Key Data on Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe
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Key Data on Early Childhood Education and Care Eurydice and Eurostat in Europe Report 2014 Edition Education and Training Key Data on Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe 2014 Edition Eurydice and Eurostat Report Education and Training This document is published by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA, Education and Youth Policy Analysis). Please cite this publication as: European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Eurostat, 2014. Key Data on Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe. 2014 Edition. Eurydice and Eurostat Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. ISBN 978-92-9201-567-1 doi:10.2797/75270 This document is also available on the Internet (http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice). Text completed in June 2014. © Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, 2014. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency Education and Youth Policy Analysis Avenue du Bourget 1 (BOU2 – Unit A7) B-1049 Brussels Tel. +32 2 299 50 58 Fax +32 2 292 19 71 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/ FOREWORD At a time of unprecedented challenges, the importance of giving all our children a solid start by providing quality early childhood education is central to the European strategy for smart and sustainable growth, the EU 2020 strategy. In recent years, the importance of high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is reflected in a high volume of joint reflection on policies and programmes between the European Commission and the Member States. Since the 2011 Council Conclusions on early childhood education and care (1), there is an increasing emphasis on the importance of early years provision not only for parents' labour market participation, but also to mitigate socio-economic inequalities and most importantly for children's personal development. The Eurydice Key Data on Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe 2014 report, published jointly with Eurostat, contributes to informing policy efforts on early childhood education and care by combining statistical data and qualitative information to describe the structure, organisation and funding of early childhood education and care systems. It analyses issues which are important for the development of quality services identified through European policy co-operation, such as access, governance, quality assurance, affordability, professionalisation of staff, leadership, parental involvement and measures to support disadvantaged children. It aims to provide insights into what constitutes high quality early childhood education and care through internationally comparable indicators. This is the second report on the topic, following the 2009 report that focused on tackling social and cultural inequalities through ECEC. It covers 32 countries and 37 education systems. We are convinced that the more we study and reflect on practices developed across Europe, the more we learn from each other and the more we can advance in providing quality early childhood education for the benefit of our children, their families and our societies. We hope that this report will help many of us – policy-makers, teachers and pedagogical staff, parents and the wider public – to better (1) Council conclusions on early childhood education and care: providing all our children with the best start for the world of tomorrow. 2011/C 175/03. 3 Key Data on Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe – 2014 understand the different policies and actions that are being implemented in Europe, and consequently to make the right choices to build a better future for our children. This is a significant contribution to support further developments in the field of early childhood education and care and for ensuring evidence-based policy making. We are therefore confident that the publication will be of great use to those responsible for designing and implementing early childhood education and care programmes across Europe. Walter Radermacher Director General Director General DG Education and Culture Eurostat 4 CONTENTS Foreword 3 Table of Figures 6 Codes, Abbreviations and Acronyms 9 Main Findings 11 Introduction 19 CHAPTER A – CONTEXT 23 CHAPTER B – ORGANISATION 33 Section I – Structures and Access 33 Section II – Standards and Quality Assurance 43 Section III – Capacity Monitoring and Development 55 CHAPTER C – PARTICIPATION 61 Section I – Statistics: Participation Rates 61 Section II – Relationship with Outcomes and Background 69 CHAPTER D – FUNDING 75 CHAPTER E – STAFF 95 CHAPTER F – TEACHING PROCESSES 117 Section I – Educational Content, Approaches and Assessment 117 Section II – Transitions 127 Section