Center-based formal childcare closes gaps, others may widen them: How childcare arrangements shape early educational inequality

This research note investigates how childcare arrangements under age three affect early social inequalities in children’s competencies, relying on a novel decomposition approach (Yu and Elwert 2023). This novel approach offers a comprehensive evaluation of childcare arrangements, revealing, under a potential outcome framework, their overall relevance and the specific channels driving social disparities: unequal exposure (prevalence), heterogeneous effects, and selection (within-group treatment propensity) Using the newborn cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS - SC1), we assess the impact of early childhood education and care (ECEC), family day-care, grandparental care, and exclusive parental care on children’s competencies in mathematics and vocabulary at ages 4 and 5. Findings reveal center-based ECEC as the most effective in reducing social disparities, benefiting children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Conversely, exclusive parental care and family day-care widen disparities, favoring higher socio-economic groups while negatively affecting those from lower ones. This approach proved highly useful in identifying both beneficial and detrimental impacts, offering valuable insights into the nuanced role of childcare arrangements in shaping early social inequalities in children’s competencies.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) quality is typically determined by key components such as the child-to-teacher ratio, teacher qualifications, the learning environment, and the quality of teacher–child interactions. The aim of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of different ECEC quality components on children's language and mathematical competences in early primary school. Suitable search terms were entered in Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, and ERIC in February 2024. To be included the articles needed to report on quantitative studies that examined the association between ECEC quality components and children's mathematical and/or language competences in Grade 1–2. Articles needed to be published in English or German in a peer-reviewed journal from the year 2000 onwards. Additionally, articles were excluded based on certain designs, and if the focus was on special populations, psychometric evaluations, bilingual or second language learning, and ECEC comparisons. The narrative synthesis includes 17 articles (N = 31656), of which 11 are included in the meta-analysis. The quality of the included articles was assessed with a NHLBI checklist. The meta-analysis revealed a small but significant pooled effect of process quality, specifically for student–teacher relationships and interaction quality (Δ = .11, p < .001, CI [.05, .18]), albeit with high heterogeneity. Similarly, pre-academic activities demonstrated a small, significant effect (Δ = .07, p < .001, CI [.02, .11]) with low heterogeneity. However, structural quality was not significant. The narrative synthesis provided additional insights, highlighting that emotional support and classroom organization often showed inconsistent associations with academic competences, whereas targeted pre-academic activities are more consistently linked to positive outcomes. Limitations include the small number of studies, substantial heterogeneity, reliance on older data, and a lack of global representation beyond Europe and North America. Nonetheless, the importance of high quality ECEC in fostering children's academic competences in primary school is demonstrated, emphasizing the need for further research to strengthen the evidence base.

Ms. Lubeck, guest editor of this special section, points out that the practices and policies of other nations help us to see more clearly our own approach to parental leave, child care, and early education. CHILDREN ARE children, we say with some conviction - or even, children are the same everywhere - as if classifying them as members of a species defined their identities. Yet a considerable amount has been written on how children's lives have been constructed differently in different places and times,1 and we are only beginning to appreciate how nations, through their policies and programs, create strikingly different environments for children. Rapid economic, social, and political change has recently made young children the focus of unprecedented national and international attention, and early childhood education and care (ECEC) is now moving to the forefront of national policy agendas. A majority of children in the postindustrial West are now being reared in families in which parents and other caregivers work outside the home. Early childhood programs that support children's development and well-being have come to be seen as beneficial to children, and they are increasingly being used as ways of achieving other social objectives, such as preparing children for formal schooling or fostering social cohesion. Yet the rationales for and approaches to early care and education are as varied as the countries themselves. The Swedes see ECEC, among other things, as a way to foster gender equity; Italians speak of extending relationships beyond kith and kin; and the French describe the process as one in which children are welcomed into French society.2 This Kappan special section is based on work undertaken in conjunction with a recent review of ECEC policies in 12 countries. In 1998 the Education Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched the Review of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Policy. The purpose of the review was to assist all OECD member nations in their efforts to improve early care and education for children from birth to compulsory school age. Participating countries included Australia, Belgium (Flemish and French communities), the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The study had four components. First, each nation commissioned a report. Next, a review team composed of policy makers and researchers from other nations made an intensive case-study visit. Drawing on background materials and field notes from the visit, a country note was then crafted to reflect the review team's understandings and recommendations.3 Finally, the OECD project staff responsible for the overall study wrote a report with input from study participants. This report, titled Starting Strong: Early Childhood Education and Care, was released in Stockholm in June 2001.4 The OECD Thematic Review marks a significant milestone in cross- national comparative work in early education and care. Never before have such in-depth studies been undertaken across a range of nations with the full cooperation of the participating governments. Yet even the most comprehensive study is bounded by time and space. All the participating nations are experiencing rapid social change, and so the reports that make up Starting Strong must be seen as frames within ongoing films. In addition, by World Bank indicators, only 9% of the world's children live in high-income countries,5 and it is these countries, with the exception of the Czech Republic (considered an upper middle income nation), that are featured in the Thematic Review. In this special section, we examine the ECEC policies of three countries that participated in the Thematic Review - England, Italy, and Sweden - and explore what the experience in these nations might have to say to the United States. …

