ABSTRACT
This book set out to highlight the early childhood education and care of 19 different nations across the globe with the view that each nation has its own different cultural, social and political contexts. The rationale behind such a view has to do with the contention that the political and social attention on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) has increased over the past decade, with many countries undertaking educational reforms that are still ongoing. Children’s access to preschool provision has been broadened because policymakers have recognised the benefits of good quality early childhood education and care on children’s learning and development (OECD, 2012). International studies conducted in OECD participating countries, including those represented in this book, found that children attending ECEC are usually better prepared for primary school with the potential to achieve higher education outcomes (OECD, 2017). Good quality early education and care helps with school readiness by ensuring that the transition to school is a seamless experience. This seamless experience exists, only if quality early education and care are implemented by achieving targets around quality goals and regulations of delivering early education and care (OECD, 2015). Along with these quality goals and regulations sits the need to have curriculum that are both guiding and binding to ensure consistent implementation of ECEC within the cultural contexts of each country. Governments globally are therefore increasingly recognising that ECEC plays a crucial role in developing their country’s social and economical potential in the future. Despite increased knowledge and significant progress in many of the countries, several challenges remain.
