Training Needs of Educators in Nursery and Preschool Centers

The training of educators in Municipal Nursery and Preschool Centers in our country is more of a hope than a reality. The lack of an official institutional framework for training has contributed to the search for professional development based on the individual initiative of educators, without state support. The training needs of educators remain an uncharted area, and very few studies have addressed the issue of educators' training needs, which is the research goal of this paper. Specifically, this study investigates the training needs of educators in the Municipal Nursery and Preschool Centers of Kalamata as a case study. Adopting a qualitative approach, the study explores the problems faced by educators in their work to identify their training needs. Using semi-structured interviews as a research tool to collect data, the needs of thirteen educators from various specialties (Kindergarten Teachers, Preschool Nurses, and Preschool Assistant Nurses) were examined, selected through convenience sampling. The thematic analysis method was employed to analyze the data. The research results reveal that educators primarily identify problems in dealing with children with developmental disorders, communication with children who speak a different mother tongue, and cooperation with children's parents, while trying to address these problems on their own or by turning to colleagues. Their training needs stem from deficiencies in their basic education, as well as from problems they face in their pedagogical work. These needs are also influenced by the age of the children in their group and their years of experience.