child, and the changing goals of socialisation. Therefore, the struc-ture and complexity of the impact of socialisation on children is multiplying and is being differentiated. Although complex socialisation influences produce a more stimulating environment, we recognise the new challenges that are transmitted and “received” by various agents; therefore, they must be compiled carefully and functionally for the purposes of education.

Contemporary research on participation in preschool programs on theirdevelopment and learning

An�extensive,�thorough,�and�insightful�meta-analysis�by�Kevin�M.�Gorey�(2001),�based�on�35�experimental�studies� in�the� field�of�preschool�education,�pointed out the far-reaching importance of quality programme interventions at an early age. The results clearly indicate that there is a distinctive, long-term, and significant impact of early stimulation on socio-emotional behaviour in mature life�stages,�even�after�10�to�25�years�after�completing�the�programme.�In�addition,�an analysis of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test results reveals a significant correlation between preschool programme attendance and the results achieved in this testing. The authors of the report titled PISA in Focus (Prica et al. 2014, p. 16), which was written after research was conducted on�the�skills�of�students�in�34�OECD�countries,�stated�that�the�15-year-olds�who�attended preschool programmes for more than a year performed better in reading literacy than their peers who did not have this kind of early experience (the dif-ference�was�54�points)�(ibid.).�One�of�the�most�cited�studies�devoted�to�measuring�

175Sistem predšolske vzgoje v Črni gori: stanje in perspektive/The preschool educational system in Montenegro: Current state and prospects

the impact of investing in preschool education and its significant multiple ef-fects on different social spheres is the work of Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman (2012), in which he discusses the exceptional profitability and numerous benefits of investing in the education of the youngest members of the population.

A major longitudinal study titled Effective Preschool and Primary Education Study�(Sylva�et�al.�2004),�which�was�conducted�in�the�United�Kingdom,�indicated�an extremely high correlation between participation in preschool programmes and the level of quality inclusion in the peer community of children from socially disadvantaged groups (ibid.). A meta-analysis, which included 36 studies conducted by Steven Barnett (according Prica et al. 2014) on the effects of preschool inter-vention programmes on the behavioural maturation of children from marginalised social groups, was undertaken. The results indicated that there were significant repercussions in terms of the short-term and long-term effects on the process of social adjustment (ibid.). These results provide indisputable evidence of the signifi-cant effects of timely investment in the early detection1, support, and stimulation of complete child development. In this sense, the results of neuroscience studies (Baker�et�al.�2005)�are�especially�indicative,�as�they�prove�that�the�fastest�and�most�intensive formation of synapses—that is, the construction of dense neuronal net-works—occurs during the first months of life and determines the cortical activity of a child. “What is main and most important in child development happens in the first years, and even in the first months of life. Subsequent development, taken as a whole, is not worth as much an act of this drama, which is largely filled with content”�(Vygotsky�1983,�p.�195).�This�clearly�indicates�the�need�for�the�representa-tives of various interests to adopt a sensible and responsible approach in terms of the methods and means used to stimulate and support children’s developmental and educational progress.

The systematic educational support to children in the Montenegrin context

The institutional preschool context, with all its components, including its cultural, curricular, financial, and social determinants, can encourage and em-power children, or it can reduce all the advantages and potential of childhood (Šagud 2014). Starting from the concept of a competent child whose childhood is rich in resources and potential, and not from a deficit model that presents a child as immature and dependent on adults, there has been a gradual transition towards a holistic approach within the postmodern paradigm with the intention to fully respect the personal idiom2 of each participant in the educational con-text. In the Montenegrin educational context, preschool education represents an integrative part of the child-oriented system and is ideologically and conceptually

1 Early detection refers to sytematic detection of problems in preschool (involves paediatricians, psychologists, defectologists …).

2 Individual specificities, capacities, potentials etc.


based�on�the�humanistic,�holistic–interactionist�approach�(Program�za�područja� aktivnosti … 2011, p. 6).