RESPONSE TO DAVID BLAU'S ESSAY

This book set out to highlight the early childhood education and care of 19 different nations across the globe with the view that each nation has its own different cultural, social and political contexts. The rationale behind such a view has to do with the contention that the political and social attention on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) has increased over the past decade, with many countries undertaking educational reforms that are still ongoing. Children’s access to preschool provision has been broadened because policymakers have recognised the benefits of good quality early childhood education and care on children’s learning and development (OECD, 2012). International studies conducted in OECD participating countries, including those represented in this book, found that children attending ECEC are usually better prepared for primary school with the potential to achieve higher education outcomes (OECD, 2017). Good quality early education and care helps with school readiness by ensuring that the transition to school is a seamless experience. This seamless experience exists, only if quality early education and care are implemented by achieving targets around quality goals and regulations of delivering early education and care (OECD, 2015). Along with these quality goals and regulations sits the need to have curriculum that are both guiding and binding to ensure consistent implementation of ECEC within the cultural contexts of each country. Governments globally are therefore increasingly recognising that ECEC plays a crucial role in developing their country’s social and economical potential in the future. Despite increased knowledge and significant progress in many of the countries, several challenges remain.

The Act on Early Childhood Education and Care takes a stand on premises, learning environment, qualification of personnel, aims, quality assessment, and supervision. Pursuant to the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care, the National core curriculum for early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a national regulation that provides guidelines for the national steering of ECEC. On a governmental level, supervision is very important when it comes to management, and in addition to that, assessment and supervision of the supervisory authorities are a part of the ECEC director’s tasks. Supervision is a part of strategic leadership. From the beginning of the year 2020, the Regional State Administrative Agency has implemented a supervision programme in which the focus is to check that there is adequate staffing throughout the day. There is a systematic sampling of children’s and personnel’s presence in early education centres of the municipal ECEC. By examining the adult–child ratios, senior officers in the Regional State Administrative Agency judge if the situation is satisfactory. The study was conducted to see whether municipalities are complying with the law. A low ratio affects the quality of early childhood education and care. The supervisory authority may issue an admonition for future operations to the organiser of ECEC. The sampling is ongoing, but the results so far show that municipal ECEC follows the ratio very well. During 2020, the Regional State Administrative Agencies supervised 1596 municipal day care centres. The adult–child ratio overrun percentage was only 0.45 per cent.

Supporting mathematical competence has been identified as an important issue in early childhood education in order to ensure successful participation in knowledge-based societies around the world (Early et al., 2007; OECD, 2018). A growing body of research in recent years has addressed pre- and elementary school children's development of mathematical competence (Linder & Simpson, 2018). This research has highlighted that early mathematical competence is highly important for the development of mathematical competence in later years at school (Duncan et al., 2007; Krajewski & Schneider, 2009; Litkowski, Duncan, Logan, & Purpura, 2020; Nguyen et al., 2016). The development of mathematical competence in children's early years depends on several aspects, ranging from individual characteristics (e.g. children's general cognitive abilities) to environmental ones, such as parents' socioeconomic status or specific learning opportunities provided by the parental home or in institutional early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings (Burghardt, Linberg, Lehrl, & Konrad-Ristau, 2020; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007). Institutional ECEC settings have been identified as relevant learning environments for mathematical competence, in particular (Litkowski et al., 2020; Ulferts & Anders, 2016). However, in order to experience these advantages, ECEC institutions have to offer children high-quality learning opportunities. High-quality learning opportunities in the field of early mathematical learning are characterized by a focus on children's needs and interests as well as on core mathematical ideas in terms of content (Clements & Sarama, 2016; Gasteiger & Benz, 2018; van Oers, 2010). The quality of such learning opportunities depends to a great extent on ECEC teachers' professional competence. Research has shown that domain-specific aspects, for example with respect to mathematics (McCray, 2008), play a crucial role in addition to general aspects of teachers' professional competence (Parks & Wager, 2015). Domain-specific aspects include, for example, knowledge about children's domain-specific development or domain-specific aspects of learning support. ECEC teachers' professional competence in mathematics has been the subject of a growing body of research in recent years. However, there is still a lack of systematic 2literature in this field (Linder & Simpson, 2018). Specifically, no comprehensive overview of descriptions, development and effects of ECEC teachers' competence in mathematics currently exists. This edited volume serves as a first step to closing this literature gap.

