Non-state preschool education: current practices of territorial development

The paper is concerned with the problem of preschool education in Russia and the Vologda region. It shows that in the current context of shortage of places in state nurseries it is necessary to develop private care service providers. Day-care is in great demand among parents having children aged 1-3. The article analyses the main characteristics of preschool educational organizations. It shows that in the Vologda Oblast, particularly in Vologda, private demand for preschool education service is unsatisfied to a wide extent. In Vologda more than ten thousand children are on waiting lists for preschool educational organizations. In total, in the Vologda Oblast about 28.9 thousand children are in line for admitting to a kindergarten, 34% of them are registered in Vologda. The paper provides the results of the study into Vologda private nurseries and day-care carried out in May-June 2015 by method of involved observation. It reveals the key factors hampering growth of private nurseries. It indicates the lack of license of educational activities and motivation of most entrepreneurs to obtain it as one of the factors. The results show that unlicensed gardens are not controlled by the authorities and public organizations. Interaction between the private institutions of pre-school education is not provided as well. We can observe that some private sector organizations do not meet the requirement of health and safety standards and impose limiting measures for the sake of children health such as organization of walks due to the absence of a secure walking site. High amount of parental fee is also found out. The article offers directions for the development of private preschool education service.