Celem opracowania jest ukazanie historycznych oraz społecznych kontekstów edukacji dziecka do lat siedmiu w obliczu najważniejszych czynników kształtowania się polskiej tradycji w omawianym obszarze. Autorki przyjmują, że szeroko ujmowana, zmieniająca się rzeczywistość historyczna, społeczna, geograficzna, polityczna i ekonomiczna wyznacza zmiany w myśleniu o edukacji, wpływa na ideologie edukacyjne oraz na formułowane cele edukacji na poziomie kraju.
W monografii podjęto refleksję nad trzema głównymi problemami: dziecko jako podmiot polskiej edukacji (w tym np. sposoby osiągania samodzielności przez dziecko, znaczenie wsparcia ze strony nauczycieli w związku z wyzwaniami współczesnego świata); edukacja dziecka w polskim żłobku (w tym m.in. zakres tematyczny pojęcia „wczesnodziecięca edukacja”, wyniki badań focusowych zrealizowanych z opiekunkami żłobków z terenu Wielkopolski); edukacja dziecka w polskim przedszkolu (w tym np. analiza obowiązującej w Polsce podstawy programowej wychowania przedszkolnego czy zmiany w obszarze znaczenia, roli, zadań przedszkoli w Polsce).
The Education of a Child up to Seven Years of Age. The Polish Perspective jest pierwszym opracowaniem w języku angielskim, które analizuje kształtowanie się tradycji polskiej edukacji dziecka do lat siedmiu.

Introduction 

Chapter 1
The child as a subject of education – introductory reflections

1.1. The child and childhood throughout history – an attempt at synthesis 
1.2. Child education – at the sources of Polish ideas
1.3. Perception of the child in the prenatal period from the point of view of the achievements of social sciences in Poland
1.4. The educational potential of the prenatal child
1.5. Allowing children to make choices is a way to build a responsible 21st-century society. The role of the teacher – educational and social challenges of liquid postmodernity
1.6. Achieving independence as a developmental task for children and adults

Chapter 2
Child education in a nursery 

2.1. Early childhood education – introduction
2.2. The first nurseries in Poland
2.3. Congresses and pedagogical conventions in the interwar period and concern for the care of mother and child
2.4. Polish nurseries in the era of communism
2.5. Dilemmas of Polish nurseries in the period of political transformation
2.6. Nurseries after Poland’s accession to the European Union
2.7. Education of a child in a nursery – theoretical premises
2.8. Dilemmas regarding the reception of the concept of development accompaniment and non-directive work methods using the example of nurseries in the Wielkopolska region (Greater Poland)
2.9. The latest draft regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of May 20, 2024, on standards of care for children up to 3 years of age – discussion of the principles

Chapter 3
Education in Polish kindergarten – contexts, challenges and dilemmas

3.1. Education of pre-school children in Polish lands and in Poland until 1939
3.2. Kindergartens in post-war and contemporary Poland
3.3. The current core curriculum for pre-school education 
3.4. The pre-school teacher – discussion about the profession 
3.5. Education of children’s teachers in the light of legal foundations in the 21st century 
3.6. A teacher organizing cooperation between pre-school children – from directive management to creating a learning culture
3.7. Changes in the approach to the importance, role and tasks of kindergarten in Poland 
3.8. Changes in the language of Polish pre-school pedagogy 
Conclusion
Recommendations for educational practice
Sources
Summary. The Education of a Child up to Seven Years of Age. The Polish Perspective

The book aims to present the historical and social contexts of education of children up to the age of seven in the face of the most important factors shaping the Polish tradition in this field. The authors assume that the changing historical, social, geographical, political and economic reality, understood in the broad sense, determines changes in thinking about education, influencing educational ideologies and education goals formulated at the national level.
The monograph reflects on three main problems: the child as a subject of Polish education (including ways in which the child achieves independence, and the importance of teacher support in relation to the challenges of the modern world); the education of the child in the Polish nursery school (including the scope of the term ‘early childhood education’, and the results of focus studies conducted with nursery school caregivers from the Wielkopolska region); education in the Polish kindergarten (including an analysis of the binding Polish core curriculum for kindergarten education or changes in the meaning, role, tasks of kindergartens in Poland).
The Education of a Child up to Seven Years of Age. The Polish Perspective is the first study in English to analyse the formation of the Polish tradition of educating a child up to the age of seven.