Eva Lloyd and Helen Penn (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9781847429339
- eISBN:
- 9781447307679
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847429339.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families
The viability, quality and sustainability of publicly supported early childhood education and care services is a lively issue in many countries, especially since the rights of the child imply equal ...
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The viability, quality and sustainability of publicly supported early childhood education and care services is a lively issue in many countries, especially since the rights of the child imply equal access to provision for all young children. But equitable provision within childcare markets is highly problematic, as parents pay for what they can afford and parental income inequalities persist or widen. This book presents recent, significant research from eight nations where childcare markets are the norm. It also includes research about ‘raw’ and ‘emerging’ childcare markets operating with a minimum of government intervention, mostly in low income countries or post transition economies. Childcare markets compares these childcare marketisation and regulatory processes and the format of any public investment across the political and economic systems in which they are embedded. Contributions from economists, childcare policy specialists and educationalists address the question of what constraints need to be in place if childcare markets are to deliver an equitable service. Evidence is presented that marketisation and privatisation, including corporatisation, risk deepening, consolidating or widening inequalities of access to early childhood education and care provision and driving qualitative differences between types of provider. The book documents the varied economic and policy backdrops of current childcare market systems, examines their consequences for parents, children, providers and the systems themselves, and finally explores alternative approaches.Less
The viability, quality and sustainability of publicly supported early childhood education and care services is a lively issue in many countries, especially since the rights of the child imply equal access to provision for all young children. But equitable provision within childcare markets is highly problematic, as parents pay for what they can afford and parental income inequalities persist or widen. This book presents recent, significant research from eight nations where childcare markets are the norm. It also includes research about ‘raw’ and ‘emerging’ childcare markets operating with a minimum of government intervention, mostly in low income countries or post transition economies. Childcare markets compares these childcare marketisation and regulatory processes and the format of any public investment across the political and economic systems in which they are embedded. Contributions from economists, childcare policy specialists and educationalists address the question of what constraints need to be in place if childcare markets are to deliver an equitable service. Evidence is presented that marketisation and privatisation, including corporatisation, risk deepening, consolidating or widening inequalities of access to early childhood education and care provision and driving qualitative differences between types of provider. The book documents the varied economic and policy backdrops of current childcare market systems, examines their consequences for parents, children, providers and the systems themselves, and finally explores alternative approaches.