Preschool education in Montenegro is regulated by the General Law on Educa-tion (Opšti zakon o vaspitanju i obrazovanju 2013); the Law on Preschool Education (Zakon o predškolskom vaspitanju i obrazovanju 2010), hereafter referred to as the Law; and the Law on Social and Child Protection�(Zakon�o�socijalnoj�i�dječijoj�zaštiti 2013). Preschool education education is not mandatory; however, the Short Programme for Preschools: Working with Children About to Enrol in Primary School (Kraći�program�za�područja�aktivnosti�u�predškolskom�vaspitanju�i�obrazovanju,�2011; hereafter referred to as the Short Programme) should be implemented for all children from five years old to school age who are not included in the primary programme (Zakon o predškolskom … 2010, Art. 16).

The preschool educational programmes are categorised as primary, short, spe-cial, and others. Primary programmes are The Care and Educational Programme for Under 3 Years (Program njege i vaspitno-obrazovnog rada sa djecom uzrasta do 3. godine 2011), The Programme for Areas of Activities for Age Groups 3 to 6 (Program�za�područja�aktivnosti�u�predškolskom�vaspitanju�i�obrazovanju�od�3�do�6�godina 2011), The Three-Hour Preschool Programme (Trosatni predškolski vaspitno-obrazovni program 2016), and the previously mentioned Short Programme (2011).

Full-day educational programmes last six to twelve hours. The half-day kinder-garten programmes last four to six hours, while the short and special programmes last three to four hours (Zakon o predškolskom … 2010, Art. 13). Nurseries offer care for children up to three years old, while kindergartens offer programmes for preshoolers from three years old to school age. Preschool education can be organised in the family (ibid., Art. 23).

The Law (2010) places emphasis on interactive services, which play a significant role in supporting children and families in rural areas (ibid., Art. 28b). Preschool teachers make home visits to families in remote areas and provide parents with programme guidelines to enable them to support child development more appro-priately (ibid.). The direction in which the preschool education system is headed within the unified educational matrix and in terms of its functional interference with other contingent segments, has been highlighted in the recently adopted Strategy for Early and Preschool Education in Montenegro 2016–2020 (Strategija ranog�i�predškolskog�vaspitanja�i�obrazovanja�u�Crnoj�Gori�2016–2020�2016,�here-after referred to as The Strategy).

Quality aspects of the preschool education system

When it comes to the quality of the preschool system in general, we can discuss the various considerations of this complex, multifaceted construct. However, if we attempt to create a comprehensive synthesis of its numerous qualifying dimensions, we will outline a recognisable distinction between measurable, “tangible”, structural benchmarks and, conversely, procedural, contextual–formative descriptors of the unique educational environment. Quality is often determined by the plurality of


social values in different subcultures, and it changes with the evolution of different conditioning�and�interconnecting�factors�(Petrović-Sočo�2007,�p.�80).

The structural quality aspects of the preschool context refer to the pedagogical norms related to the number of children, the number of preschool teachers and other participants in the education practices and life of kindergarten, as well as the necessary, responsively projected infrastructure capacities and conditions. A research project titled “Self-evaluation of Preschool Education: Quality Evaluation” by�Ljubica�Marjanovič�Umek�et�al.�analysed�pedagogical�processes�in�17�preschool�institutions�(according�to�Kovač�Šebart�and�Hočevar�2014,�p.�543).�The�substrate�of�quality was divided into its three constituent components: a structural, “indirect” and procedural component and respective series of indicators in different areas.

A report by Jan Peeters (2016) on the quality of preschool education and the overall support of this sector in Montenegro put forward the qualitative EU frame-work for preschool education as the basis for defining the key quality indicators to analyse the situation in Montenegro and its neighbouring countries. The quality criteria for assessing the preschool context were the following: accessibility, the preschool education workforce, the curriculum, monitoring and evaluation, and the method of financing preschool institutions. Thus, in The Strategy (2016), the quality indicators can be found in its substantial centre in the presentable context analyses—that is, in the sphere of remarkable achievements, challenges, recom-mendations, and the directions of the future developments of the segment of early and preschool education.

An overview of the achievements and strategic goals of the development of the Montenegrin preschool educational system: The right to equal opportunities

In the context of complex scientific knowledge about the exceptional potential of preschool and the socially sublimated opinion regarding the importance of this developmental phase, it became necessary to review the current state of preschool education in the unique Montenegrin matrix and to set directions for its optimal improvement within a particular time frame. In this regard, an extensive analysis was carried out. The future development directions, which are clearly articulated in The Strategy (2016), invoke social awareness about the importance of systematic, organised, and focused support for children at an early age.

