Synopses & Reviews
The viability, quality, and sustainability of early childhood education and services is a lively issue in many countries, especially as fair access to quality programs is beset by increasing gaps in family income. Drawing on research from eight countries where child care is deployed via open marketsandmdash;including the United States and Canadaandmdash;the editors present comparisons of child-care services and the regulatory processes that guide them across a wide political and economic spectrum. Including contributions from economists, policy specialists, and educators, this book addresses serious questions as to what constraints need to be in place if child-care providers are to deliver equitable service.
Review
andldquo;In this fascinating book, a group of distinguished scholars provide incisive analyses of market-based child care around the world. They convey child care for what it isandmdash;both a service to parents and a major determinant of childrenandrsquo;s development and future life course. An informative must-read for both scholars and policymakers.andrdquo; and#160;
Review
and#8220;Lloyd and Penn have drawn together a multi-disciplinary, international, team of experts to study and reflect on childcare marketsand#8217; consequences for young children and their families. The book will be of great use to those studying the mixed economy childcare, and those interested in market-based approaches of other caring public services.and#8221;
Review
"A stimulating collection."
Journal of Economic Affairs
Review
"This volume provides an important contribution to the study of childcare policy, which makes it an important addition to any university-level course in childcare or policy analysis."
Review
andldquo;The book is a comprehensive resource for those with an interest in comparative family policy and childrenandrsquo;s services as well as a general interest in the mixed economy of welfare. It can be read cover to cover for a broad understanding of childcare markets from a policy perspective, or as stand-alone chapters for those interested in a particular country or context.andrdquo;and#160;
Review
"A stimulating collection."
Review
"Looks dispassionately at the factors shaping the childcare market in the UK of the future."
Synopsis
The viability, quality and sustainability of publicly supported early childhood education and care services is a lively issue in many countries, especially since the rights of the child imply equal access to provision for all young children. But equitable provision within childcare markets is highly problematic, as parents pay for what they can afford and parental income inequalities persist or widen. This highly topical book presents recent, significant research from eight nations where childcare markets are the norm. It also includes research about 'raw' and 'emerging' childcare markets operating with a minimum of government intervention, mostly in low income countries or post transition economies. Childcare markets compares these childcare marketisation and regulatory processes across the political and economic systems in which they are embedded. Contributions from economists, childcare policy specialists and educationalists address the question of what constraints need to be in place if childcare markets are to deliver an equitable service.
Synopsis
This highly topical book presents recent, significant research from eight nations where childcare markets are the norm.
About the Author
Eva Lloyd is a reader in early childhood at the University of East London and codirector of the International Centre for the Study of Mixed Economy of Childcare (ICMEC). She is the author or editor of, or contributor to, several books, including
Poverty and social exclusion in Britain, also published by the Policy Press.and#160;
Helen Pennand#160;is professor of early childhood at the University of East London and also codirector of the ICMEC. She is the author of several books, most recently,and#160;Quality in Services to Young Children.and#160;
Table of Contents
List of tables and figures
About the contributors
Acknowledgements
Part One: Introduction
1. Childcare markets: an introduction
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Eva Lloyd
2. Childcare markets: do they work?
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Helen Penn
3. Future directions for a mature UK childcare market
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Philip Blackburn
Part Two: Explorations in childcare markets
4. Local providers and loyal parents: competition and consumer choice in the Dutch childcare market
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Janneke Plantenga
5. Tinkering with early childhood education and care: early education vouchers in Hong Kong
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Gail Yuen
6. Markets and childcare provision in New Zealand: towards a fairer alternative
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Linda Mitchell
7. Publicly available and supported early education and care for all in Norway
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Kari Jacobsen and Gerd Vollset
8. Childcare markets in the US: supply and demand, quality and cost, and public policy
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Laura Stout Sosinsky
9. Canadian ECEC labour shortages: big, costly and solvable
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Robert Fairholm and Jerome Davis
10. Raw and emerging childcare markets
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Helen Penn
Part Three: Ethics and principles
11. Need markets be the only show in town?
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Peter Moss
12. ABC Learning and Australian early childhood education and care: a retrospective ethical audit of a radical experiment
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Jennifer Sumsion
13. Childcare markets and government intervention
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Gillian Paull
Index