203 KB0 KB2026Bučević, PetraSemolanji Tokić, Idaštevilka:1letnik:77str. 149-167ISSN:0038-0474DOI:10.63384/spB61z886aCOBISSID_HOST:276929795URN:URN:NBN:SI:doc-GU94OYP9enZveza društev pedagoških delavcev SlovenijeSodobna pedagogikamarket conditionspredšolska pedagogikapreschool pedagogyprivate educationprivate kindergartensprivatno šolstvotržne razmerezasebni vrtciBetween market and mission| early childhood education and care in the context of commodification and market practices|An educational institution’s mission is vital for creating shared understanding and guiding pedagogical practice. Grounded in democratic and humanistic values, the mission shapes pedagogical approaches, organisational culture and relationships within the institution. Privately founded early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions often struggle to align such missions with market pressures. As such institutions operate outside the public funding system, they must balance visibility, competitiveness and parental expectations while safeguarding their pedagogical integrity. This study examined how directors of private ECEC institutions in Croatia define and communicate their pedagogical missions and adapt their institutional goals amid external demands. Grounded in critical theory and informed by Goffman’s framework of impression management, the work conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of structured written interviews. Its findings show that the interviewed directors not only manage institutions but also construct public narratives shaped by neoliberal expectations of visibility and differentiation while striving to preserve pedagogical values. Aware of systemic inequalities, directors employ balancing as a conscious strategy to sustain professional integrity and children’s well-being, identifying pedagogical values – not market logic – as their moral compass. The study’s limitations include the constraints of written interviews and its reliance on thematic coding, which may overlook several linguistic nuancesPoslanstvo vzgojno-izobraževalne ustanove je ključno za oblikovanje skupnega razumevanja in usmerjanje pedagoške prakse. Utemeljeno v demokratičnih in humanističnih vrednotah oblikuje pedagoške pristope, organizacijsko kulturo in odnose znotraj ustanove. Na področju zgodnje vzgoje in izobraževanja (ZVI) se zasebne ustanove pogosto soočajo s težavo usklajevanja takšnega poslanstva s tržnimi pritiski. Ker delujejo zunaj sistema javnega financiranja, morajo uravnotežiti prepoznavnost, konkurenčnost in pričakovanja staršev, hkrati pa varovati pedagoško integriteto. Študija je preučevala, kako ravnatelji zasebnih institucij ZVI na Hrvaškem opredeljujejo in komunicirajo svoje pedagoško poslanstvo ter kako prilagajajo institucionalne cilje ob zunanjih zahtevah. Izhajajoč iz kritične teorije in ob upoštevanju Goffmanovega okvira upravljanja vtisov, je bila uporabljena kvalitativna tematska analiza strukturiranih pisnih intervjujev. Ugotovitve kažejo, da ravnatelji ne le vodijo ustanove, temveč tudi oblikujejo javne narative, ki jih zaznamujejo neoliberalna pričakovanja glede prepoznavnosti in diferenciacije, ob tem pa si prizadevajo ohraniti pedagoške vrednote. Ker se zavedajo sistemskih neenakosti, uravnoteženje uporabljajo kot zavestno strategijo za ohranjanje strokovne integritete in dobrega počutja otrok, pri čemer pedagoške vrednote, ne tržno logiko, prepoznavajo kot svoje moralno vodilo. Omejitve študije vključujejo omejitve pisnih intervjujev in zanašanje na tematsko kodiranje, pri čemer so lahko jezikovne nianse spregledaneTEXTznanstveno časopisjejournalsSlovenian National E-content AggregatorNational and University Library of SloveniaZveza društev pedagoških delavcev Slovenije