A Case Study Of The Social Function Of Rural Kindergartens In Rural Governance From The Perspective Of Social Capital

The study of the social value and function of rural pre-school education in the macro perspective of the governance of the rural area is of great importance to enhance the vitality of rural society and to strive for equal opportunities for the development of rural pre-school education. This paper choose M village of Huzhou in Zhejiang province as the study case, collecting the firsthand material of rural kindergarten and the village governance in on- the-spot investigation. This paper tries to explore the process of social capital influenced by the construction and operation of rural preschool, and tries to learn more about the impact of the kindergarten social capital to village governance. Research finds out that the construction of kindergarten make the village-level organizational network, village-town networks more consolidated and more strengthened. Kindergarten sets up networks for the villagers and parents. It also established an inter-village network, improving the network density. At the same time, it makes preschool education norms, environment and health norms and disease control and prevention norms popularized and internalized among villagers in both interpersonal communication and mass media communication. As the inevitable result of the kindergarten network and norms, the interpersonal trust among teachers and villagers and to the general kindergarten organization has improved. Meanwhile, the studies show that social networks communicate the main village governance subject, saving the time and energy cost. Norms become the lubricant in villagers’ participation in governance, making the management practices tend to be effective. The trust of kindergarten social capital is the result of network and norms. The improved norms of social capital makes the villagers choses to cooperate for the aware of common interests. It concludes that rural kindergartens have important social functions in the village governance, which can be an active and informal governance means in the new period of village governance. Research tells us that to update the value of preschool education theory, and make rural kindergartens become active to village governance; widen the path of village governance, and government and society can include the development of rural kindergartens into the overall planning of rural governance.