This Issue File provides links to all the material now available from
the OECD’s Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care. This
includes documents already linked to the CRRU website and material not
previously available including other related documents and news stories
about the Thematic Review.
Thematic Review of ECEC on the OECD’s website: direct link [1]
This Issue File is organized into the following sections:
1. Introduction
2. Starting Strong II (2006)
3. Canada's participation in the second round of reviews
4. Starting Strong (2001)
5. Country Notes and Background Reports
6. OECD workshop papers
7. Next steps
The Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)
was launched by the Education Committee of the Paris-based Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1998. It was
motivated by a 1996 meeting of the OECD Education Ministers on the topic
“Making Lifelong Learning a Reality for All”. With the aim of strengthening the foundations of lifelong learning, the ministers set a goal of improving access to and quality in early childhood education and care and recommended conducting a Thematic Review (a cross-national study).
Through national Education Ministries, OECD member countries were
invited to participate. By the end of the project, twenty countries had
participated in the review’s two rounds.
Early in the review process, country representatives agreed
upon the framework, scope and process of the review, and identified the
major policy issues for investigation. Each country agreed to prepare or
commission a Background Report to provide contextual/demographic
information and respond to a set of questions about its provision of
ECEC programs and family policy. Each country was then visited by a four
member international expert team that met with ECEC officials and
community groups and visited ECEC programs. The team then prepared for
the OECD a Country Note presenting an analysis of the country’s ELCC
issues. Two summary reports were developed; Starting Strong, in 2001, and Starting Strong II in 2006. In addition, a series of international workshops on key topics (curricula and pedagogies; financing; ECEC for children from low income
families; data), commissioning a paper on each topic.
On September 19, 2006, the OECD released the final summary report
from the Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care. Starting Strong II outlines progress made by the 20 participating countries in responding to key aspects of successful ECEC policy outlined in Starting Strong
(2001). The report offers many examples of new policy initiatives
adopted in the ECEC field as well as comparative data that puts each
country in the international context. In their conclusions, the authors
identify ten policy areas for further critical attention from
governments.
Print copies and full PDF of Starting Strong II are available for purchase only from the OECD Bookshop.
- Order Starting Strong II [6]
[To view a read-only PDF of the report prior to making your purchase,
follow the order link and click on the icon of a page with an eye on it
that will appear to the right of the page. This will open the
“browse-it” version.]
Public access documents
- Complete executive summary [7]
- OECD Press release [8]
- Table. 5.3. Public expenditure on ECEC services (0-6 yrs) in selected OECD countries (%) [9]
Related analysis
Early learning and child care: How does Canada measure up? [10] CRRU Briefing Note
Martha Friendly, 2006
The Canadian Review followed the protocols designed by participating
countries. A national Background Report, answering a set of questions
common to all the Country Reviews, was commissioned by Human Resources
Development Canada. Following its completion, a team of four
international ECEC experts came to Canada in September 2003. Based on
their site visits, interviews, and review of the Background Report and
other documents, the expert OECD team prepared a second report on ECEC
in Canada – the Canada Country Note – identifying key strengths and
weaknesses and making suggestions for progress.
- Background Report (in English [11]; en français [12])
- Country Note (in English [13]; en français [14])
- CRRU BRIEFing NOTE Highlights from the recommendations [15]
Canada's new shame: Cheating its children with two-bit child care [16]
Vancouver Province, Oct 27, 2004
Report spurs push for child care reform [17]
Globe and Mail, October 26, 2004
A call to action on child care [18]
Toronto Star, October 26, 2004
Quebec's the odd one out in its ambition for day care [19]
Montreal Gazette, October 26, 2004
Stop tossing cash at 'bad' child care system: Analyst [20]
Ottawa Citizen, October 26, 2004
Child care report hailed [21]
Toronto Star, October 26, 2004
Canada's child care will improve, Dryden insists [22]
CBC.ca News, October 25, 2004
Canada’s child care is failing, OECD says [23]
Globe and Mail, October 25, 2004
Ad hoc approach to childcare panned [24]
Toronto Star, October 25, 2004
Starting Strong is the comparative report on the findings
from the first three years work of the Thematic Review of Early
Childhood Education and Care carried out by the OECD. It includes
information and data about ECEC in the 12 countries that took part in
the Review's first round and the eight "policy lessons" likely to
promote equitable access to quality ECEC that were identified in this
phase of the work.
