The phenomenon of ritualized behaviour in Czech nursery school

Abstract

Empirically focused article is dealing with the topic of rituals and ritualized behaviour in the environment of Czech nursery schools. Rituals and ritualized behaviour are defined as repetitive activities that are happening in a specific detachment from everyday life. They begin and end with a ceremony and have powerful symbolic content, significant functions and their length varies. The study offers results of qualitative research, which aims to discover how rituals and the ritualized behaviour are used in educational reality of nursery schools. Participant observation was utilized in 4 nursery schools, as well as semi-structured interviews with 4 teachers from those schools. The research proposes that rituals and ritualized behaviour are an integral part of the life in nursery school. They are very attractive for children and are fully controlled by the teacher. She uses them deliberately as an aid to ease most of the educational activities in nursery school.