At present in Montenegro, there are 34 preschool education institutions (21 public and 13 private3) with a network of 122 educational units (664 age-deter-mined groups) divided into nurseries and kindergarten groups (Monstat … 2016a, Table 1). In light of new scientific knowledge about the capacity and developmental importance of early childhood, our community nursery preschool population has begun to gradually, but still insufficiently, occupy a more prominent place in sup-porting documents (Strategija ranog… 2016) and to attract more attention from

3 Private and public institutions implement the same programmes. They are licensed by the Ministry of Education of Montenegro and are funded by parents.


Montenegro’s professional, educational, political, and social public. The programme for children aged 0 to 3 years has already been developed, and training programmes for preschool teachers to facilitate their work with children in this age group have been�implemented�implemented�(Katalog�programa�…�2016).

An analysis of the average enrolment rate by age group for 2014 in the Study on Investing in Early Childhood Education in Montenegro (Prica et al. 2014; hereafter referred to as The Study) indicates a significantly lower coverage rate in�nurseries—that�is,�15%�of�children�up�to�3�years�old�attended�preschool�institu-tions, while more than half of the total preschool population (3–6) was enrolled in kindergarten (ibid.).

In�the�2015/2016�school�year,�16,972�children�(0�to�6�years)�were�enrolled�in�preschool;�this�number,�which�represented�37.69%�of�the�total�population�of�chil-dren, indicated a slight increase compared to previous years (Monstat ... 2016a). School year The number of educational units The number of children enrolled in preschools

Total Girls Boys

2000/2001 69 11 846 5�638 6 208

2001/2002 73 12�584 5�961 6 623

2002/2003 75 12 173 5�785 6 388

2003/2004 78 11�534 5�397 6 137

2004/2005 82 11 761 5�656 6�105

2005/2006 87 11 724 5�713 6 011

2006/2007 88 10�511 5�031 5�480

2007/2008 90 11 277 5�421 5�856

2008/2009 90 12 084 5�740 6 344

2009/2010 90 12 728 6 001 6 727

2010/2011 108 13�652 6�525 7 127

2011/2012 108 14�155 6 672 7 483

2012/2013 115 15�317 7�305 8 012

2013/2014 119 16 461 7 741 8 720

2014/2015 118 17 091 7 978 9 113

2015/2016 112 16 972 7�851 9 121

Table 1: Enrolment in Montenegrin preschools from 2000 to 2016 (Monstat … 2016a)

When�compared�to�the�2015/2016�school�year,�the�latest�data�from�the�Min-istry�of�Education�(MEIS�2017)�show�an�11.7%�increase�in�the�coverage�of�children�(18,972). Although there are no official data on the coverage of children aged 0–6, if we start, hypothetically, from the previous year’s quota of the total population of�preschool�children�(45,030),�the�current�figures�for�the�number�of�preschool�children�show�that�approximately�42.1%�are�covered�by�organised�preschool�educa-tion programmes. This figure is extremely low when compared to many European


countries. While, for example, in 2014, the coverage of five-year-olds by organised preschool�programmes�in�Montenegro�amounted�to�52.1%,� in�some�European�systems,�it�was�above�90%:�97%�in�Belgium,�90.1%�in�the�Czech�Republic,�95.8%�in�Denmark,�96.9%�in�Germany,�97.7%�in�Spain,�99.7%�in�France,�91.4%�in�Italy,�92.6%�in�Luxembourg,�99.6%�in�the�Netherlands,�91.8%�in�Slovenia,�and�95.3%�in�Sweden�(Early�Childhood�Education�…�2014/2015).

