Introduction: This paper presents the results of research focused on identification of preschool teachers’ progress in relation to the use of children’s preconceptions in formal pre-elementary education. It represents the theoretical concepts that are applied in the work with children’s preconceptions in schools. It analyses them and creates a platform for their own empirical investigation. This research was carried out in the Czech Republic. Methods: The empirical part of the study was conducted in the form of a qualitative research. Participant observation and interviews with preschool teachers were used for the data collection. The research findings were analysed and a model for using children’s preconceptions was created and interpreted subsequently. Results: The presence of children’s preconception in educational activities in preschool was found in the realised participant observation. The ways and types of practice of preschool teachers in relation to using children’s preconception are interpreted based on the research findings. Afterwards, based on the participant observation, in-depth interviews were carried out. From the collected data, it was observed that the practices of the teachers in connection to using children’s preconceptions are determined by the agency of the child, the experience of the teacher and the overall philosophy of the preschool. Limitations: This research was realised in the Zlín region in the spring of 2017. Data from the research cannot be generalised for the whole population. However, the following research will address agency theory in connection with children’s preconceptions. Discussion and conclusions: The practices of teachers in relation to using children’s preconceptions in formal education in preschools. The results show that the approach of teachers in connection with using children’s preconceptions differs. There are three ways interpreted out of the research findings: 1. A preschool teacher notices the preconception but does not react to it. 2. A preschool teacher notices the preconception and reacts to it. 3. A preschool teacher intentionally identifies the preconception and uses it further during the educational activity. The results show that a child’s agency plays an important role in relation to using children’s preconception. Additionally, they show that the decision to use or not to use children’s preconceptions is influenced by the preschool teacher’s experience and the philosophy of the preschool

Introduction: In recent years, teaching is no longer perceived only as a job, but as a profession. The study focuses on student’s view on the teacher’s profession, which is important in the context of becoming a teacher. During their university studies, student teachers are at the beginning of their professional careers. Their attitudes, values and principles are still evolving. Methods: Building on previous studies, qualitative methodology was applied. The main goals of the research were to describe the changing views of student teachers on the teacher’s profession, and to compare their views in the first and third years of study. Therefore, thematic writing was chosen. Results: The results show that the student teacher’s views change significantly during their university studies. While in the first year, student teachers focus more on the importance of childhood, their own practical experience and the teacher’s influence on a child’s life; in the last year of bachelor´s study, the emphasis is on the teacher’s personality, teaching professionalism and on the teacher as a learner can be observed. This paper can provide evidence that university education for kindergarten teachers is important and it most likely influences their future work. Discussion: The research findings show that it is appropriate to pay attention to how views about the teacher’s profession change. This could broaden the view of the development of the teacher profession concept and could also be a useful tool for modifying the content of future teachers’ education. Limitations: A certain limit of research can be sen in using one method. It would certainly be appropriate to supplement the research with interviews with participants. In my future research I will focus on this issue. Conclusion: 1. The student teachers’ views change significantly during their university studies, 2. The focus moves from their practical experience to the didactic theory. 3. There is a shift from focusing on personality of teachers to their abilities.

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The academic community has been discussing the options for using portfolios within the education process for a number of years. Studies looking at this phenomenon often focus on a constructivist concept of portfolios where the child is the main agent in creating the document (Sitz & Bartholomew, 2008; Smith et al., 2003). The alternative to this is the positivist concept of the portfolio. The submitted research study is focused on the use of portfolios specifically within the preschool environment. The research’s main objective was to understand how children’s portfolios are used within the education process in preschools and present the children’s perspective on their own portfolios. Adopting a qualitatively-focused research design, the research methods used were content analysis of portfolios, and interviews with children on their document. The research findings show that within the preschool environment, portfolios are used in a number of ways. These ways are directly linked to the teacher’s belief on the importance of portfolios for preschool-age children. A child’s portfolio can be a concept, a tool, a method or also a means. The results also present the children’s original perspective on their own portfolios. This study is based on a part of my completed rigorosum thesis (Trávníčková, 2019).

This study is aimed at finding preconceptions of preschool children about the functioning of the human body. It is divided into three parts. The first part presents theoretical background and highlights the importance of children's preconceptions for the children's learning process. The second part presents a variety of empirical surveys that demonstrate possible methodological approaches. The third part presents qualitative research using conceptual mapping methods, analyses of children's drawings and interviews with children. Research findings are presented in the conclusion and some structures of children's preconceptions about respiratory, circulatory and digestive systems are described.