Are We There Yet? Early Years Reform in Queensland: Stakeholder Perspectives on the Introduction of Funded Preschool Programs in Long Day Care Services

Autor/inn/en	Irvine, Susan; Farrell, Ann
Titel	Are We There Yet? Early Years Reform in Queensland: Stakeholder Perspectives on the Introduction of Funded Preschool Programs in Long Day Care Services
Quelle	In: International Journal of Early Childhood, 45 (2013) 2, S.221-236 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0020-7187
DOI	10.1007/s13158-013-0087-0
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Early Childhood Education; Educational Change; Stakeholders; Preschool Teachers; Teacher Attitudes; Feedback (Response); Access to Education; Public Officials; Case Studies; Educational Policy; Child Care; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Early childhood; Education; Frühkindliche Bildung; Frühpädagogik; Bildungsreform; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Erzieher; Erzieherin; Kindergärtnerin; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Lehrerverhalten; Access; Bildung; Zugang; Bildungszugang; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Kinderfürsorge; Kinderbetreuung; Australien
Abstract	Australian educators are currently engaging with wide-ranging, national early childhood reform that is reshaping Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The Australian reform agenda reflects many of the early childhood policy directions championed by bodies, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations Children's Education Fund, and is based on the dual discourse of (i) starting strong and (ii) investing in the early years. However, despite its traction in policy rhetoric and policy there is little empirical evidence of how reform is being played out. This paper reports on research undertaken in collaboration with the Queensland Office for Early Childhood Education and Care designed to generate sector feedback on one element of the reform agenda, the implementation of universal preschool in Queensland. The study aimed to determine the efficacy of the new policy in supporting the provision of "approved preschool programs" within long day care services. Drawing together the views and experiences of a range of stakeholders, including peak organisations, service providers, directors, preschool teachers and government policy officers, the paper provides a situated case study of the implementation of universal preschool, and offers empirical evidence of how this policy is being played out at the local level. The paper identifies the opportunities and challenges in implementing universal preschool in Queensland that may have bearing on early childhood reform in Australia as well as other countries. Discussion of key findings is set within an overview of the ECEC policy agenda in Australia, with a particular focus on the commitment to universal preschool. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10