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prof. dr. sc. Sanja Tatalović Vorkapić |
Presentation Title: Considering early childhood educators’ competencies for mental health and well-being: One of the solutions for working with vulnerable children
Contemporary discourses on the relevant competencies of educators in the 21st century refer, among others, to competencies in well-being and mental health. They are based on the needs of practise and the findings of recent research in the field of well-being and mental health when working with early and preschool age children, especially those at risk. Therefore, it is important to explore educators' attitudes towards descriptive discourse, which was investigated in this study. The results showed that while educators are aware of the importance of metal health and well-being competencies, they also acknowledge that they lack them. The practical implications of this study are related to the need to modify contemporary study programmes and lifelong learning programmes.
Sanja Tatalović Vorkapić (female), PhD, full professor in the field of psychology, with experience in research and project management, nationally and internationally. She has been working at the Faculty of Teacher Education for 20 years. Previously, she worked in kindergarten, elementary school, secondary school, and the Centre for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment. She has rich work experience in the field of child and adolescent mental health and the psychological needs of diverse children, so her research interests are closely related to the well-being of children and adolescents in educational contexts, the personality of teachers and children and their relationship with each other. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses (Developmental Psychology, Psychology of Early Learning and Teaching, Emotional Intelligence, Developmental Psychopathology, Methodology of Quantitative Research, Positive Psychology, Psychology of Child Well-Being) and doctoral courses in Pedagogy (Contemporary Research in Personality Psychology in the Educational Context). She is the principal investigator of two nationally funded projects focused on supporting children, families, and teachers during childhood transitions, "Children's well-being during transitions: The empirical validation of the Ecological-dynamic model" and "How to enter kindergarten and elementary school tear-free? - Supporting children's socio-emotional well-being during transition and adjustment." She was the main coordinator of the Croatian team in the international Erasmus+ KA3 project "PROMEHS: Promoting Mental Health in Schools" and developed a lifelong learning program at her faculty based on the results of PROMEHS. She has authored numerous articles, books and book chapters (200 in total) and given a large number of presentations in the field of mental health, well-being, and positive psychology. She was awarded as the Best researcher in the field of social sciences at the University of Rijeka in 2014 and as the Best teacher at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Rijeka in 2017. At her faculty, she was the Vice-dean for Quality Assurance and Study Program Development and the Head of the Department of Educational Sciences. Currently, she is the main editor of the Croatian journal Educational themes and one of the ENSEC chairs (2022-2025).
Contemporary discourses on the relevant competencies of educators in the 21st century refer, among others, to competencies in well-being and mental health. They are based on the needs of practise and the findings of recent research in the field of well-being and mental health when working with early and preschool age children, especially those at risk. Therefore, it is important to explore educators' attitudes towards descriptive discourse, which was investigated in this study. The results showed that while educators are aware of the importance of metal health and well-being competencies, they also acknowledge that they lack them. The practical implications of this study are related to the need to modify contemporary study programmes and lifelong learning programmes.
Sanja Tatalović Vorkapić (female), PhD, full professor in the field of psychology, with experience in research and project management, nationally and internationally. She has been working at the Faculty of Teacher Education for 20 years. Previously, she worked in kindergarten, elementary school, secondary school, and the Centre for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment. She has rich work experience in the field of child and adolescent mental health and the psychological needs of diverse children, so her research interests are closely related to the well-being of children and adolescents in educational contexts, the personality of teachers and children and their relationship with each other. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses (Developmental Psychology, Psychology of Early Learning and Teaching, Emotional Intelligence, Developmental Psychopathology, Methodology of Quantitative Research, Positive Psychology, Psychology of Child Well-Being) and doctoral courses in Pedagogy (Contemporary Research in Personality Psychology in the Educational Context). She is the principal investigator of two nationally funded projects focused on supporting children, families, and teachers during childhood transitions, "Children's well-being during transitions: The empirical validation of the Ecological-dynamic model" and "How to enter kindergarten and elementary school tear-free? - Supporting children's socio-emotional well-being during transition and adjustment." She was the main coordinator of the Croatian team in the international Erasmus+ KA3 project "PROMEHS: Promoting Mental Health in Schools" and developed a lifelong learning program at her faculty based on the results of PROMEHS. She has authored numerous articles, books and book chapters (200 in total) and given a large number of presentations in the field of mental health, well-being, and positive psychology. She was awarded as the Best researcher in the field of social sciences at the University of Rijeka in 2014 and as the Best teacher at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Rijeka in 2017. At her faculty, she was the Vice-dean for Quality Assurance and Study Program Development and the Head of the Department of Educational Sciences. Currently, she is the main editor of the Croatian journal Educational themes and one of the ENSEC chairs (2022-2025).