The�preschool�coverage�of�Montenegrin�children�varies�from�quite�high�(88%)�in�central�and�southern�regions�to�very�low�in�the�northern�municipalities�(27%)�(Prica et al. 2014). The majority of children attend full-day programmes (more than�98%�in�nurseries�and�88%�in�kindergartens),�while�fewer�than�2%�of�nursery�children�and�11%�of�kindergarten�children�attend�half-day�programmes�(ibid.).�

The reasons for insufficient preschool education coverage in Montenegro vary depending on the region. The lack of infrastructural capacities in the central and southern regions is the key obstacle that children face when it comes to exer-cising their right to enrol in organised educational institutions (Strategija ranog …2016). In the municipalities in the northern region (Berane, Bijelo Polje, Plav, Rozaje,�Pljevlja,�Plužine,�and�Šavnik),�where�the�coverage�is�significantly�below�the national average, the reasons for low attendance are completely different in nature. The dispersed settlements and their distance from the nearest educational institutions the underdevelopment of the municipalities, and the high poverty and unemployment rates compared to the rest of the country are the causes of the migration and outflow of young families and children to the central and southern regions (ibid.). Due to the distance from preschool facilities, children in remote areas do not have equal opportunities to actively participate in a peer-learning com-munity. Additional causes of the lower rate of preschool attendance in the north of Montenegro are the lack of information regarding the importance of stimulating preschool development potential, the fact that parents often ask for assistance from other family members, and the long-standing perception of kindergarten as a forced, undesirable option (Bennett et al. 2013).

The current data on the number of children enrolled in nurseries (4,716) (Graph�1)�indicate�a�significantly�lower�rate�of�coverage�of�children�aged�0�to�3�by�organised institutional programmes in relation to the total population of preschoolers in�Montenegro�(18,957).�The�central�educational�institutions�in�Montenegro�have�no official information about the coverage of children up to three years of age.

The average class sizes at public preschool institutions in Montenegro vary depending on the municipality, from very large (41 per group) in Podgorica (central region) to nine children per group in Andrijevica (northern region) (MEIS 2017). This means that in preschools in the central, southern, and coastal regions, pedagogical norms4 are not often respected when it comes to the number of children and the amount of physical space that should be provided for them.5

4 The standards for the average number of children per group are as follows: for children up to two years of age–12 children per group, for children two to three years of age–14, for children three to four years of age–20, for children four to five years of age–24, and for children five to six years of age–25.�For�mixed-age�groups,�the�norm�for�children�three�to�six�years�of�age�is�20�per�group�(Zakon�o�predškolskom … 2010, Art. 24).

5��It�is�3m²�per�child�(Pravilnik�o�bližim�…�2006,�Art.14).


By comparing the size of the group with the legal requirement the authors of The�Study�(2014)�point�to�3,377�(30%)�children�aged�three�to�six�(there�are�no�data�for nurseries) who influence class size and lead to overpopulation (Prica et al. 2014, p. 48). The lack of space and the redundant groups (the number of children exceeding the pedagogical normatives) in the central and southern regions affect the quality of interaction between children and teachers and communication in the Montenegrin preschool educational context (nursery and kindergarten). This is why in practice, the officially affirmed principles and guidelines are contextually interpreted in a modified way, because the teachers cannot implement the programme in a quality manner in such numerous groups. “We will manage”, “survive”, “keep the children safe”, and other similar statements are narratives that are common among teachers who are describing their work environment as insufficiently responsive to children`s needs.

Graph 1: Number of children in nurseries (MEIS 2017)


Globally,� the�comparative� figures�available� for� the�period� from�2000�to�2017 (Table 1) indicate an exponential increase in preschool attendance in Mon-tenegro. However, this increase does not correspond completely to the quality of the educational process, because the distribution of the children attending the preschool education programmes continues to be uneven. Namely, in the central and southern regions, the lack of space complicates the individualisation of the teaching process and the pedagogically effective participatory interaction of all the participants in the preschool community. Moreover, the parents have indicated that the inadequate working conditions—that is, the aforementioned issues of group size and deficient physical capacity—are the main barriers to accessing preschool and preschool services, representing the denial of the children’s right to participate in preschool education. Conversely, children in the northern region do not receive systematic support, and infrastructure barriers further complicate the quality and availability of preschool education programmes.

Children from vulnerable groups

The current indicators of the preschool attendance of children from socially deprived backgrounds and vulnerable groups in Montenegro refer predominantly to the Roma and Egyptian population (hereafter referred to as RE), as well as to children with special educational needs (hereafter referred to as SEN). With regard to RE parents, the available data indicate a lack of interest in enrolling their children in organised preschool education programmes and implicitly illustrate the indif-ferent, systematically inappropriate community approach to this problem (Table 2) (Izvještaj Zavoda za školstvo 2016).

