Early Education and Care (ECEC) in
Europe
Helen Penn
Cass School of Education
University of East London
UK
European Commission:
Early Childhood Education and Care
Key Lessons from Research for Policy
Makers
http://www.nesse.fr/nesse_top/tasks
The rationales for ECEC services
• In most EU countries a complex issue – 3
key policy questions
• Education versus care
• Targeted services versus universal
services
• Public versus private provision
Education or Care?
• Services may be intended primarily to assist
mothers (and fathers) access to the labour
market, and other considerations, even the well-
being of the child, are secondary (OECD 2005;
Mahon 2006; EU 2002).
• Services may be intended primarily to provide
education for young children, and labour market
access is a secondary consideration (OECD
2006). Almost all countries have free universal
education with a high take-up (2+ in France,
Belgium). Take-up for childcare is lower.
Targeted or Universal Services?
• Services may be welfare based, and particularly
for children under three, they are aimed at
supporting vulnerable children and preventing
family breakdown
• Or they may promote universal access for
reasons of social integration, inclusion and
citizenship, so that all children have an
entitlement to similar experiences. Education
services are usually universal, childcare services
vary. (Eurydice 2009).
Targeted or Universal Services?
• The three main USA studies on which
arguments for economic effectiveness of ECEC
services are based were targeted education
services for highly vulnerable black children.
• They considered only high impact (and
expensive) services for the poorest children but
did not address issues of social justice or social
equity or social stratification.
• Despite their wide currency, they are parochial
studies with limited relevance to the EU
Public or Private provision?
• Education services are mainly publicly funded
and provided, but in a number of countries there
is a mix of providers, mainly non-profit (with the
exception of the UK and Ireland).
• Childcare services are more mixed, with a
higher number of for-profit providers. Funding for
private provision may not be given directly to the
service (supply led) but may be given to eligible
parents through some form of tax credits
(demand led),
Public or Private provision?
Proponents of a private for-profit market in
ECEC argue that it is more flexible and
less costly for the public purse
BUT
• Private services are socially stratified
• Parents pay high fees (eg UK/Ireland)
• The private market is more volatile
• The quality of provision is more variable
and usually poorer
Mixed provision and mixed
economies
• Most countries have several types of
provision, including independent non-profit
and for-profit provision for children under
three, although universal and uniform
education systems (with or without care
attached) predominate for children over
three. Countries may also support parental
leave as an alternative to childcare for
very young children.
Mixed provision and mixed
economies
• Most systems are to an extent hybrid, but
variation within countries is much more
likely in some countries than in others.
Eastern European systems are likely to be
more uniform; at the other extreme
countries like the UK and the Netherlands
promote consumer choice above other
considerations, and tend to have much
more fragmented services as a result.
Effectiveness
• There are no unambiguous or contextless
answers about effectiveness or quality.
• Judgements about the effectiveness of
early childhood education and care
services depends on what is being
measured and why.
Effectiveness
In very general terms:
• children do better in education provision;
• mothers benefit more from childcare provision,
• children tend to do better in public rather than in
private provision (because staff in private
provision tend to be more poorly qualified) and
• universal provision works better than targeted
provision (a service for the poor is a poor
service).
• Universal public services cost money; the
service is expensive
Conclusion
ECEC services can have profoundly positive
effects
• for children’s educational performance,
• for women’s access to the labour market,
• for social inclusion and citizenship BUT
Conclusion
• ECEC services are complex
• ECEC services need careful scrutiny for
implementation
• ECEC services do not work well in the
marketplace