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Education in Out-of-Home Care pp 91–104Cite as

Is Quality Good Enough for Out-of-Home Care Children? Early Childhood Education and Care Experiences of Australian Children in Out-of-Home Care at Age 3 to 5 Years

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Part of the book series: Children’s Well-Being: Indicators and Research ((CHIR,volume 22))

Abstract

High quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) from age 3 may promote early learning, reduce vulnerability and narrow achievement gaps between children in care and their peers. Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds have lower rates of participation in a formal early childhood program than children generally. However, little is known about the rate of ECEC attendance among children in out-of-home care (OHC); the type, amount and quality of service they experience as well as the factors that may create a barrier to access. This chapter reviews the available research on these issues and reports findings on the ECEC experiences of N = 60 children aged 3 to 5 years from the Australian Early Childhood in Foster and Kinship Care study.

Results showed that study children were just as likely as other children to be attending ECEC, and the amount of ECEC study children were using was similar as well. Yet, compared to children generally, a slightly lower proportion of study children spent time in a preschool program, and a smaller proportion of study children’s main ECEC service was meeting the National Quality Standard. While ECEC subsidies and cross-sector collaborations appear to support strong ECEC participation, more research is needed to determine whether universal ECEC meets the unique needs of children in OHC.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Replaced the Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR).

  2. 2.

    Child care types included a list of ten response options; do not use child care, long day care centre, family day care, occasional care, gym, leisure or community centre, workplace crèche, JET (Job Education Training) crèche, mobile care unit, approved in-home care and regulated child care. Preschool types included; preschool.

  3. 3.

    n = 5 in current sample.

  4. 4.

    Gym, leisure or community centre.

  5. 5.

    Includes children who used another form of ECEC and children who did not attend ECEC.

  6. 6.

    Calculated as time usually attends ECEC.

  7. 7.

    The proportion of children attending preschool for 15+ h per week was 75%, calculated using a reference period, which in part will relate to strict policies for keeping children at home when ill.

  8. 8.

    Such as the Grandparent Child Care Benefit (GCCB) and Special Child Care Benefit (SCCB) that were available at the time of data collection and currently available under the Additional Child Care Subsidy scheme.

  9. 9.

    For example, whether ECEC placement is sustained when child moves placement or is returned home.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

    Sarah Wise

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  1. Sarah Wise
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

    Patricia McNamara  & Sarah Wise  & 

  2. Faculty of Education and Psychology, Research Institute on Quality of Life, University of Girona, Girona, Spain

    Carme Montserrat

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Wise, S. (2019). Is Quality Good Enough for Out-of-Home Care Children? Early Childhood Education and Care Experiences of Australian Children in Out-of-Home Care at Age 3 to 5 Years. In: McNamara, P., Montserrat, C., Wise, S. (eds) Education in Out-of-Home Care. Children’s Well-Being: Indicators and Research, vol 22. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26372-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26372-0_7

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