Preschool Teachers’ Competence Fields and their Significance from the Perspectives of Students, Teachers, Principals, and University Lecturers

The presented research highlights the main professional fields of preschool teacher competence, a central feature of their university preparation at the Faculty of Educational Studies and the Arts. They were developed by a team of academic staff from the Sofia University of the "Preschool and Media Pedagogy" department and were evaluated by students, teachers, principals, and university lecturers. The analysis of the results provides the reason for defining five fields of competence as contemporary projections of the professional realization of the preschool teacher, which should be laid down and developed in training at universities. These fields of competence are: 1. Pedagogical interaction with children; 2. Teamwork and interaction with children’s families; 3. Educational environment; 4. Pedagogical interaction in a multicultural and inclusive environment, and 5. Leadership.