Administration and Policy of Early Childhood Education and Care (Europe and Australia)

Author: Jian Chuying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Administration and policy have a profound impact on principals, teachers, parents, and teaching, and are also closely related to the quality of early childhood education. Therefore, it has always been a focal point of the author's attention. Currently, early childhood education and care policies are moving towards the direction of integrating early childhood education and care and extending the compulsory education age by one year. During the policy-making process, there have been continuous debates over the separation and integration of early childhood education and care, as well as whether the starting age of compulsory education should be extended by one year. As the saying goes, "A distant land's stone can polish one's jade," it is necessary to refer to the experiences of other countries. The 11 countries introduced in this book have formulated different policies due to their unique national conditions and cultures. However, there are similarities amid the differences, and the common points among these countries can serve as references for our policy-making, while the differences are even more worth learning from when formulating policies. The feature of this book lies in understanding the formation of early childhood education and care policies within the ecological and cultural context of each country. For example, societal views on children can influence a nation's approach to caring for them. Another feature of the book is the discussion of issues after the introduction of each country. After fully understanding the impact of the ecological and cultural context of each country on early childhood education and care policies, similar or different issues still arise, which are worth learning from.