Abstract
This chapter introduces, explores, and analyzes Australian policies with respect to early childhood education (ECE). It does this by using the 3A2S framework: accessibility, affordability, accountability, sustainability, and social justice. The last decade has seen large-scale and significant changes to the Australian early childhood sector, an ambitious reform agenda that is still in process. The major features of these changes have seen early childhood education move from a sanctuary for children’s health and safety while their parents worked to settings advocating for young children’s educational development. Discourse has shifted from ECE viewed as a “cost” to government and families to an “investment” for the future of the social and economic growth of the country, leading to a more highly educated workforce.
However, as governments change and political persuasions alter, the movement between these positions varies across time and impacts the rate and direction of change within the ECE sector.
The original version of this chapter was revised. An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1528-1_14
An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1528-1_14
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- ABS:
-
Australian Bureau of Statistics
- ACECQA:
-
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority
- ACER:
-
Australian Council for Educational Research
- ACT:
-
Australian Capital Territory
- AEDI:
-
Australian Early Development Index
- CCB:
-
Child Care Benefit
- CCR:
-
Child Care Rebate
- CEO:
-
Chief Executive Officer
- COAG:
-
Commonwealth of Australian Governments
- DEEWR:
-
Department of Education Employment and Work Relations
- DoE:
-
Department of Education
- ECA:
-
Early Childhood Australia
- GDP:
-
Gross Domestic Product
- LDC:
-
Long Day Care
- MCEETYA:
-
Ministerial Council for Education Employment Training & Youth Affairs
- NCAC:
-
National Childcare and Accreditation Council
- NESB:
-
Non-English Speaking Background
- NQF:
-
National Quality Framework
- NQS:
-
National Quality Standard
- NSW:
-
New South Wales
- OECD:
-
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
- PC:
-
Productivity Commission
- PISA:
-
Programme for International Student Assessment
- PPP:
-
Purchasing Power Parity
- QA:
-
Quality Area
- QIAS:
-
Quality Improvement and Accreditation System
- QIP:
-
Quality Improvement Plan
- QKFS:
-
Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme
- SCRGSP:
-
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision
- TAFE:
-
Technical and Further Education
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Appendix
Appendix
Australian State and Territory Regulatory Authorities
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Australian Capital Territory: Children’s Policy and Regulation Unit Education and Training Electorate www.det.act.gov.au
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New South Wales: Early Childhood Education and Care Directorate, Department of Education and Communities www.dec.nsw.gov.au/ecec
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Northern Territory: Quality Education and Care NT, Department of Education www.det.nt.gov.au
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Queensland: Office for Early Childhood Education and Care, Department of Education, Training and Employment www.dete.qld.gov.au/earlychldhood
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South Australia: Education and Early Childhood Services Registration and Standards Board of South Australia www.eecsrsb.sa.gov.au
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Tasmania: Department of Education, Education and Care Unit www.education.tas.gov.au
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Victoria: Department of Education and Training http://www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/Pages/default.aspx
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Western Australia: Department of Local Government and Communities, Education and Care Regulatory Unit www.dlgc.wa.gov.au
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Raban, B., Kilderry, A. (2017). Early Childhood Education Policies in Australia. In: Li, H., Park, E., Chen, J. (eds) Early Childhood Education Policies in Asia Pacific. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 35. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1528-1_1
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