The child in the educational space. Institutional and social support

The support of the ward’s development is the priority task at every level of education, all the way through pre school, school and academic stages. It takes a variety of forms from psychological support that includes helping the subject in times of emotional breakdowns and crises, through educational support that includes assistance in expanding information and knowledge resources as well as therapy (compensation of deficiencies), to material support. There are
also different sources of support received by the unit: it can be provided by the people from the closest surrounding of the person in need of assistance, aid organizations being created as "support groups", or formal groups organized by specialists along with the institutions established to provide medical, psychological and social assistance.
The problems outlined in the monograph and being the result of the research conducted by its authors, are focused on issues of institutional and social
support. These phenom ena are considered on the basis of pre school institutions functioning, taking into account their structural and functional perspectives. The
review of the forms of cooperation of kindergartens with institutions and parents regarding their legal basis and indicated effects determines the scope of potential support for a child at preschool age.
The theoretical background for studying the support is the concept of integrated environmental cooperation on the basis of which this phenomenon is considered in the context of social capital. The adopted broad perspective of perceiving
preschool institutions’ functioning places them in the network of social connections that indicates the role they play in the social and educational policy of the state. The image of the social support outlined in the publication is complemented by the results from the empirical research on the kindergarten cooperation with institutions operating in the local environment, hence the image defines the scope and conditions of the study. The issue of helping an individual or a group i n a difficult situation that they cannot overcome by themselves directs attention to the functional aspect of the support. A characteristic feature of this approach is the concentration on the interaction between the supported person and the supporter, the goals and quality of the interaction. The circle of our issues includes reflections on building tolerance towards the children with autism spectrum disorders
The issues indicated in the study, touching the issues of complementary social assistance and support organization, are part of the current discourse on social and educational policy. The multitude of challenges of modern reality, in particular, the unpredictability of emerging problems for which all known solutions fail, increases the need for social assistance and support. Considering this, the problems discussed in the given publication raise an important voice in the debatebon the long term strategy of social policy, expressing concern for the child's development and full preparation for his/her functioning in the social reality.