In Slovenia, the notion of educational work impacting character development dates at least to the pedagogy of the Enlightenment period. This study examines the educational value of work in a contemporary Slovenian rural setting, where children are daily exposed to various work.
In drawing attention to the concept of educational work in early childhood socialization, I am particularly interested in the meaning attributed to work Harris ; Spittler which is embedded in social relationships rather than in the function of work in its economic rationality. In my analysis, I draw attention to specific historical trajectories, which are characterised in Slovenia by late industrialization, domestic agricultural economy, and semi agricultural lifestyles, as well as to the value attributed to work in the socialist Yugoslavia, and the continuity and change of the value of work in the context of post-socialist transitions to global neoliberal market economy.
Under the influence of capitalist ethics, work and play, work and leisure, as well as work and family life are often perceived as opposing each other. While play is typically understood as an intrinsically motivated process where the end product is experience itself, work is understood as goal-oriented and confined to the adult world Sutton-Smith Furthermore, schooling and extracurricular activities take the role of socializing young children into competent adult worker citizens Mayall Here, work and play in childhood are not necessarily viewed as mutually exclusive, but can be seen as interconnected, with work impacting growing up just as much as play.
Child-rearing experts, special education teachers and psychologists e. In this context, the participation of children in work is not aimed at production and economic contribution. But since, in turn, the resulting characteristics such as diligence, responsibility and independence should ideally enhance their economic contribution in adulthood, the aspects of socialization and discipline are undoubtedly at stake here Foucault The study was primarily set within the two kindergartens.
A total of 6 kindergarten teachers, 35 parents 27 mothers and 8 fathers , 3 grandmothers and 38 children aged 2 to 6 years 18 girls and 20 boys participated in this study. The area comprises several scattered villages and a settlement with approximately inhabitants serving as an administrative centre with a school, a kindergarten, a church, a grocery store, a petrol station, two bars, tourist accommodation and two small-size manufactures, which opened in the s.
