In 2008 the Department of Childhood Studies of Vilnius Pedagogical University conducted the research: ‘Variety of Pre-school Education: Current Situation and Expectations of Society’, which was ordered and financed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania. One of the goals of the research was to reveal expression of pre-school education decentralisation because modern Lithuanian education is striving for a pre-school education system reform which is open to changes, dynamic, mobile and responds to the needs of the society. Research problems are related to changes in pre-school education management, to new regional pre-school education policy, to influence of parents on pre-school education practice, to accessibility to pre-school education and assurance of social justice. This includes identification of the variety of institutions providing pre-school education services and the supply of pre-school education programmes; revelation of peculiarities of pre-school education order and research on the role of parents growing pre-school children in initiating the development of decentralisation processes in pre-school education. The decentralisation in management, financing, education organisation and content of pre-school education has been observed in Lithuania lately. This was initiated by the progress in the Lithuanian education reform which opposed the dogmas and policy of soviet education system which had prevailed for a number of decades. The strategic documents of Lithuanian education development underline the necessity for a change in pre-school education and its capability of answering new orders and challenges emerging in the changing situation. This includes promotion of democracy in children education institutions, spread of education organisers’ possibilities and initiatives to act, promotion of private initiatives related to education of pre-school children and others. Pre-school education in Lithuania is oriented to education principles and objectives observed in the EU countries, which include striving for renewal of and accessibility to education, assurance of education quality and efficiency as well as that of social justice and variety of education forms and to results of modern education researchers. Thus, modern priorities of education policy determined a big variety of pre-school education decentralisation phenomena such as a more diverse structure of pre-school education, principles of choosing education content for pre-school children, emergence of private initiatives in establishment of pre-school education institutions and patents’ involvement in determination of goals, objectives and trends for education institution activity were identified.

During the development of research methodology, indicators of decentralisation were determined, the target groups, the samples and criteria for respondent selection were provided, the phases of the survey were planned and principles for database development were identified. The workgroup developed research methodology and instrumentation. Research methods: questionnairing, interviewing, internet survey, document analysis, case studies. The research methodology was developed combining methods of qualitative and quantitative research. The respondent groups and the sample were formed considering the research problem, goal and objectives. To ensure a well-rounded analysis of the problem, the sample included heads of education institutions providing pre-school education services (230), representatives of institutions (not of pre-school education) providing other services related to pre-school education (94), establishers of pre-school education and other institutions (57), parents and caregivers of pre-school children (1190), visitors of the Internet website (59). The research was conducted in all the counties of Lithuania.

Variety of institutions providing pre-school education services is increasing. Children are educated not only in institutions established by municipalities and local governments but also in organisations set up by confessional bodies, associations and communities. Parents expressed lack of education institutions or groups for infants and a demand for a bigger variety in models of pre-school group gathering. Not all the parents have a possibility to use services of Saturday or Sunday groups, summer camps or other forms of children’s involvement in different activities. Decentralisation of pre-school education content and a variety of education programmes conditioned by that decentralisation were established during the research. The programmes developed by communities of separate institutions and approved by municipalities are implemented. Parents‘ involvement in the process of children education in pre-school education institutions is more accidental and of formal type. There is a lack of a constructive dialogue between the education institution and parents.