Kitty Stewart, Ludovica Gambaro, Jane Waldfogel, and Jill Rutter
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781447310518
- eISBN:
- 9781447310549
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447310518.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
This chapter draw together the evidence from our eight country case studies to examine how different countries have best addressed the common challenge of the “childcare triangle” – ensuring that ...
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This chapter draw together the evidence from our eight country case studies to examine how different countries have best addressed the common challenge of the “childcare triangle” – ensuring that early childhood education and care is accessible and affordable to all children, whatever their background, and that is also high quality. It identifies common themes and highlights insights from good practice which might be useful in thinking about the way ECEC is organised, funded and delivered with the goal of equitable access in mind. It seeks not to focus too heavily on contemporary policy debates in any one country but to draw out broader lessons that will stand the test of time.Less
This chapter draw together the evidence from our eight country case studies to examine how different countries have best addressed the common challenge of the “childcare triangle” – ensuring that early childhood education and care is accessible and affordable to all children, whatever their background, and that is also high quality. It identifies common themes and highlights insights from good practice which might be useful in thinking about the way ECEC is organised, funded and delivered with the goal of equitable access in mind. It seeks not to focus too heavily on contemporary policy debates in any one country but to draw out broader lessons that will stand the test of time.
Ludovica Gambaro, Kitty Stewart, and Jane Waldfogel (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781447310518
- eISBN:
- 9781447310549
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447310518.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
Providing early education and care (ECEC) which is both equitable and high quality is a challenge all governments are confronting. This comparative volume seeks both to broaden and to deepen our ...
More
Providing early education and care (ECEC) which is both equitable and high quality is a challenge all governments are confronting. This comparative volume seeks both to broaden and to deepen our understanding of policies in operation in different countries. It asks how successfully policies in eight different countries ensure that all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can access high quality ECEC. The countries included are Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the UK and the US. Each chapter is written by academic experts from the country in question, and contains empirical evidence on access to services by children from different backgrounds, alongside careful analysis and discussion of how services are organised, including the operation of funding and regulation mechanisms. A concluding chapter pulls together potential policy lessons from across the eight countries, highlighting common policy challenges, and, where possible, identifying policies that have proved effective in particular countries. The book recognises the very different cultural and institutional inheritance which has shaped services in each country, and the idea is not one of “fast policy transfer” but rather one of “contextualised policy learning” (Mahon, 2007), in which attention is given to how policies work on the ground and to the contexts in which they are embedded.Less
Providing early education and care (ECEC) which is both equitable and high quality is a challenge all governments are confronting. This comparative volume seeks both to broaden and to deepen our understanding of policies in operation in different countries. It asks how successfully policies in eight different countries ensure that all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can access high quality ECEC. The countries included are Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the UK and the US. Each chapter is written by academic experts from the country in question, and contains empirical evidence on access to services by children from different backgrounds, alongside careful analysis and discussion of how services are organised, including the operation of funding and regulation mechanisms. A concluding chapter pulls together potential policy lessons from across the eight countries, highlighting common policy challenges, and, where possible, identifying policies that have proved effective in particular countries. The book recognises the very different cultural and institutional inheritance which has shaped services in each country, and the idea is not one of “fast policy transfer” but rather one of “contextualised policy learning” (Mahon, 2007), in which attention is given to how policies work on the ground and to the contexts in which they are embedded.
Katherine Magnuson and Jane Waldfogel
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781447310518
- eISBN:
- 9781447310549
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447310518.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
This chapter examines the extent to which disadvantaged children are able to access high quality early childhood education and care in the US. It describes the split in responsibilities between ...