Public preschool education institutions in Montenegro

Number of children 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017

RE population 252 159 113 103

Total number of children 16 196 16 000 16 972 18 733

Percentage�(%) 1.56% 0.99% 0.67% 0.55%

Table 2: RE children in preschool education institutions (Izvještaj Zavoda za školstvo 2016)

From the data shown in Table 2, we can observe that the proportion of RE children attending Montenegro preschools decreased in the period from 2013 to 2017, suggesting that there is a need to review the recent measures and motiva-tion methods for equal access to the preschool community.6 In an effort to ensure more efficient and extensive enrolment of RE children in regular preschools, activi-

6 There are no data on the total number of RE children (0–6) in Montenegro.


ties called “preparatory preschools” have been implemented in public preschools since 2012. These activities entail interactions between preschool institutions and RE families, Roma and Egyptian communities, local government, local Red Cross organisations, social welfare centers, and the schools in which the children are to enrol. The number of kindergartens that organised preparatory groups for RE children increased; consequently, at the beginning of 2016, the programme involved 12 institutions in all three regions in Montenegro. The work with these groups was carried out in the afternoon or during the school holidays, and RE children were separated from their peer majority groups. Upon the completion of the activity, the RE children left the kindergarten. It is obvious that in this way, the RE children were not functionally integrated into the preschool community; rather, they remained implicitly segregated from their peers, having been placed into a separate group with limited opportunities and rights. The aforementioned indicators illustrate the implicit resistant attitude of education policymakers and the community towards the needs of RE children and their equal access to pre-school education. This is confirmed by the methodologically inconsistent methods of monitoring and implementing the process of social inclusion of the children in the Montenegrin preschool system, as well as by the data on the outflow of RE children from kindergartens.

For children with SEN7, the early stimulation, systematic monitoring, and timely and appropriate individual support that is received in regular preschools are of particular importance. To increase the availability of preschool services, chil-dren with SEN are offered the opportunity to attend preschool under preferential terms (free of charge). According to current data from MEIS (2017), there are 927 children�with�SEN�enrolled�in�preschool� institutions�in�Montenegro�(Graph�2)� who are provided with individualised education plans within regular groups in nurseries and kindergartens.

In cases in which children are not provided with referrals to confirm their eli-gibility for special education services, they are not entitled to the above-mentioned requirements for enrolment in preschools nor, consequently, to the appropriate systematic support. The cooperation between the competent institutions in the support network is still insufficient; therefore, young children are not given equal opportunities in terms of early intervention, nor do their families receive psycho-social support (Strategija inkluzivnog … 2013).

7 There are no precise data on the total number of children with SEN in Montenegro.


Graph 2: Number of children with SEN in Montenegro preschools (MEIS 2017)

Directions and prospects for quality enhancement in preschool education in Montenegro

Starting from the aforementioned indicators of the number of children and the working conditions in preschools, the guiding principle of The Strategy (2016) is to ensure that the developmental needs of all children are met through services that have adequate programming and infrastructure, are run by competent profes-sionals and staff, and include the active involvement of communities and parents (ibid., p. 7). The three primary goals of The Strategy (2016) are operationalised through the following appropriate, carefully designed preschool education develop-ment directions:

1. Increase the coverage of preschool education to ensure the inclusion in line with international standards;

2. Improve the quality of preschool education services; and3. Introduce innovative, optimal, and sustainable funding models (ibid.).


The first operational strategic goal focuses on increasing the coverage of pre-school education to ensure that it includes all children aged three to compulsory school�age;�the�aim�is�to�achieve�up�to�95%�coverage�by�2020.�The�projected�objective�is based on the results of scientific observation and discoveries of the exceptional potential of preschool education, the relevant comparative indicators in preschool models of developed European systems, and the current infrastructure capaci-ties in Montenegro. The effective strategies for achieving these goals are defined in accordance with assumptions about the actual possibilities and the needs to provide complete, functional, and planned educational support to children at an early age. Although the Strategy (2016) pointed out that the increase in coverage is projected on the basis of very specific, attainable, and realistic goals, different actors in preschool and the broader educational and social contexts are sceptical when it comes to the real possibilities for the quality attainment of such ambi-tious goals. The projected coverage will be achieved by improving infrastructure, expanding interactive services and book and toy libraries, introducing innovative and flexible programmes, intensively integrating the RE population, improving the detection of and responses to the needs of children with SEN, and encouraging the active participation of parents and the local community (Strategija ranog … 2016, p.19).

