IEA ECES early childhood policies and systems in 8 countries

2016Since 2013 CREC has been working with the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) on an international study on early childhood education (ECES).

The first ECES report (Early Childhood Policies and Systems in Eight Countries), authored by CREC, has now been published  and is available to view online .

As the principal authors of the report, CREC directors Chris Pascal and Tony  Bertram, lead on the policy phase of the IEA’s Early Childhood Education Study (ECES) and had this to say about the policy findings that where published on Friday 15th April 2016:

"As authors of this Policy Report, what we found most interesting was the trans-national evidence indicates that there is no ‘one way’ to secure ECE policy development and no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to developing accessible, high quality ECE services.

All countries, like the eight in the ECES study, have a range of different policy options open to them to achieve the overall goal of securing high quality ECE for all children. 

It is clear that the policy choices governments' make will have significant implications in terms of the quality of ECE services available, their impact on social mobility, social cohesion and the economy, and the levels of access and inclusion to these services for the least advantaged.

It is also interesting that ECE policy seems to be able to address a wider spectrum of social, economic, political and educational objectives than almost any other arena of Government policy making, so that investment in ECE at government level may have the chance for greater and broader returns than almost any other investment.

Our evidence reveals that no one country has yet perfected its ECE provision, and further consideration at policy level about how to progress the establishment of high quality ECE for all children is needed in all countries.

We are hoping that the set of reflective policy issues identified in the final chapter of the report, will provide an agenda for further rich and informed ECE policy dialogues."

- Chris Pascal & Tony Bertram