Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the principles of creating and functioning of private kindergartens and other forms of pre-school education in Poland and their impact on shaping local networks of kindergartens. The author points out the example of Dabrova Gornicza commune that despite the liquidation of a significant number of kindergartens in the initial phase of decentralization of education in Poland, their number has not decreased, but has increased. It is precisely due to the possibility of creating non-public kindergartens. Researchers dealing with this issue, such as B. Sliverski, G. Grabovski, S. Guz, T. Levovicki, H. Mushynski, P. Svianievicz, J. Krukovska, M. Lackovska-Madurowich, J. Lukomska include assigning significant autonomy to kindergartens in the field of organizational, program, methodological and care-educational changes to the positive aspects of reforming the system of education. The negative aspects are: low social experience in the field of self-governance, a decrease in the number of children covered by institutional pre-school education, closing kindergartens, a significant decrease in state and local government expenditure on maintenance of kindergartens, increasing parental costs of attending children to pre-school institutions, worsening material conditions of kindergartens and decrease in the salary of the teaching staff employed in them. The change in the system in Poland triggered the process of transforming the centrally planned economy with state property into a free market economy dominated by private ownership. In Poland after 1989, the movement of schools and alternative educational institutions, including private kindergartens, has been revived. According to Art.82 of the Act on the education system of September 7, 1991, legal and natural persons may establish non-public kindergartens after receiving an entry in the register kept by the local government unit, which sends a certificate of entry to the school board and tax office. These kindergartens are covered by the pedagogical supervision of the school superintendent. The conclusions presented at the end are a summary of the most important issues raised in the article, and therefore types of kindergartens, the obligation of local governments to provide all children aged 6 of free access to branches preparing children for school and payment for kindergartens.

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