Starting Strong observed that
Early childhood education and care has experienced a surge of
policy attention in OECD countries over the past decade. Policy makers
have recognized that equitable access to quality early childhood
education and care can strengthen the foundations of lifelong learning
for all children and support the broad educational and social needs of
families. There is a need to strengthen knowledge of the range of
approaches adopted by different countries, along with the successes and
challenges encountered.
Print copies and full PDF of Starting Strong (2001) are available for purchase only from the OECD Bookshop.
- Order Starting Strong (2001) [25]
[To view a read-only PDF of the report prior to making your purchase,
follow the order link and click on the icon of a page with an eye on it
that will appear to the right of the page. This will open the
“browse-it” version.]
- [26]Executive summary [26] CRRU BRIEFing NOTE, reproduced with permission
AUSTRALIA
- Background Report [27]
- Country Note [28]
BELGIUM
- Background Report
Flanders - Part 1 [29]
Flanders - Part 2 [30]
French community [31] (in French only)
- Country Note
Flanders [32]
French community [33] (in French only)
CZECH REPUBLIC
- Background Report [34]
- Country Note [35]
DENMARK
- Background Report [36]
- Country Note [37]
FINLAND
- Background Report [38]
- Country Note [39]
ITALY
- Background Report (not available)
- Country Note [40]
NETHERLANDS
- Background Report [41]
- Country Note
[42]
NORWAY
- Background Report [43]
- Country Note [44]
PORTUGAL
- Background Report
Part 1 [45]
Part 2 [46]
Part 3 [47]
Part 4 [48]
Part 5 [49]
Part 6 [50]
- Country Note [51]
SWEDEN
- Background Report [52]
- Country Note [53]
UNITED KINGDOM
- Background Report [54]
- Country Note [55]
UNITED STATES
- Background Report [56]
- Country Note
[57]
AUSTRIA
- Background Report [58]
- Country Note [59]
CANADA
- Background Report [11]
- Country Note [13]
FRANCE
- Background Report [60](French only)
- Country Note [61]
GERMANY
- Background Report [62]
- Country Note [63]
HUNGARY
- Background Report (not available)
- Country Note [64]
IRELAND
- Background Report [65]
- Country Note [66]
KOREA
- Background Report [67]
- Country Note [68]
MEXICO
- Background Report [69] (Spanish only)
- Country Note [70]
Starting Strong: Curricula and pedagogies in early childhood education and care – Five curriculum outlines [71]
May, H., Laevers, F., Pramling, I., Rinaldi, C. & Weikart, D., 2003
Financing ECEC services in OECD countries [72]
Cleveland, G. & Krashinsky, M., 2003
Data needs in early childhood education and care [73]
Bennett, J., 2002
Early childhood education and care for children from low-income or minority backgrounds [74]
Leseman, P., 2002
Early childhood education and care policy in Sweden [75]
Korpi, B., 2000
Early child development: The base for a learning society [76]
F. Mustard, 2000
After the publication of the comparative report, Starting Strong II,
responsibility for the Starting Strong project was passed by the
Directorate for Education at the OECD to Kind en Gezin [79],
the government agency responsible for child care in Flanders. At the
request of several countries that had taken part in the reviews, the
project was transformed into a specialised inter-country network, called
the OECD Starting Strong Network.
The Network has received a mandate from the OECD Committee for Education Policy to achieve the following goals:
- To bring together senior administrators from the national
ministries in charge of children's services in the member countries;
- To organise two workshops annually for country administrators
on (emerging) topics important for policy in the early childhood field;
- To maintain the knowledge base established by the OECD reviews -
and, in particular, to collect accurate statistical information on the
various countries participating in the network - in co-operation with
the Indicators and Analysis Division at the OECD.
