What characteristics of funding, provision and regulation are associated with effective social investment in ECEC in England, France and Germany?

West, Anne ORCID: 0000-0003-2932-7667, Blome, Agnes and Lewis, Jane (2020) What characteristics of funding, provision and regulation are associated with effective social investment in ECEC in England, France and Germany? Journal of Social Policy, 49 (4). 681 - 704. ISSN 0047-2794

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Abstract

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is seen as a crucial element of the social investment state. Whilst the extent of social investment in ECEC depends on financial expenditure, its effectiveness depends on certain conditions being met, namely affordable, high quality provision being available. We explore policy development and the role played by government in the funding, provision and regulation of ECEC in England, France and Germany and then compare them in terms of availability, affordability and quality. We argue that for children aged three and over, social investment can be deemed to be broadly effective in France and Germany, but in England quality is compromised by low staff qualification levels in private childcare centres. For children under three, effective social investment is elusive in all countries although as a result of different conditions not being met. Our findings lead us to question the limitations of the concept of social investment in ECEC, particularly in marketised contexts.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of...
Additional Information:	© 2019 Cambridge University Press
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform L Education > L Education (General)
Date Deposited:	07 Jun 2019 12:39
Last Modified:	14 Sep 2024 07:50
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/100988

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