Skip to main content

Early Childhood Education and Care Today: Impact, Policies, Quality

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Professional Development and Quality in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

This chapter includes a brief description of the current framework and challenges related to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). It discusses the diversity of the existing terms regarding early childhood education and recent research findings in regard to the effects ECEC quality has on children’s development and well-being. The chapter also deals with the professional development of early childhood educators and the policies adopted around the world to promote it. Finally, it focuses on the current momentum in efforts to improve the quality of ECEC as a result of the various policies being developed and implemented.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Auger, A., Farkas, G., Burchinal, M. R., Duncan, G. J., & Vandell, D. L. (2014). Preschool center care quality effects on academic achievement: An instrumental variables analysis. Developmental Psychology, 50(12), 2559–2571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birch, L. L., Parker, L., & Burns, A. (Eds.). (2011). Early childhood obesity prevention policies. In Committee on obesity prevention policies for young children, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi:10.1037/a0037995.

  • Borge, A., & Melhuish, E. C. (1995). A longitudinal study of childhood behaviour problems, maternal employment and day care in a rural Norwegian community. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 18, 23–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bumgarner, E., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2015). The association between early care arrangements, quality, and emergent bilingual Latino America children’s math and literacy skills in English. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 30, 32–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burchinal, M., Howes, C., Pianta, R., Bryant, D., Early, D., Clifford, R., et al. (2008). Predicting child outcomes at the end of kindergarten from the quality of pre-kindergarten teacher–child interactions and instruction. Applied Developmental Science, 12(3), 140–153. doi:10.1080/10888690802199418.

  • Burchinal, M., Vandergrift, N., Pianta, R., & Mashburn, A. (2010). Threshold analysis of association between child care quality and child outcomes for low-income children in pre-kindergarten programs. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(2), 166–176. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.10.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burchinal, M., Kainz, K., & Cai, Y. (2011). How well do our measures of quality predict child outcomes? In M. Zaslow, I. Martinez-Beck, K. Tout, & T. Halle (Eds.), Quality measurements in early childhood settings (pp. 11–31). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burchinal, M., Magnuson, K., Powell, D., & Soliday Hong, S. (2015). Early childcare and education. In M. H. Bornstein & T. Leventhal (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science (Vol. 4, pp. 223–258). Ecological settings and processes. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell-Barr, T. (2016). Quality early childhood education and care: The role of attitudes and dispositions in professional development. Early Child Development and Care. doi:10.1080/03004430.2016.1150273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi, S. H. (2006). ECCE—The main concepts involved. International Institute of Educational Planning Newsletter, 24. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/iiep/eng/newsletter/2006/jane06.pdf.

  • Council of the European Union. (2011). Council Conclusions on Early Childhood Education And Care: Providing All Our Children with the Best Start for the World of Tomorrow (2011/C 175/03). 3090th Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council Meeting: Brussels, May 19–20, 2011. Retrieved from https://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/educ/122123.pdf.

  • Curby, T. W., Casale-Crouch, J. L., Konold, T. R., Pianta, R. C., Howes, C., Burchinal, M., et al. (2009). The relations of observed pre-K classroom quality profiles to children’s achievement and social competence. Early Education and Development, 20(2), 346–372. doi:10.1080/10409280802581284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalli, C. (2014). Occasional paper 4-quality for babies and toddlers in early years settings. London: TACTYC. Retrieved February 15, 2016, from http://tactyc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Occ-Paper-4-Prof-Carmen-Dalli.pdf.

  • Day, C. (2004). A passion for teaching. London: Routledge Falmer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Early, D., Maxwell, K., Burchinal, M., Alva, S., Bender, R., Bryant, D., et al. (2007). Teachers’ education, classroom quality, and young children’s academic skills: Results from seven studies of preschool programmes. Child Development, 78(2), 558–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engle, P. L., Fernald, L. C. H., Alderman, H., Behrman, J., O’Gara, C., Yousafzai, A., … the Global Child Development Steering Group. (2011). Strategies for reducing inequalities and improving developmental outcomes for young children in low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet, 378, 1339–1353. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60889-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eraut, M. (1994). Developing professional knowledge and competence. London: Falmer Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eurofound. (2015). Working conditions, training of early childhood care workers and quality of services: A systematic review. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2012). Supporting the teaching professions for better learning outcomes. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/doc/teachercomp_en.pdf.