Personnel requirements for the improvement of preschool education in Montenegro

Educational work with children in preschool institutions (nurseries and kindergartens) is carried out by preschool teachers, while special programmes (e.g. music, ballet, and art) are executed by assistant teachers (Zakon o predškolskom … 2010, Art. 28). In nurseries, a nurse and a preschool teacher work in tandem.

At present in Montenegro, 1,139 teachers work in the public and private preschools. According to current data, the average child–teacher ratio is 16:6 (Monstat … 2016b).

Fifty-one per cent of all kindergarten employees are preschool teachers (ibid.). The teachers engage in direct educational work with children for 26 hours a week, and five hours a day are spent in an educational group (Zakon o predškolskom … 2010, Art. 33). Children engage in various play and learning activities for one hour a day. If there is a child with SEN in the class, the teacher works alongside a teaching assistant. With regard to the quality of the pedagogical process in preschools, the teacher is the key agent of structural and systemic for-mative changes. The teacher’s professional knowledge and skills in the process of community building, in the true sense of the word, as well as his or her skilful use of methodological tools, contribute to changing the educational paradigm and ensuring the adoption of a personal and collective approach to educational action. According to Ewald Terhart (2001), teaching/learning activities can be viewed within and between the following dimensions:


– learning support—that is, creating conditions for active knowledge exploration and construction;

– framework as a means of contextually organising roles and ensuring quality interaction and teaching/learning;

– achieving the goal by ensuring that the methods are aligned with specific objectives; and

– encounter with the content, which entails harmonising the content with the�style�and�way�of�learning�(Krnjaja�and�Miškeljin�2006,�p.�100).

In the open preschool system, the expert assistants are expected to adopt a more active approach to the teaching and learning process, to engage in more dy-namic and complex communication with children, to shape the overall ambience together with all the stakeholders, and to ensure continuous, competent, and self-critical examination of compliance between intentions and actions. Teachers have the opportunity to improve cooperative learning skills, communication skills, and assertiveness and to exchange professional knowledge and expertise, thus creating a�new�discourse�of�participation�in�a�preschool�environment�(Krnjaja�and�Pavlović�Breneselović�2011).�In�the�book�Educating the Reflective Practitioner, Donald Schon (1987) presented an approach to educating professionals through “reflective practicum”.�According�to�some�authors�(Maksimović�2010,�McMahon�1999),�reflec-tive practice fully converges with action research in many aspects, as it implies the exploration of context and the improvement of education quality. Stephen Correy (in�Banđur�and�Maksimovic�2013,�p.�115)�pointed�out�that�this�is�a�process�in�which�practitioners investigate problems in a scientific manner and can, thus, initiate changes in decision-making and practice. In addition, professionals can conduct self-assessment as a process that systematically monitors, analyses, and evaluates work effectiveness to improve the quality of work and create a stimulating work climate that�provides�equal�opportunities�for�participation�(Vranković�and�Reberšak�2008).

Several factors have influenced major changes in preschool teacher educa-tion requirements in Montenegro: the new paradigm of childhood and pedagogical activities underlying the educational system, the elaboration of individuation and socialisation, cooperative learning, interculturalism, interdisciplinary discourse, and�alternative�pedagogical�theories�and�disciplines�(Hrvatić�and�Piršl�2004,�p.�385).�The�qualitative�changes�in�preschool�pedagogical�practice�are�the�result�of�not only teachers’ competencies and the contextual interpretation of the leading educational paradigm but also of teachers’ implicit pedagogy (“silent knowledge”) and the fact that they are operating in a reflective practicum—that is, their visions for the children’s well-being (Štirn Janota 2016, p. 129). In the Montenegrin edu-cational system, preschool teachers, as prominent representatives of this segment of education, still have a professionally ambiguous and even subordinate position (from the perspective of the teachers themselves) when compared to the teaching staff at other educational levels, especially if we take into account the overcrowded working conditions (central and southern regions). At the university level, in the context of professional education and training, the study programme for preschool


