Transition to Learning and Speaking in Latvian: Pre-School Education

The restoration of independence in the Republic of Latvia meant freedom from Soviet occupation and gradual liberation from the consequences of Russification. This article aims to outline the reasons for and results of the transition to education in the state language with a particular focus on pre-school education. Methods. The analysis uses findings and results from surveys of preschool children, their parents, and teachers conducted by a group of researchers since 2015, supplemented by data from EDURIO and children’s stories. In August 2024, shortly before the start of the new school year, when first-grade classes were to begin in Latvian, researchers from RTU Liepāja Academy once again surveyed the parents of preschool children from minority groups to determine how well their children understood and spoke Latvian. In 2025, as part of the project “Sustainable Model Design for Conceptual System and Lexical Framework Pliancy Analysis for Perceptual Data Processing of the Pre-school Age Actors” (RTU-PA-2024/1-0032), researchers began using an associative experiment suitable for pre-schoolers to analyse how children use the Latvian language when talking about important concepts. The study of the lengthy transition process was made possible through cooperation between researchers, pre-school administrators and teachers, parents, and officials from the Ministry of Education and Science. Results. Initial analysis showed that minority pre-school children who attended bilingual education groups with Russian as the dominant language lived in almost complete isolation from the state language, which subsequently created additional difficulties at school, where knowledge of Latvian was required. In light of the amendments to the Education Law and the General Education Law adopted by the Saeima on 29 September 2022, the transition to education in the Latvian language was planned to take place over a period of 3 years. From 1 September 2023, education in the state language was implemented in pre-school education and in grades 1, 4, and 7 of primary education. The gradual study of the Latvian language acquisition process was made possible through cooperation between researchers, preschool administrators and educators, parents, and officials from the Ministry of Education and Science. Conclusions. The analysis of the language acquisition process to date confirms that cooperation between pre-school teachers and parents should be strengthened, as it is instrumental in implementing pre-school education in the Latvian language, and that state financial support should continue. At the current stage, progress is being made in the Latvian language acquisition process, but the research group continues to monitor children’s Latvian language skills, analysing how they can use them to talk about their worldview.