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This article analyzes the development of public and government requirements to definition of duration of work of kindergartens for all period of existence of system of early childhood education in Russia. The results of the monitoring of the attitude of preschool teachers to the introduction of “family schedules” in modern kindergartens, reflecting the advantages and risks of innovation associated with meeting the needs of families in the baby-sitting, as well as the successful solution of educational problems by the joint efforts of the family and kindergarten are presented. The article describes the possibilities of the current regulatory framework for creation of variable working hours of early childhood educational organizations.

The purpose of the study is to determine the reasons and nature of changes in the operation of early childhood institutions in a historical retrospective. The research was based on the experience of the first Russian kindergartens, legal framework defining the work of early childhood institutions during the XX century and at the present stage of development of early childhood education, the results of the survey of 3415 teachers of preschool groups of 22 regions of the Russian Federation, and review of the studies related to the problem under study. The results of the retrospective analysis of the reasons for the change in the duration of work of Russian early childhood institutions during the whole period of their existence, have been presented. It has been revealed that the work regime was determined by the goals of the kindergarten to ensure the full development and upbringing of the child in different historical periods and reflected the leading trends in the country’s social and economic development and the State’s desire to involve women in active social and productive life. This ensured the normative approval of the variation in the work schedules of kindergartens (pre-school groups) depending on the location, needs and demands of families, which is a distinctive feature of modern public early childhood education. Based on the results of the monitoring of teachers’ opinions on the increase in the time of stay of children in kindergarten, possible risks associated with the reduction of the time of communication between parents and children were identified. Today some parents tend to increase the working hours of the kindergarten as they are not ready to communicate with the child, because of their own parent’s failure. The desire of parents to “build up” the schedule of work of the kindergarten, to correlate it with personal needs is often associated with a lack of understanding of the essence of educational work. Tendencies of interaction of teachers with families in order to draw attention of parents to the importance of dialogue with the child have been defined.

Methodology. The article describes the history of the creation and development of one of the oldest faculties of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia – the Institute of Childhood, which prepares specialists for preschool and primary education. Authors describe the changes in structure, the content of the work and the organization’s characteristics of the institute.

The article purpose is description of the 100-year history of the development of the Institute of Childhood of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, the identification of pedagogical traditions and prospects for the further development of the institute. The article is based on an analysis of documents and other sources describing the emergence and development of the Institute of Childhood.

Results. Starting from the St. Petersburg Froebel Society founded in 1871, the tradition of the training of specialists in preschool and primary education in Russia is described. The history of the appearance in 1918 and the development of the first higher educational institution in Russia is unfolded. The history of the development of the main directions of the Institute’s work – pedagogical and scientific research activity – is shown. The transformations of the departments, the contribution of the well-known researchers of preschool and primary education to the training of personnel, the current state and prospects for the development of the Institute of Childhood are described.

Conclusions. The presented article makes it possible to analyze the directions of development and ways of improving the system of training specialists in preschool and primary education, to realize the necessity of continuity of the two levels of education, not only in the implementation of the educational process, but also in the preparation of future educators of pre-school educational organizations and primary school teachers.