Early Childhood Education and Care

government

policies put into place that enable parents to directly care for and educate young children

paid parental leave

EX: The European Council decided in 1996 to give parents a minimum of three months off to help build a strong social-emotional foundation with their family when a child is born.

family cash allowances given to assist parents with children until they are 20

dependent upon income

EX: France

not dependent upon income

EX: Sweden

support for parenting education

policies put into place that engage others in taking care of and educating young children

family day care homes

mixed quality

short supply

center-based care

public

private

full time

part time

preprimary education

provide care

structured and purposeful learning

before and after school care

before and after school hours

during intersession periods

the private sector

businesses

offer "family friendly" work benefits such as flexible hours, job-sharing, home-based work sites, vouchers to subsidize child care expenses, on-site child care, and parent education workshops

communities

social organizations

structural quality

child-adult rations

group size

staff qualifications

level of funding

work conditions

healthy and safety requirements

process quality

activites offered

daily schedules

relationships and interactions among and between children, adults, and families

outcomes

social welfare ideologies

helps maintain a stable female population in the workforce

EX: Ireland's GDP was up 7.8% in the ten year period between 1993 and 2003 with a significant part of the growth because of the women who entered the work force.

addresses issues with declining fertility rates

EX: The French are experiencing a population decline and are concerned about the continued existence of the French language and culture, so they've established pro-natal policies to encourage families to have children.

improves social equity for disadvantaged or "at risk" children

EX: Programs such as "Head Start" were created in the United States to help even the playing field for children who are considered "at risk."

better training

fair compensation

required licensing and education

attempts to diversify the workforce by hiring employees that reflect the communities in which the school is located

supply side

funds services which are operated by public entities

more expensive for the government

demand side

funding directly to parents through tax deductions or credits

less expensive for the government

Subtopic

How programs and entities are managed to promote efficiency, excellence, and equity

child care policy agencies (0-3 yrs.)

educational agencies (4-6 yrs.)

interagency councils, sometimes called coordinating mechanisms or COMs

effective in handling specific programs and tasks

not successful in promoting a coherent overall policy

developing and enforcing regulations

budgeting, allocating, and managing fiscal resources

collecting, interpreting, and releasing data

Phase 1: The Programmatic Approach (began in the 1960s)

Subtopic

individual programs with their own expectations for children, criteria for staff qualifications, and improvement monitoring systems

Phase 2: Moving Toward Shared Responsibility & Accountability (1990s - 2000s)

lack of durability, authority, and accountability

lack clear mission or sense of purpose

Phase 3: Moving Toward Shared Responsibility and Accountability (late 1990s - current)

motivated by the desire to increase equity, efficiency, and accountability

durability

funding

public support for governance

values

balance