CAREER CHOICE, PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND THE DESIRE TO LEAVE THE PROFESSION AS PART OF A PRESCHOOL TEACHER'S PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY

Early childhood and preschool education and care have changed significantly due to many new findings. This has also changed the importance of preschool teachers, who are confronted with a variety of challenges and new tasks on a daily basis. It is closely linked to their professional identity as a changing category of the complex development process of an individual in their profession. The aim of this study was to determine how preschool teachers perceive certain factors, in this case career choice, positive or negative experiences and the desire to leave the profession, to affect their professional development and identity. The questionnaires were completed by 594 preschool teachers at different stages of professional development and levels of education. It was found that a significant percentage of preschool teachers knew very early on that they wanted to become a preschool teacher, just as the majority never wanted to leave their profession. Those who do, usually see the reasons in stressful situations. A certain correlation was found between positive or negative descriptions and the professional development phase, i.e. the level of training of the preschool teachers.