Supporting mathematical competence has been identified as an important issue in early childhood education in order to ensure successful participation in knowledge-based societies around the world (Early et al., 2007; OECD, 2018). A growing body of research in recent years has addressed pre- and elementary school children's development of mathematical competence (Linder & Simpson, 2018). This research has highlighted that early mathematical competence is highly important for the development of mathematical competence in later years at school (Duncan et al., 2007; Krajewski & Schneider, 2009; Litkowski, Duncan, Logan, & Purpura, 2020; Nguyen et al., 2016). The development of mathematical competence in children's early years depends on several aspects, ranging from individual characteristics (e.g. children's general cognitive abilities) to environmental ones, such as parents' socioeconomic status or specific learning opportunities provided by the parental home or in institutional early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings (Burghardt, Linberg, Lehrl, & Konrad-Ristau, 2020; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007). Institutional ECEC settings have been identified as relevant learning environments for mathematical competence, in particular (Litkowski et al., 2020; Ulferts & Anders, 2016). However, in order to experience these advantages, ECEC institutions have to offer children high-quality learning opportunities. High-quality learning opportunities in the field of early mathematical learning are characterized by a focus on children's needs and interests as well as on core mathematical ideas in terms of content (Clements & Sarama, 2016; Gasteiger & Benz, 2018; van Oers, 2010). The quality of such learning opportunities depends to a great extent on ECEC teachers' professional competence. Research has shown that domain-specific aspects, for example with respect to mathematics (McCray, 2008), play a crucial role in addition to general aspects of teachers' professional competence (Parks & Wager, 2015). Domain-specific aspects include, for example, knowledge about children's domain-specific development or domain-specific aspects of learning support. ECEC teachers' professional competence in mathematics has been the subject of a growing body of research in recent years. However, there is still a lack of systematic 2literature in this field (Linder & Simpson, 2018). Specifically, no comprehensive overview of descriptions, development and effects of ECEC teachers' competence in mathematics currently exists. This edited volume serves as a first step to closing this literature gap.

An early start to good-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is considered beneficial, especially for disadvantaged children's development and educational outcomes. This assumption was tested using the latest two waves (2015 and 2018) of data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in five countries using the Nordic model of early education and care: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The article finds evidence of the overall positive association between the age of entry in ECEC and literacy at age 15 in all Nordic countries. However, the relationship is non-linear, and the highest benefits seem to occur following entry into ECEC from ages two to three. The link between family background and ECEC enrollment largely explains this association. We did not find that ECEC would generally compensate for low socioeconomic status (SES) in children’s achievement. However, the Matthew effect was observed in Norway, where an early ECEC start is more strongly associated with literacy scores for affluent children than disadvantaged children. These findings have limitations due to their correlational nature. Still, this article indicates that even in high-quality universal ECEC systems, early preschool education is not a panacea for lowering achievement gaps due to parental background.

International study results point to potential negative associations of time spent in early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres in the first 3 years of a child’s life and socio-emotional outcomes. However, the transferability of international results to the German ECEC system and the impact of characteristics of the home learning environment and the child on these effects remain unclear. Therefore, we investigated (a) whether the duration of ECEC is associated with child’s socio-emotional outcomes and (b) whether results differ according to child’s temperament and parental sensitivity by using data of the German National Educational Panel Study. Contrary to international study results, we find that, irrespective of parental sensitivity, more years spent in early childcare under the age of 3 significantly relates to lower rates of peer problems. Particularly children with a moderately difficult temperament seem to profit from attending more years in ECEC with regard to their prosocial behaviour.

Several changes have taken place both in the content and structure of early childhood education and care (ECEC) throughout the world, which has led to a need for developing leadership and quality evaluation strategies in early educational settings. Recent changes call for understanding leadership as part of comprehensive ECEC governance. The purpose of this conceptual chapter is to describe how governance, leadership, and operational culture in the ECEC context are integrated and how they provide the foundation for examining quality in ECEC. The aim of the chapter is to introduce a comprehensive approach to ECEC leadership, called an integrative leadership framework, developed in the Finnish ECEC context. The integrative leadership framework introduces the dimensions affecting operational culture in ECEC leadership and curriculum implementation when developing quality of ECEC services and their pedagogical practices. Legislation and administrative premises provide the frame for the leadership and management functions, as well as for quality management. The integrative leadership framework combines the dimensions connected to leadership to provide high-quality ECEC services.

