An Equal Start?: Providing Quality Early Education and Care for Disadvantaged Children (CASE Studies on Poverty, Place and Policy)

Early education and care has become a central policy area in many countries. As services expand rapidly, it is crucial to examine whether children from disadvantaged backgrounds receive provision of the highest possible quality. In this original, topical book, leading experts from eight countries examine how early education and care is organised, funded and regulated in their countries. Bringing together recent statistical evidence, the book gives an up-to-date picture of access to services by different groups, providing rich insights on how policies play out in practice, and the extent to which they help or hinder disadvantaged children to receive high quality provision. An equal start? reveals the common tensions and complexities countries face in ensuring that early education and care is affordable, accessible and of high quality. Its critical examination of the potential for better policies ensures that An equal start? will be of interest to academic readers as well as policy makers and practitioners. [Testo dell'editore] An equal start? Contents List of figures, tables and appendices Figures Tables Appendices Acknowledgements Notes on contributors 1. Introduction Why does it matter? What we know about early education and care and children’s outcomes The purpose and scope of this book The countries Overview of the country chapters Policy implications 2. Equal access to early childhood education and care? The case of the UK Introduction Mixed provision, varied quality Policy framework Funding Quality: qualifications, curriculum and inspection Who goes where? Differences in patterns of usage of ECEC in the UK Conclusions 3. Towards universal quality early childhood education and care: The Norwegian model Introduction Children enrolled in childcare services Socioeconomic variation in enrolment rates Childcare as a social right – principle and practice Financing of services Equity in funding of publicly and privately owned institutions Regulations and quality of services Staff Policies on quality development Organisation, size and quality The Norwegian model: characteristics and challenges 4. Equal access to quality care: Lessons from France on providing high-quality and affordable early childhood education and care Introduction An extensive and segmented system of public provision: day-care and écoles maternelles Setting the scene for the institutions in charge of formal childcare provisions A complex combination of subsidised centre- and home-based arrangements and a system based on the principle of universality Centre-based provision: crèches and multi-accueil Registered childminders: a major contribution to the supply of childcare services Nursery schools: écoles maternelles Funding structures: the state, the CAFs and local authorities Quality of provision and the current regulatory framework Policy priorities, goals and requirements affecting childcare provision Staff qualifications and training programmes Tensions and inconsistencies Tensions between quality of care and a shortfall of crèche places Tensions between quality and affordability Tensions between quality and the objective of meeting the needs of parents confronted with atypical working schedules Recent decisions made at the expense of quality in childcare provision Conclusions 5. Equal access to high-quality childcare in the Netherlands Introduction Childcare in the Netherlands: availability, costs and quality Prices Quality Comparing day-care services and playgroups with the Pre-COOL database Differences in the use of formal childcare: descriptives Differences in the use and quality of formal childcare: multivariate analysis Quality of childcare Conclusions 6. Access and quality issues in early childhood education and care: The case of Germany Introduction Setting the scene: population patterns in a regional perspective Key features of the ECEC system Multi-level governance Variations in provision profiles Diversity of providers East–West disparities in patterns of usage of ECEC services Equal access? Patterns of usage of ECEC services according to family background Funding disparities: Federal, regional and local-level procedures and issues Three quality-enhancing dimensions of ECEC Quality programmes: early childhood curricular frameworks and language/literacy enhancement initiatives Quality staffing: qualifications and structural issues Quality of family inclusion: ECEC centres as family centres Research on quality in the German context Conclusions 7. New Zealand: A narrative of shifting policy directions for early childhood education and care Introduction Cusp of change ECEC in New Zealand Funding ECEC Quality directions Market-led ECEC Targeted participation in ECEC ECE Taskforce The narrative 8. Early education and care in Australia: Equity in a mixed market-based system? Introduction Participation in Australian ECEC: a blurred snapshot Policy context Privatisation and the growth of corporate childcare Funding and subsidies ECEC quality agenda Integrated services Conclusions 9. Delivering high-quality early childhood education and care to low-income children: How well is the US doing? Introduction The challenge The policy framework Access, quality and affordability for low-income families Access Quality Affordability Efforts to improve access, quality and affordability: federal level Efforts to improve access, quality and affordability: state level Conclusions 10. Common challenges, lessons for policy 1. How can disadvantaged children be encouraged to access formal ECEC? Free services Fees and charges 2. How can disadvantaged children be assured high-quality provision? Overall quality of provision Equal access to quality 3. The trade-off between expanding access and improving quality 4. Delivery: what matters? Ministerial responsibility Decentralisation The ‘mixed economy’ and the role of the private sector Workforce issues 5. Spending more or spending smarter? Index Early Childhood Education And Care Has Become A Central Policy Concern In Many Countries, And As Services Expand It Is Crucial To Examine Whether Children From Disadvantaged Backgrounds Receive Equitable Services. In An Equal Start? Experts From Eight Countries The United States, The United Kingdom, Norway, France, The Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, And Australia Examine How Early Education And Care Is Organized, Funded, And Regulated In Their Respective Countries. They Give Up-to-date Pictures Of The Access To Services, Providing Rich Insights Into How Policies Play Out In Practice And The Effects On The Provision Of Services To Disadvantaged Children. Together They Reveal A Number Of Common Tensions And Complexities That Many Countries Face In Ensuring That Early Education And Care Is Affordable, Accessible, And Of The Highest Possible Quality.-- Equal Access To Early Childhood Education And Care? : The Case Of The Uk / Ludovica Gambaro, Kitty Stewart And Jane Waldfogel -- Towards Universal Quality Early Childhood Education And Care : The Norwegian Model / Anne Lise Ellingsæter -- Equal Access To Quality Care : Lessons From France On Providing High-quality And Affordable Early Childhood Education And Care / Jeanne Fagnani -- Equal Access To High-quality Childcare In The Netherlands / Yusuf Emre Akgündüz And Janneke Plantenga -- Access And Quality Issues In Early Childhood Education And Care : The Case Of Germany / Pamela Oberhuemer -- New Zealand : A Narrative Of Shifting Policy Directions For Early Childhood Education And Care / Helen May -- Early Education And Care In Australia : Equity In A Mixed Market-based System? / Deborah Brennan And Marianne Fenech -- Delivering High-quality Early Childhood Education And Care To Low-income Children : How Well Is The Us Doing? / Katherine Magnuson And Jane Waldfogel -- Common Challenges, Lessons For Policy / Kitty Stewart, Ludovica Gambaro, Jane Waldfogel And Jill Rutter. Edited By Ludovica Gambaro, Kitty Stewart And Jane Waldfogel. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In this book, leading experts examine how early education and care is organised and funded in eight different countries. Bringing together recent evidence, the book provides rich insights on how policies work in practice, and the extent to which they help or hinder the provision of high quality education and care.