Building a High-Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care

scholarly journals What characteristics of funding, provision and regulation are associated with effective social investment in ECEC in England, France and Germany?

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 681-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNE WEST ◽  
AGNES BLOME ◽  
JANE LEWIS
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
The Social ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Financial Expenditure ◽  
Staff Qualification

AbstractEarly childhood education and care (ECEC) is seen as a crucial element of the social investment state. Whilst the extent of social investment in ECEC depends on financial expenditure, its effectiveness depends on certain conditions being met: namely, affordable, high quality provision being available. We explore policy development and the role played by government in the funding, provision and regulation of ECEC in England, France and Germany and then compare availability, affordability and quality. We argue that for children aged three and over, social investment can be deemed to be broadly effective in France and Germany, but in England quality is compromised by low staff qualification levels in private childcare centres. For children under three, effective social investment is elusive in all countries, although as a result of different conditions not being met. Our findings lead us to question the limitations of the concept of social investment in ECEC, particularly in marketised contexts.

scholarly journals Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) during COVID-19 boosts growth in language and executive function

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Davies ◽  
Alexandra Hendry ◽  
Shannon P Gibson ◽  
Teodora Gliga ◽  
Michelle McGillion ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Key Skills ◽  
Education And Care

High-quality, centre-based education and care during the early years benefits cognitive development, especially in children from disadvantaged backgrounds. During the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns, access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) was disrupted. We investigate how this period affected the developmental advantages typically offered by ECEC. Using parent-report data from 189 families living in the UK, we explore associations between time spent in ECEC by 8-to-36-month-olds, their socioeconomic background, and their growth in language and executive functions between Spring and Winter 2020. Receptive vocabulary growth was greater in children who continued to attend ECEC during the period, with a stronger positive effect for children from less advantaged backgrounds. Growth of cognitive executive functions was boosted by ECEC attendance during the period, regardless of socioeconomic background. Our findings highlight the importance of high-quality ECEC for the development of key skills and for levelling socioeconomic inequalities.

Social Investment and Childcare Expansion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita León
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Perfect Match ◽  
Preschool Education ◽  
Conceptual Level ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care

The chapter first examines at a conceptual level the links between theories of social investment and childcare expansion. Although ‘the perfect match’ between the two is often taken for granted in the specialized literature as well as in policy papers, it is here argued that a more nuance approach that ‘unpacks’ this relationship is needed. The chapter will then look for elements of variation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) expansion. Despite an increase in spending over the last two decades in many European and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, wide variation still exists in the way in which ECEC develops. A trade-off is often observed between coverage and quality of provision. A crucial dividing line that determines, to a large extent, the quality of provision in ECEC is the increasing differentiation between preschool education for children aged 3 and above and childcare for younger children.

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