Evaluating the Quality of Preschool Education in Russia

Abstract The article presents the results of the 4-year study focusing on the evaluation of the quality of education at Russian pre-school educational institutions; the evaluation was carried out in the three major areas of the pre-school institution work: favourable environment at a preschool educational institution facilitating the development of a child, professional qualifications of teachers working with children and extra services provided by a kindergarten. To assess the effectiveness of pre-school educational institutions in these areas it was proposed to use 55 main indicators of the basic areas of their work. The present study undertakes to design a permanent mechanism of evaluating the quality of pre-school education at a particular kindergarten and of informing the general public about their quality and availability. The designed mechanism of ranking provides the interested parties with reliable information on the key aspects of the services provided by kindergartens in the sphere of pre-school childcare and education.