Links
[1] http://www.oecd.org/document/3/0,3343,en_2649_34511_27000067_1_1_1_1,00.html
[2] http://pages.childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/03/06/states-expect-early-education-benefits-us
[3] http://pages.childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/06/09/childcare-industry-scores-poorly-oecd-au
[4] https://childcarecanada.org/category/tags/outcomes
[5] https://childcarecanada.org/category/tags/international-organizations
[6] http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers&lang=EN&st1=9789264035454
[7] http://www.oecd.org/document/63/0,2340,en_2649_34511_37416703_1_1_1_1,00.html#ES
[8] http://www.oecd.org/document/61/0,2340,en_2649_201185_37426685_1_1_1_1,00.html
[9] http://www.oecd.org/vgn/images/portal/cit_731/38/7/37417162Figure%205.3.JPG
[10] https://childcarecanada.org/publications/briefing-notes/06/10/early-learning-and-child-care-how-does-canada-measure
[11] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/41/36/33852192.pdf
[12] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/41/35/33852210.pdf
[13] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/34/33850725.pdf
[14] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/33/33850796.pdf
[15] https://childcarecanada.org/publications/briefing-notes/04/10/oecd-thematic-review-canadian-early-childhood-education-and-care-h
[16] https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/04/10/canadas-new-shame-cheating-its-children-two-bit-child-care
[17] https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/04/10/report-spurs-push-child-care-reform
[18] https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/04/10/call-action-child-care
[19] https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/04/10/quebecs-odd-one-out-its-ambition-day-care
[20] https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/04/10/stop-tossing-cash-bad-child-care-system-analyst
[21] https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/04/10/child-care-report-hailed
[22] https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/04/10/canadas-child-care-will-improve-dryden-insists
[23] https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/04/10/canadas-child-care-failing-oecd-says
[24] https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/04/10/ad-hoc-approach-child-care-panned
[25] http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?CID=&LANG=EN&SF1=DI&ST1=5LMQCR2K9TTJ
[26] https://childcarecanada.org/publications/briefing-notes/01/12/executive-summary-starting-strong%E2%80%94early-education-and-care-report-
[27] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/61/58/1900259.pdf
[28] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/34/2673543.pdf
[29] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/62/35/1900278.pdf
[30] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/62/37/1900295.pdf
[31] http://www.oejaj.cfwb.be/?id_article=147
[32] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/40/2479277.pdf
[33] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/9/38/1915159.pdf
[34] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/62/40/1900320.pdf
[35] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/26/2534726.pdf
[36] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/37/2475168.pdf
[37] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/31/56/33685537.pdf
[38] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/55/2476019.pdf
[39] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/27/2534770.pdf
[40] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/15/17/33915831.pdf
[41] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/54/2476092.pdf
[42] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/28/2534828.pdf
[43] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/53/2476185.pdf
[44] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/29/2534885.pdf
[45] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/51/2476551.pdf
[46] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/49/2476768.pdf
[47] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/47/2477090.pdf
[48] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/6/2477475.pdf
[49] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/4/2477789.pdf
[50] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/2/2478191.pdf
[51] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/30/2534928.pdf
[52] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/17/2479039.pdf
[53] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/31/2534972.pdf
[54] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/16/2479205.pdf
[55] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/32/2535034.pdf
[56] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/25/55/27856788.pdf
[57] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/33/2535075.pdf
[58] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/9/46/34431926.pdf
[59] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/14/57/36472878.pdf
[60] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/60/38/34402477.pdf
[61] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/60/36/34400146.pdf
[62] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/41/24/34411165.pdf
[63] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/1/33978768.pdf
[64] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/51/20/34425201.pdf
[65] https://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/oecd_thematic_reivew_early_childhood_background_report.pdf
[66] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/51/18/34425332.pdf
[67] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/33/46/39279389.pdf
[68] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/43/33689774.pdf
[69] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/38/34429901.pdf
[70] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/39/34429196.pdf
[71] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/23/36/31672150.pdf
[72] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/55/59/28123665.pdf
[73] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/25/54/27858604.pdf
[74] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/15/1960663.pdf
[75] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/31/17/31551259.pdf
[76] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/31/18/31551283.pdf
[77] https://childcarecanada.org/category/tags/funding
[78] https://childcarecanada.org/category/tags/curricula-and-pedagogy
[79] http://www.kindengezin.be/KG/English_pages/default.jsp