ABSTRACT
This chapter presents research on recent developments in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) regarding the cooperation of institutions and families in Germany. It also highlights historical processes that have shaped these newer referential contexts. While the historical development of ECEC institutions has led to a differential structure between pedagogical and socio-political concerns, current debates and developments in family and education policy address families in their function for their children’s successful education. When considering parents and families as addressees and as actors in ECEC, gender logics are also taken up that implicitly and explicitly shape not only parenthood but likewise the field of early childhood education and care in professional regards. Last but not least, desiderata will be elaborated that are associated with a shift from a focus on care to a focus on education in German ECEC debates.