Education, either formal or informal, plays an important role to help the masses. As such, educators, especially trainees, are entrusted to teach young generations all important elements, principles, or concepts in a wide range of disciplines. Surely, such an undertaking, especially for early childhood care and education, requires quality teachers. In this regard, existing early childhood care and education modules or curricula should be periodically reviewed and revamped (if necessary) to help produce competent teachers who are excellent in all aspects encompassing content, pedagogical, and technological knowledge. This paper discusses the professional growth and development of trainees in early childhood care and education (ECCE) in terms of short- and long-term goals, missions, and career path-planning. The paper also elaborates on the relevant training workshops, courses, modules, and curricula that can be implemented to help improve their practical skills. The discussion also highlights the importance of incentives, such as attractive salaries, bonuses, acknowledgments, and awards, from employers that can not only motivate trainees but also advance their professional growth and development. Certainty, strong development knowledge, practical skills, and experiences can help such trainees to be become highly competent, which can significantly contribute to nation-building efforts in Malaysia.

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: The Early Education Essentials surveys use teacher and parent perceptions to measure 6 organizational conditions of early childhood education programs, extending and complementing existing measures of early childhood care and education (ECE) quality constructs. This study tests the reliability and concurrent validity of the Early Education Essentials in 81 school- and community-based ECE sites in a large Midwestern city selected using a stratified random sampling method. Using a Rasch item response theory model, scales were created; theory and exploratory factor analyses combined scales into higher level constructs called essentials. Multilevel models took into account individual measurement error to create site-level essential scores and assessed relationships between programs’ essential scores and site-level teacher–child interactions scores and student attendance. Findings suggest that the Early Education Essentials is reliable in multiple ECE settings; it is sensitive to site-level differences; and some, but not all, organizational conditions measured are associated in expected directions with site-level metrics indicative of center-based ECE quality. Practice or Policy: The Early Education Essentials has the potential to provide leaders and practitioners with actionable data about organizational supports that enable ECE practitioners to be more effective in their daily work with children and families.

Early childhood years are a fundamental period of development in human lifespan. Infant and toddler care programs, early childhood education services, after-school care programs, and parenting programs are foundational in the physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development of children. Development of quality early childhood programs can be realized through consideration of various elements of quality. Early childhood care and education (ECCE) program designers should aim to develop safe, healthy, responsive, engaging, and developmentally appropriate programs. Program curriculum, which takes place at the heart of program development, should also be responsive to children's needs and interests to construct meaningful, age-appropriate, and play-based learning experiences. Ongoing assessment and evaluation are integral part of quality ECCE program development. Early childhood assessment consists of child-level and program-level assessments. Assessment of children's developmental outcomes and program environmental characteristics play key roles in the development and evaluation of ECCE programs. Even though there are many available tools of assessment, common features of quality assessments include reliability, validity, purposefulness, and universality. Evaluation of early childhood programs makes use of different methodologies designed to study program process, outcome, impact, and cost-benefit. Development of quality early childhood care and education programs need systematic planning, implementation, and monitoring through the use of quality assessment and evaluation methodologies. This chapter provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in program development, assessment, and evaluation in early care and education based on high quality research studies coming from a variety of fields.

Early childhood years are a fundamental period of development in human lifespan. Infant and toddler care programs, early childhood education services, after-school care programs, and parenting programs are foundational in the physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development of children. Development of quality early childhood programs can be realized through consideration of various elements of quality. Early childhood care and education (ECCE) program designers should aim to develop safe, healthy, responsive, engaging, and developmentally appropriate programs. Program curriculum, which takes place at the heart of program development, should also be responsive to children's needs and interests to construct meaningful, age-appropriate, and play-based learning experiences. Ongoing assessment and evaluation are integral part of quality ECCE program development. Early childhood assessment consists of child-level and program-level assessments. Assessment of children's developmental outcomes and program environmental characteristics play key roles in the development and evaluation of ECCE programs. Even though there are many available tools of assessment, common features of quality assessments include reliability, validity, purposefulness, and universality. Evaluation of early childhood programs makes use of different methodologies designed to study program process, outcome, impact, and cost-benefit. Development of quality early childhood care and education programs need systematic planning, implementation, and monitoring through the use of quality assessment and evaluation methodologies. This chapter provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in program development, assessment, and evaluation in early care and education based on high quality research studies coming from a variety of fields.