Early Childhood Care and Education
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Early Childhood Care and Education is central to the lives of every family with young children. This insightful book investigates the unique approaches taken by different Countries to key issues such as; parental leave, childcare, and preschool services. By examining all of these options and the evidence around them, the authors are able to explain how best to provide for young children.Nine countries, including, China, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, UK and the USA, are considered. These countries all have very different policies and provision, and this book examines the ways that these countries are tackling early childhood services and how these services affect young children's experiences and development, for better and worse. The book will answer some of the recurring questions of childcare provision:· How does a country cope with families' childcare needs?· Is daycare detrimental to children? · Does quality of childcare matter? · Does childcare affect children with different home backgrounds differently? · How can we best organize parental leave, employment regulations and childcare provision? This book fills a gap in providing up-to-date information in an area where rapid developments are underway and further changes are being considered. We need to better plan the future of early childhood services and preschool education in relation to children's development, as well as parental employment regulations. Through presenting the situation in various countries and allowing the comparison of alternative approaches, each reader would be able to see new possibilities that transcend the limited experience offered within their own country.Early Childhood Care and Education is an essential read for anyone interested in both the future and alternative approaches to childhood services and pre-school education.
List of contributors viiIntroducing international perspectives on early childhood care and education Edward Melhuish Konstantinos Petrogiannis 1Childcare in the United States: characteristics and consequences Virginia D. Allhusen K. Alison Clarke-Stewart Jennifer L. Miner 7Policy and research on early childcare and education in Greece Konstantinos Petrogiannis 27Policy and research on preschool care and education in the UK Edward Melhuish 43Children's and parents' needs and early education and care in Italy Tullia Musatti 65Policy and research on childcare in Sweden C. Philip Hwang 77Early childhood care and education in Aotearoa-New Zealand Anne B. Smith Helen May 95Early childhood care and education in Israel Miriam K. Rosenthal 115Early childhood care and education: an Indian perspective Shraddha Kapoor 133Development of kindergarten care and education in the People's Republic of China since the 1990s Li Shenglan 151An international overview of early childhood care and education Edward Melhuis Konstantinos Petrogiannis 167Index 179
