THE CHILD'S ADAPTATION TO AND INTEGRATION INTO SOCIETY AS A PRESSING PROBLEM OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION THEORY

. Drawing on a theoretical-analytical study, the article examines the adaptation and integration of the child into society as a pressing problem of preschool education theory. The aim is to clarify the boundaries of the concepts of socialisation, adaptation and integration, to reveal their interrelation and to substantiate the conditions for the transition from adaptation to integration in preschool settings. The study applies a systematised literature review, conceptual analysis, the comparativetypological method, modelling and content analysis of legal documents. Adaptation is distinguished as a one-way process in which the child adjusts to the demands of the environment, while integration is defined as a two-way process of mutual adjustment between the child and the group community. Three stages of the adaptation period and its typical dynamics are described; four criteria of integration are identified — participation in activity, acceptance by peers, the ability to influence group rules, and acting on one's own initiative. A system of factors that impede adaptation and integration together with compensating pedagogical conditions is proposed.