The child's educational community consists of the family and the educational institution. The role of the family is to provide quality conditions for the child's development, while the educational institution provides the child with a social environment for the development of various skills. The educator is a key person in this process and plays an important role in the child's life. The quality of institutional education is based on the cooperation of educators and parents, which is defined as a relationship based on two-way communication, respect and acceptance. Various traditional and modern forms of cooperation are used in institutions for early and preschool education. The ideal form of cooperation is a partnership in which parents and educators are equal, and every educational institution should strive to develop such a relationship in order to ensure high-quality education. Recognizing the importance of mutual cooperation, support and responsibility is of crucial importance for educators and parents in order to enable the complete development of the child. At the beginning of the study, the concepts of family and institutions for early and preschool education are described. Next, the concept of cooperation is defined, the characteristics of a cooperative relationship are listed, and the forms of cooperation, traditional and contemporary, are explained in more detail. Furthermore, the competencies of educators for cooperation with parents, obstacles in cooperation are listed, and emphasis is placed on the concept of partnership as the highest level of cooperation. At the end of the studyr, the results of the research conducted in early and preschool education institutions in Varaždin County are presented. Based on the obtained results, a high level of communication and cooperation between educators and parents in the context of the kindergarten is visible. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of cooperation between educators and parents and provides guidelines for further improving the quality of the educational process through strengthening partnership relations.