THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION IN A CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT

In modern educational environment great attention is paid to the influence of the preschool and early education on a child's academic achievement and a personal development. Accordingly, the goal of our study is to determine the importance of preschool education in a child's development. In particular, in our study we have tried to answer the following main issues: What is the predictive value of early education for a child's development? What is the importance of the preschool institutions' physical environment for a child's development? What is an impact of preschool institution's educational program on different areas (physical, cognitive, social-emotional) of a child's development? 1,500 children of preschool age and 1,500 parents were involved in this study. An observational method was used to assess a child's development areas, and for additional information, parents' survey was made. The results of our research showed us that the children who had attended the preschool educational institution in comparison with the children who had not attended such institutions have higher indicator in the following development spheres: cognitive, physical and speech development; also, the development of these children is more versatile and harmonic than of the children who had not attended preschool institutions.