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
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
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
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).
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
This Issue File is organized into the following sections:
These multimedia resources can be used as excellent teaching tools, each video is from a different country/region to offer a variety of approaches and practices that exhibit the significance of nature exploration in play for young children.
