Kindergarten as a Learning Organization: its Specificities Compared to other Institutions in Pre-University Education

Every educational institution is expected to be a learning organization, since its mission is to produce learning and facilitate the learning of every learner. Structuring and measuring the extent to which each educational institution is a learning organization is less well developed for each level of schooling in pre-university education. This paper investigates the specificity of kindergartens as learning organizations by looking at differences in perceptions of internal evaluation among kindergarten employees compared to those in schools at all levels of pre-university education. Based on the "Schools as Learning Organizations" model, quantitative, non-experimental, comparative research was conducted using a questionnaire validated by OECD specialists, translated and validated for the Romanian context, on schools as learning organizations. The analysis of the responses of the 726 respondents in pre-university education, including 43 from kindergartens, revealed that there are statistically significant differences in favour of primary schools compared to kindergartens in terms of dimensions such as promoting team learning and collaboration among staff; adoption of systems for collecting and exchanging knowledge and learning. No significant differences were identified for the other dimensions. The conclusions highlight the need to adapt organizational development strategies for kindergartens to strengthen their learning culture.