Child Care In Russia

Day care was originally conceived by Soviet educators as a vehicle for fostering the roots of collectivism, patriotism, and love of work in children. As idealist dreams faded, objectives were reshaped to serve conformity, instill unquestioning obedience, and minimize individual differences. The author compares child care during the 1970s and early 1990s and finds important changes in overall goals and principles.

Where once meticulous attention was paid to state-provided curricula and objectives that encouraged uniform thought and behavior, Ispa found in her recent trip that some teachers were beginning to encourage independent problem-solving, initiative, and recognition of differences among individuals. Ispa makes many fascinating comparisons between Russian and American day care, both in terms of facilities and attitudes toward children and their parents.

This is an important contribution to the study of childhood around the world. Review: .,. the book is a storehouse of detail and carefully rendered observation of late Soviet preschool theories and practices. Most interesting, of course, are the examples of how they have been changing, together with the changes in the larger society that are reflected in the schools....revealing snapshots of a narrow slice of urban Russian life in the early 1990's.

This should appeal to anyone with an interest in Russian society, and to anyone with interests in children anywhere. -The Russian Review