Hospital preschool teachers in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The profession of a hospital teacher is a very demanding job which requires a lot of knowledge and skills. Hospital school teachers need to have sufficient information about preschool pedagogy, about a child's illness, they need to know how the disease ruins a child in physical, mental and social domains and must be able to adequately intervene. Among others, communicative competencies and empathy are demanded. They must be able to adapt and react promptly to changes which are caused by children's health state and medical requirements. They need to be able to cooperate effectively with healthcare professionals and psychologists. In addition, they must have coping strategies to manage a child's serious health deterioration or child's death. The aim of the study was to understand and describe the experience of hospital teachers who educate chronically ill preschool children. In the empirical part of a qualitative research strategy was used by the technique of semi-structured interviews. Participants in the study are four preschool hospital teachers. Clinical settings in hospitals are the environments where there is a need for qualified teachers with specific professional characteristics, skills, and competencies. This profession has an enormous demand on the teacher's personality, his/her emotional stability, the ability of the positive and energetic thinking that a professional is able to transfer and distribute. It is the hospital teacher who "makes the little difference" and brings joy, comfort, and peace to the child and his/her parents.