The early childhood league in Europe: Problems and possibilities in cross-national comparisons of levels of provision

Abstract

SUMMARY The article presents an annotated ‘league table’ on attendance at publicly funded ‘early childhood care and education services’ for children aged 3 to 5 in fifteen European countries; these services include kindergartens, day nurseries, family day care and playgroups, as well as schools. This comparison of attendance is presented in the context of a discussion about the problems involved with constructing and interpreting such ‘league tables’, in particular those arising from issues about the age range to cover, the division between ‘education’ and ‘day care’ services, differences between types of services and the difficulties involved in including services that are not publicly funded. The ‘league table’ points to a widespread movement in the countries covered to universal provision of nursery education or kindergarten services for children over 3, the main exceptions being Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands.