Building Collaborative Relationships in Institutions of Early and Preschool Education: Research on Principals' Perspectives

Cooperation of professionals in the field of early and preschool education, and a cooperative atmosphere and culture within the institution undeniably have a positive impact on creating better and more quality practices aimed... [ view full abstract ]

Cooperation of professionals in the field of early and preschool education, and a cooperative atmosphere and culture within the institution undeniably have a positive impact on creating better and more quality practices aimed at the children. It is important that leadership be the key driving force in the promotion of cooperative relations within the institution. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the professional role of the principal in the promotion of a collaborative culture within the institution of early and preschool education. We (1) investigated the principals' views and opinions about the mission, vision, and values of the institution in the process of achieving and creating a collaborative culture within the institution (qualitative approach) and (2) determined their perception and assessment of the quality of the learning process at the individual, team, and organizational levels in early and preschool educational institutions (quantitative approach). We applied a semi-structured interview consisting of two topic areas and a shorted (26 items) A form of the questionnaire on the dimensions of a learning organization and organizational outcomes as the measuring instrument (DLOQ-Watkins and Marisick, 2003). The research included a sample of 13 kindergarten principals from the Primorje-Gorski kotar County. The paper pays special attention to questions such as: What skills are crucial for building positive relationships? In what ways do principals encourage cooperative behavior within the institution? What factors facilitate cooperation? What strategies do principals use to build a collaborative culture within the kindergarten? Based on the results, we suggest guidelines that should be followed in order for the kindergartens to progress toward organizations characterized by a complete inclusion of employees into the process of change, which is commenced and guided by collaborators, and collectively responsible and oriented towards mutual values and principles.