  • European Commission. (2016). Key European action supporting the 2030 agenda and the sustainable development goals. European Commission staff working document. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/swd-key-european-actions-2030-agenda-sdgs-390-20161122_en.pdf. Accessed January 27, 2017.

  • European Commission Childcare Network. (2004). Quality in early learning and child care services: Papers from the European commission childcare network. Toronto: University of Toronto, Childcare Resource and Research Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission Thematic Group on ECEC Quality. (2014). European quality framework: Research evidence. Presented at the Conference of the Greek EU Presidency in Athens, June 19–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Eurostat. (2014). Key data on early childhood education and care in Europe (2014 ed.). Eurydice and Eurostat Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Council. (2002). Barcelona European council presidency conclusions-part I. Barcelona European Council Presidency, March 15–16, 2002. Retrieved from http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/71025.pdf.

  • European Council. (2009). Council Conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training-ET2020 (OJ C 119 of 28.5.2009, pp. 2–10). Retrieved from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV%3Aef0016.

  • Eurydice/EACEA. (2014). Eurydice policy brief: Early childhood education and care. European Commission: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/thematic_reports/Eurydice_Policy_Brief_ECEC_EN.pdf doi: 102797/52737.

  • Fukkink, R., & Lont, A. (2007). Does training matter? Meta-Analysis and Review of Caregiver Training Studies, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22(3), 294–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, R. A., Fujimoto, K., Kaestner, R., Korenman, S., & Abner, K. (2013). An assessment of the validity of the ECERS-R with implications for measures of child care quality and relations to child development. Developmental Psychology, 49(1), 146–160. doi:10.1037/a0027899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregoriadis, A., Papandreou, M., & Birbili, M. (2016). Continuing professional development in the Greek early childhood education system. Early Years. doi:10.1080/09575146.2016.1265486.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckman, J., Pinto, R., & Savelyev, P. A. (2012). Understanding the mechanisms through which an influential early childhood program boosted adult outcomes (NBER Working Paper No. 18581). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • HM Treasury. (2004). Choice for parents, the best start for children: A ten year strategy for childcare. Norwich: HMSO. Retrieved from http://www.hmtreasury.gov.uk/media/8F5/35/pbr04childcare_480.pdf.

  • Karoly, L. A., Kilburn, M. R., & Cannon, J. S. (2005). Early childhood interventions: Proven results, future promise. Santa Monica, CA: The RAND Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keys, T. D., Farkas, G., Burchinal, M. R., Duncan, G. J., Vandell, D. L., Li, W., et al. (2013). Preschool center quality and school readiness: Quality effects andvariation by demographic and child characteristics. Child Development, 84(4), 1171–1190. doi:10.1111/cdev.12048.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazzari, A., Picchio, M., & Musatti, T. (2013). Sustaining ECEC quality through continuing professional development: Systemic approaches to practitioners’ professionalisation in the Italian context. Early Years, 33(2), 133–145. doi:10.1080/09575146.2012.758087.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathers, S., Singler, R., & Karemaker, A. (2012). Improving quality in the early years: A comparison of perspectives and measures. Oxford: Daycare Trust, Oxford University and A+ Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melhuish, E. C. (2004). A literature review of the impact of early years provision on young children, with emphasis given to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. London: National Audit Office. Retrieved from http://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers/1679/.

  • Melhuish, E. (2010). A linked study: Effective pre-school provision in Northern Ireland. In K. Sylva, E. Melhuish, P. Sammons, I. Siraj-Blatchford, & B. Taggart (Eds.), Early childhood matters: Evidence from the effective pre-school and primary education project (pp. 192–205). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melhuish, E., Sylva, K., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B., & Quinn, L. (2006). Effective pre-school provision in Northern Ireland (EPPNI) summary report. Northern Ireland: Department of Education. Available at www.deni.gov.uk.

  • Moore, A., C., Akhter, S., & Aboud, F. E. (2008). Evaluating an improved quality preschool program in rural Bangladesh. International Journal of Educational Development, 28, 118–131. doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2007.05.003.

