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Topic Editor: John Bennett, M.Ed., PhD, OECD, France
Topic founded by: Margaret & Wallace McCain Family Foundation
Society and child care
There are many differences in the organization of early education and care systems. In most OECD countries, early education for children 3-6 years is a shared responsibility between the family and the state and is often free and fully subsidized. The situation is more mixed where ECEC for children under 3 years is concerned: many governments generously subsidise and support parents to access child care, but others see child care as primarily a parental responsibility. A laissez-faire approach to young children and families, characterized by weak state support and the predominance of private provision, can produce significant inequalities in access. The recruitment of migrant care providers in child care can also generate imbalances in the roles played by states, families, and markets in the child care sector in both North and South. Governments that see care and education as a public responsibility increasingly integrate their care and education systems and are able, in consequence, to ensure better regulation, more equitable access and provide higher quality services to all children.
The current discourse on choice for parents needs realistic assessment. Although parents are assumed to be free to choose the facilities they deem most appropriate for their child, access to high quality care is, in fact, often limited and unequal. This is a particular challenge in systems dominated by private for-profit provision. Low-income parents can “choose” only what is available to them and must often resign themselves to restricted choice and poor quality. In short, while early childhood care and education may be viewed as a central plank of inclusive policy, the reality is that these services serve, in too many countries, to widen the education gap. This is particularly the case for immigrant and ethnic children, the parents of whom are greatly limited in their choice of services by environmental and economic constraints.
Democracy should be the fundamental principle that guides the provision and elaboration of ECEC services not only at the early childhood level by encouraging shared decision-making at local level, but also at community and political levels by making early education a matter of public debate and collective responsibility. In a democracy, individuals express not only personal preferences; they also make public and collective choices related to the common good of their society.
The impact of child care on child development
Child care settings have been linked to both positive and negative consequences for child development. Despite contradictory earlier findings about the effects of child care on cognitive and linguistic development, more recent research has consistently documented the enduring and positive effects of high-quality child care. Much research evidence exists to show that high quality early education provides a solid foundation for school readiness and academic achievement but selection bias is a potential problem for most studies of child care as it may confound variations in child and family characteristics with variations in child care contexts. Learning experiences in ECEC can also help children develop democratic values as well as social skills. A close bond with a care provider is also an index of the quality of future relationships. A caring environment is particularly valuable for children who experience insensitive care at home by reducing the risk of behavioural problems, serving as a protective factor and by providing opportunities for improved cognitive and language development. On the other hand, when combined with social and economic stressors at home, inadequate ECEC arrangements (poor quality child care, long hours, and instability) represent a double-threat to children’s attachment security. However, it is often difficult to identify ECEC as the cause of various developmental outcomes because of inseparable confounding factors, such as, issues of stability in care-giving and the characteristics of individual children and their families. The effect of child care is likely to vary not only based on these characteristics, but also as a function of the child’s personal traits and the ideologies surrounding child care in a specific cultural context.
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