MODERN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION ABROAD

In many countries of the world, preschool education is the primary link in a unified system of upbringing and education. As a rule, most countries operate stationary and seasonal nurseries, kindergartens with different working hours, preschool departments at primary grades, kindergartens, and playgrounds. Educational work, the purpose of which is the harmonious development of children, the formation of life skills in society, is carried out in accordance with the programs of upbringing and education. In all countries there are systems for training pedagogical workers (courses, secondary specialized, higher educational institutions). Each national system of preschool education has its own characteristics and its own best practices. The article reviews and analyzes the systems of preschool education in foreign countries. The features and directions of preschool education are highlighted. The main problems of preschool education systems in the studied countries are identified. The main types and programs of preschool institutions are characterized. The article substantiates the expediency of studying the European experience for solving modern problems of preschool education in Ukraine. The experience of organizing preschool education in the UK, Denmark, the USA and other countries is analyzed. It is shown that the systems of preschool education in these countries have their own characteristics and their own promising experience. It is established that what is common to preschools in European countries is a special focus on creating a developmental environment and organizing various activities that contribute to the overall development of the child and prepare him or her for school. The training of pedagogical staff to work in preschool institutions is carried out in each country according to its own system of professional training (courses, secondary specialized institutions, institutes, universities, higher schools). The ideas that can be applied in the development of preschool education in Ukraine are highlighted. It has been established that no matter how peculiar and original the national systems of education and upbringing of preschool children may be, they all have universal principles at their core, constitute a single and holistic system of preschool upbringing and education as a general civilizational phenomenon. We see prospects for further exploration in the comparative characteristics of preschool education abroad and in Ukraine.