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This chapter examines the extent to which disadvantaged children are able to access high quality early childhood education and care in the US. It describes the split in responsibilities between federal and state (and local) governments, and underlines the key role played by the private sector, including for-profit providers. Significant disparities in enrolment are evident, with low income children and children of immigrants less likely than their peers to be enrolled, and less likely to be in formal school or centre based care. Low income children also attend care of lower average quality than that attended by higher income children. The authors discuss current policy initiatives to reduce disparities including efforts to expand and improve the federal Head Start program for low income children, federal and state quality improvement efforts, and state and local expansions of prekindergarten programs serving three and four year olds.Less
This chapter examines the extent to which disadvantaged children are able to access high quality early childhood education and care in the US. It describes the split in responsibilities between federal and state (and local) governments, and underlines the key role played by the private sector, including for-profit providers. Significant disparities in enrolment are evident, with low income children and children of immigrants less likely than their peers to be enrolled, and less likely to be in formal school or centre based care. Low income children also attend care of lower average quality than that attended by higher income children. The authors discuss current policy initiatives to reduce disparities including efforts to expand and improve the federal Head Start program for low income children, federal and state quality improvement efforts, and state and local expansions of prekindergarten programs serving three and four year olds.
Deborah Brennan and Marianne Fenech
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781447310518
- eISBN:
- 9781447310549
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447310518.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
This chapter examines the extent to which disadvantaged children are able to access high quality early childhood education and care in Australia. It describes current national initiatives include an ...
More
This chapter examines the extent to which disadvantaged children are able to access high quality early childhood education and care in Australia. It describes current national initiatives include an aspiration to provide all children with high quality preschool, staffed by trained teachers, in the year before school entry, and efforts to improve quality through an early years learning framework. However, the chapter also points to considerable remaining local and state variation, and to concerns about whether children from lower income families will be priced out by quality improvements. The preschool offer is not free, although it is intended that cost should not be a barrier to entry. Enrolment is not universal and children from low income families are less likely to attend than their higher income peers. A further complicating factor in the Australian context is the large role that has been played by the private sector, including for-profit providers.Less
This chapter examines the extent to which disadvantaged children are able to access high quality early childhood education and care in Australia. It describes current national initiatives include an aspiration to provide all children with high quality preschool, staffed by trained teachers, in the year before school entry, and efforts to improve quality through an early years learning framework. However, the chapter also points to considerable remaining local and state variation, and to concerns about whether children from lower income families will be priced out by quality improvements. The preschool offer is not free, although it is intended that cost should not be a barrier to entry. Enrolment is not universal and children from low income families are less likely to attend than their higher income peers. A further complicating factor in the Australian context is the large role that has been played by the private sector, including for-profit providers.
Yusuf Emre Akgündüz and Janneke Plantenga
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781447310518
- eISBN:
- 9781447310549
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447310518.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
This chapter examines the extent to which disadvantaged children are able to access high quality early childhood education and care in the Netherlands, where ECEC services are strongly divided by ...
More
This chapter examines the extent to which disadvantaged children are able to access high quality early childhood education and care in the Netherlands, where ECEC services are strongly divided by social class. Private day care centres provide care for young children whose parents are employed, while publicly funded playgroups mainly serve children from lower income families and minority backgrounds. The authors provide new evidence on the relative quality of care children receive in the two types of programs, using data from the Pre-Cool survey for two year olds. Reassuringly, they find that the average quality of care on offer in playgroups is at least as good as that provided by private day care centres. However, they also find that within the private day care sector, higher income children tend to receive care of higher quality than their lower income peers.Less
This chapter examines the extent to which disadvantaged children are able to access high quality early childhood education and care in the Netherlands, where ECEC services are strongly divided by social class. Private day care centres provide care for young children whose parents are employed, while publicly funded playgroups mainly serve children from lower income families and minority backgrounds. The authors provide new evidence on the relative quality of care children receive in the two types of programs, using data from the Pre-Cool survey for two year olds. Reassuringly, they find that the average quality of care on offer in playgroups is at least as good as that provided by private day care centres. However, they also find that within the private day care sector, higher income children tend to receive care of higher quality than their lower income peers.