  • Mwaura, P. A., Sylva, K., & Malmberg, L.-E. (2008). Evaluating the Madrasa preschool programme in East Africa: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Early Years Education, 16, 237–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NESSE. (2009). Early childhood education and care: Key lessons from research for policymakers. Brussels: European Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • NICHD National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (2002a). Early child care and children’s development prior to school entry: Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. American Educational Research Journal, 39(1), 133–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NICHD National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (2002b). Child care structure-process-outcome: Direct and indirect effects of child care quality on young children’s development. Psychological Scienc, 13(3), 199–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NICHD National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (2003). Does amount of time spent in child care predict socioemotional adjustment during the transition to kindergarten? Child Development, 74(4), 976–1005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nuttall, J., Coxon, L., & Reid, S. (2009). Structure, agency and artefacts: Mediating professional learning in early childhood education. In S. Edwards & J. Nuttall (Eds.), Professional learning in early childhood settings (pp. 97–113). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oberhuemer, P. (2013). Continuing professional development and the early years workforce. Early Years, 33(2), 103–105. doi:10.1080/09575146.2013.793483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2006). Starting strong II: Early childhood education and care. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2012a). Starting strong III: A Quality toolbox for early childhood education and care. Paris: OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/9789264123564-en.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2012b). Encouraging quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC)—Research brief: Qualifications, education and professional development matters. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2014). Talis 2013 results: An international perspective on teaching and learning, OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264196261-en.

  • OECD. (2015). Starting strong IV: Monitoring quality in early childhood education and care. Paris: OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/9789264233515-en.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peisner-Feinberg, E. S., & Burchinal, M. R. (1997). Relations between preschool children’s childcare experiences and concurrent development: The cost, quality, and outcomes study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 43, 451–477.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianta, R. C. (2006). Standardized observation and professional development: A focus on Individualized Implementation and practices. In M. Zaslow & I. Martinez-Beck (Eds.), Critical issues in early childhood professional development (pp. 231–254). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianta, R. C., Howes, C., Burchinal, M. R., Bryant, D., Clifford, R. M., Early, D. M., et al. (2005). Features of pre-kindergarten programs, classrooms, and teachers: Prediction of observed classroom quality and teacher–child interactions. Applied Developmental Science, 9, 144–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pirard, F., & Barbier, J. M. (2012). Accompaniment and quality in childcare services: The emergence of a culture of professionalization. Early Years, 32(2), 171–182. doi:10.1080/09575146.2011.642852.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raine, A., Mellingen, K., Liu, J., Venables, P., & Mednick, S. A. (2003). Effects of environmental enrichment at ages 3–5 years on schizotypal personality and antisocial behavior at ages 17 and 23 years. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1627–1635. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.9.1627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramey, C. T., & Campbell, F. A. (1991). Poverty, early childhood education, and academic competence: The Abecedarian experiment. In A. C. Huston (Ed.), Children in poverty: Child development and public policy (pp. 190–221). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, N., & Sun, J. (2010). Early childhood care and education in the Asia Pacific region: Moving towards goal 1. Hong Kong: UNESCO, Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC), The University of Hong Kong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabol, T. J., & Pianta, R. C. (2014). Do standard measures of preschool quality used in statewide policy predict school readiness? Education Finance & Policy, 9, 116–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sabol, T. J., Soliday Hong, S. L., Pianta, R. C., & Burchinal, M. R. (2013). Can ratings of pre-K programs predict children’s learning? Science, 341, 845–846. doi:10.1126//science.1233517.

