Abstract:

Institutional preschool education in the Czech Republic is undergoing a series of transformations, which need to be reflected by kindergartens and their employees, who are required to adjust the learning content and the educational conditions. One of the changes that will affect all kindergartens starting 2020/2021 is that two-year-old children will have the right to be accepted in kindergarten in their catchment area. Until that time, two-year-old children may be accepted in kindergarten, but the decision is up to the headteacher. The decision concerning acceptance of two-year-old children in kindergarten depends primarily on the specific conditions of each kindergarten. Until 2020, kindergartens are supposed to adjust the conditions to suit two-year-old children. This amendment raises concerns not only among educational authorities but mainly among kindergarten teachers. Therefore, the present research study involves kindergartens across the whole Czech Republic and focuses on teachers’ attitudes to this amendment. The research method was a questionnaire which focused not only on subjective perception of kindergarten teachers, but also on the conditions in various kindergarten environments.

Keywords:

Two-year-old child, kindergarten, educational conditions, Czech Republic, research.