III – Partnerships and Support for Parents 133 CHAPTER G – SUPPORT MEASURES FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN 141 References 149 Glossary 153 National System Information Sheets 159 Acknowledgements 199 5 TABLE OF FIGURES Chapter A – Context Figure A1: Proportion of the population in the 0-5 age group, 2013 24 Figure A2: Total fertility rate, 2000, 2005, 2012 25 Figure A3: Projections for the change in the population of the 0-5 age group, 2013-2020 and 2013-2030 26 Figure A4: Percentage of children aged 0-5 at risk of poverty or social exclusion, 2012 27 Figure A5: Percentage of jobless households among households with children aged 0-5, 2012 28 Figure A6: Percentage of children aged 0-5 with foreign citizenship, and born abroad, 1 January 2013 29 Figure A7: Percentage of two-parent, single-parent and other type of households with children aged 0-5, 2012 31 Chapter B – Organisation Figure B1: Organisation of centre-based ECEC, 2012/13 34 Figure B2: Existence of regulated home-based ECEC, 2012/13 35 Figure B3: Length of adequately compensated post-natal maternity, paternity and parental leave (in weeks), 2013 37 Figure B4: Legal entitlement and/or compulsory ECEC, including starting age and weekly hours, 2012/13 40 Figure B5: Criteria for the allocation of places in centre-based settings when demand is higher than supply, 2012/13 42 Figure B6: Maximum number of children per staff member and/or per group in centre-based ECEC settings, 2012/13 44 Figure B7: Maximum number of children per childminder in regulated home-based settings, 2012/13 47 Figure B8: Aspects covered by health and safety regulations, 2012/13 49 Figure B9: Bodies responsible for the accreditation and evaluation of centre-based ECEC settings, 2012/13 51 Figure B10: Aspects covered in the external evaluation of centre-based ECEC settings, 2012/13 53 Figure B11: Bodies responsible for capacity monitoring and forward planning of centre-based ECEC, 2012/13 56 Figure B12: Demand and supply of places in publicly subsidised centre-based ECEC settings, 2012/13 59 Chapter C – Participation Figure C1: Participation rates in ECEC (children between 4-years-old and the starting age of compulsory education) as a percentage of the corresponding age group, 2001, 2011 62 Figure C2: Participation rates in pre-primary and primary education (ISCED 0 and 1), by age, 2011 64 Figure C3: Participation rates of children under the age of 3 in ECEC, by hours per week, 2011 65 Figure C4: Average number of hours spent per week in ECEC, by age group, 2011 67 Figure C5: Children cared for only by their parents, by age group, 2011 68 6 Tables of Figures Figure C6: Score point difference in mathematics associated with attending ECEC for more than one year, 15-year-olds, 2012 70 Figure C7: Average reading achievement scores by length of ECEC attendance, for fourth graders, 2011 71 Figure C8: Score point difference in reading achievement associated with attending ECEC for more than one year, for fourth graders from families with low levels of education, 2011 72 Figure C9: Difference in ECEC attendance rates between 15-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds, 2012 74 Chapter D – Funding Figure D1: Existence of public and private centre-based ECEC, 2012/13 76 Figure D2: Authorities responsible for funding centre-based ECEC, 2012/13 78 Figure D3: Trends in total public expenditure on pre-primary education (ISCED 0) as a percentage of GDP, 2006, 2008, 2010 80 Figure D4: Direct public expenditure per child/pupil/student and educational level (ISCED 0, ISCED 1, ISCED 2-4, ISCED 5-6) in public educational institutions, in PPS (thousands), 2010 82 Figure D5: Free ECEC provision, by age and weekly hours, 2012/13 84 Figure D6: Monthly fees for younger children in the largest ECEC sector(s), in PPS, 2012/13 86 Figure D7: Factors taken into account when offering fee reductions or exemptions in ECEC, 2012/13 88 Figure D8: Types of financial support available to parents with children in ECEC, 2012/13 90 Figure D9: Proportion of total educational expenditure (at ISCED 0) from private sources, 2010 91 Figure D10: Compensation schemes for parents who do not enrol children in ECEC, 2012/13 93 Chapter E – Staff Figure E1: Main categories of staff in centre-based ECEC settings, 2012/13 97 Figure E2a: Minimum required level and minimum length of initial education for staff working with younger children in centre-based ECEC settings, by staff category, 2012/13 100 Figure E2b: Minimum required level and minimum length of initial qualification for staff working with older children in centre-based ECEC settings, by staff category, 2012/13 101 Figure E3: Qualification requirements for childcare workers in regulated home-based provision, 2012/13 103 Figure E4: Status of continuing professional development for educational and care staff