education is the only applied study programme in the Faculty of Philosophy (out of nine teacher study programmes), while the other teacher education programmes are academic. Out of 301 training programmes included in the Catalogue of Teacher Training Programmes for the School Year 2016/2017] (Katalog programa stručnog usavršavanja nastavnika za školsku 2016/2017. godinu 2016), 17 programmes are offered to preschool teachers. This question requires extensive research into practice with the use of a carefully designed research methodology. However, some of the aforementioned indicators point to the need to reflect on the system and improve the position of preschool education and the preschool teacher profession in Montenegrin society, as these are important prerequisites for increasing the in-clusiveness, fairness, and accessibility of preschool education system. With regard to improving teacher qualifications, the most important changes are reflected in the harmonisation of the general, vocational, practical, and research dimensions of education, starting from the level of initial education and training. Thereafter, there is a need to find the appropriate context for more suitable models of professional skills development, which are required by the modern society and labour market. Finally, the preschool teaching profession is extremely complex and requires con-tinuous research on educational practice, accountability, ethics, and creativity, as well�as�constant�reflection�within�the�context�of�lifelong�learning�(Jurčević-Lozančić�2014). In the current context, taking into account the ongoing state in terms of the number of children in groups in the central and southern regions, teachers’ reflec-tions on the learning process as an optimal way to find the path to each child`s education are more declarative fiction than real practicum. Therefore, in the near future, the strategic vision to increase the coverage of preschool education should be accompanied by the careful preservation of pedagogical norms to create quality and stimulating conditions for the full and equal participation of preschool children.

Conclusion

Starting from the recent indicators of the preschool system in Montenegro, we have attempted to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state in terms of the structural and functional qualitative features of the preschool institutional environment. Based on the available indicators and evident accomplishments (greater coverage; new, more diversified programmes; and the intensive professional devel-opment of teachers), the newly developed strategies propose future development directions for preschool education that refer to expanding and improving the quality of infrastructure, providing the responsive conditions for living and learning, and ensuring better access to kindergarten. Because the position of preschool education on the educational scale remains ambiguous, with only formal participation in the processes of change in Montenegro, the structural and qualitative improvement of the preschool segment requires serious team planning and a firm belief in the importance of all the participants in this system. Preschool institutions base their further internal development on reviews of systematic performance and practice processes�(Hočevar,�Kovač�Šebart�and�Štefanc�2013;�Kovač�Šebart�and�Hočevar�2014).�


Responsibly, comprehensively, and after thorough deliberation with all stakeholders in a unique educational and social matrix, it would be possible to induce changes that converge with global contemporary trends in pre-primary education and simultane-ously preserve the specificities of the cultural context and ethnographic heritage, which still retain their own traditional, transgenerational, “inherent” model of a child. Regarding the dimension of equal rights and the participation of all stake-holders in the preschool context, particularly challenging areas might be defined and addressed in the near future. It is evident that preschoolers from the northern region of Montenegro are at a disadvantage because of the poor infrastructure, the high poverty rate in this region, and the lack of awareness about the importance of providing organised support to children at an early age. Children from the central and southern regions are often at a disadvantage due to overcrowdedness, which results in limited space for playing and learning. Regardless of the planned and implemented activities geared towards the inclusion of RE children in preschool institutions, they are still insufficiently involved in regular preschool education programmes. Children with SEN attend preschools, but they are not fully covered by the corresponding systematic, individually tailored support; moreover, there continues to be a lack of adequate and responsive conditions for the functional fulfilment of their needs. With the aim of achieving substantial and effective long-term change and improvement of the positions and roles of all the participants in the pedagogical processes of Montenegrin preschool institutions, it is necessary to provide more accurate data on the total coverage of children in preschool education, as well as on special subsystem groups, to create the possibility for more effective and efficient “encounters” both among children and between children and adults in a better linked learning community.

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