  • Sammons, P. (2010a). The EPPE research design: An educational effectiveness focus. In K. Sylva, E. Melhuish, P. Sammons, I. Siraj-Blatchford, & B. Taggart (Eds.), Early childhood matters: Evidence from the effective pre-school and primary education project (pp. 24–43). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sammons, P. (2010b). Does pre-school make a difference? Identifying the impact of pre-school on children’s cognitive and social behavioural development at different ages. In K. Sylva, E. Melhuish, P. Sammons, I. Siraj-Blatchford, & B. Taggart (Eds.), Early childhood matters: Evidence from the effective pre-school and primary education project (pp. 92–113). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B., & Hunt, S. (2008). Effective pre-school and primary education 3–11 Project (EPPE 3–11): Influences on children’s attainment and progress in key stage 2: Cognitive outcomes in year 6 (research report DCSF-RR048). London: Department for Children, Schools and Families.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schweinhart, L. J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, S., Benfield, R., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects: The high/scope Perry Preschool study through age 40. Ypsilanti, MI: HighScope Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • SEED. (2017). Study of early education and development: Help us and the DfE understand the impact of early education. Retrieved June 15, 2017, from http://www.seed.natcen.ac.uk/professionals.

  • Soucacou, E. P., & Sylva, K. (2010). Developing instruments for assessing ‘difficult to measure’ aspects of quality in early childhood practice. In E. Tucker, G. Walford, & M. Viswanathan (Eds.), The Sage handbook of measurement: How social scientists generate, modify, and validate indicators and scales. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sylva, K., & EPPE Team. (2010a). Introduction: Why EPPE? In K. Sylva, E. Melhuish, P. Sammons, I. Siraj-Blatchford, & B. Taggart (Eds.), Early childhood matters: Evidence from the effective pre-school and primary education project (pp. 1–7). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sylva, K., & EPPE Team. (2010b). Quality in early childhood settings. In K. Sylva, E. Melhuish, P. Sammons, I. Siraj-Blatchford, & B. Taggart (Eds.), Early childhood matters: Evidence from the effective pre-school and primary education project (pp. 70–91). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sylva, K. Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj, I., & Taggart, B. (2004). The effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE) project: Final report. DfE Research Report.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (Eds.). (2010). Early childhood matters: Evidence from the effective pre-school and primary education project. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taggart, B. (2010). Making a difference: How research can inform policy. In K. Sylva, E. Melhuish, P. Sammons, I. Siraj-Blatchford, & B. Taggart (Eds.), Early childhood matters: Evidence from the effective pre-school and primary education project (pp. 206–222). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Underdown, A. (2007). Young children’s health and well-being. New York: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2006). EFA global monitoring report 2007: Strong foundations—Early childhood care and education. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (n.d.). Early childhood care and education. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/dprk/ecd.pdf.

  • UNICEF. (n.d.). Early childhood development: The key to a full and productive life. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/dprk/ecd.pdf.

  • Urban, M. (2009). Early childhood education in Europe. Achievement, challenges and possibilities. Education International Report. Retrieved from https://download.ei-ie.org/Docs/WebDepot/2009_EarlyChildhoodEducationInEurope_en.pdf.

  • Urban, M., Vandenbroeck, M., Peeters, J., Lazzari, A., & van Laere, K. (2011). CoRe: Competence requirements in early childhood education and care. European Commission: DG Education and Culture. http://ec.europa.eu/education/more-information/doc/2011/core_en.pdf.

  • Urzua, S., & Veramendi, G. (2010). The impact of out-of-home childcare centers on early childhood development. Prepared for the Inter-American Development Bank. Retrieved from http://www.iadb.org/research/files/6224/pdf/ecd/chile.pdf.

  • van Tuijl, C., & Lesseman, P. P. M. (2007). Increases in the verbal and fluid cognitive abilities of disadvantaged children attending preschool in Netherlands. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22, 188–203. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2007.02.002.

  • Yoshikawa, H., Weiland, C., Brooks-Gunn, J., Burchinal, M. R., Espinoza, L. M., Gormley, W. T., Ludwig, J., Magnuson, K. A., Phillips, D., & Zaslow, M. J. (2013). Investing in our future: The evidence base on preschool education. New York: Foundation for Child Development. Retrieved from http://fcd-us.org/resources/evidence-base-preschool.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Athanasios Gregoriadis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Gregoriadis, A., Grammatikopoulos, V., Zachopoulou, E. (2018). Early Childhood Education and Care Today: Impact, Policies, Quality. In: Gregoriadis, A., Grammatikopoulos, V., Zachopoulou, E. (eds) Professional Development and Quality in Early Childhood Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64212-3_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64212-3_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64211-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64212-3

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics