ECEC POLICY IN OTHER COUNTRIES

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1、ECECPOLICYINOTHERCOUNTRIESEarlyChildhoodEducationserviceshavebecomenearlyuniversalforolderpreschoolchildreninmanycountriesoverthelasttwentyyears.MostEuropeancountriesnowregardearlychildhoodeducationandcareasanessentialpartofpreparationofchildrenforpu

2、blicschool,animportantcomponentofthesupportstofamilieswithemployedparents,andasavenueforidentifyingchildrenandfamilieswhowillneedspecialservices.ThereiswidevariationinpolicytowardECECforchildrenlessthanthreeyearsofage,butfull-daycarewithadevelopmenta

3、lpurposeispracticallyanorminmostofthesecountriesforchildrenofthreeandover.TheOECDreportonEarlyChildhoodEducationandCaresystemssummarizedthevariationacrosschildagelevelsinthisway:“Apatternofcoverageisseeminglyemergingacrosstheindustrializedcountries:a

4、coverageraterangingfrom20-30%inyear1-2,andreachingover80%coverageinfull-timeplaces,sometimeinthefourthyear.”(OECD,2001,p.148)AustraliaandtheUnitedStatesmaintainpolicieswhicharemuchlesssupportiveofearlychildhoodeducationandcare.TheUnitedKingdomandCana

5、da(Quebec,particularly)havemovedstronglytoexpandECECcoverageinrecentyears.Table1onthenextpagesgivesathumbnailsketchofkeyECECpoliciesacrossawidevarietyofcountriesforwhichdataisavailable.FurtherdetailstosupplementTable1areprovidedinTables2through5inthe

6、Appendix.ThenotesbelowprovideabriefoverviewofsomeofthemainlinesofECECpolicyinathesecountries.AUSTRALIATheCommonwealthGovernmentisresponsiblefordaycareandthestateandterritorialgovernmentsareresponsibleforpreschooleducation.Thishasfosteredatraditionals

7、eparationbetweencareservices(seenasemploymentandfamilysupport)andeducationservices(forchilddevelopment).Therearetwoyearsof(nearly)universalpreschoolprovidedlargelyinschools,withhalfdaysatagefourandfullschooldaysatagefivebeforecompulsoryschoolingstart

8、satagesix.Overthelastdecade,thegovernmenthasdismantledasystemofoperationalsubsidiestonon-profitcommunitychildcarecentresandreplacedthemwiththeChildCareBenefitwhichgoesdirectlytoparentsandisscaledtoincome.Fullassistance($133Ausforfirstchild)endsatabou