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Early Childhood Education Policies in Asia Pacific pp 1–30Cite as

Early Childhood Education Policies in Australia

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Part of the book series: Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects ((EDAP,volume 35))

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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Abbreviations

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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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Bridie Raban

  2. School of Education, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

    Anna Kilderry

Authors
  1. Bridie Raban
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  2. Anna Kilderry
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bridie Raban .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong

    Hui Li

  2. Department of Early Childhood Education, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Eunhye Park

  3. Department of Early Childhood and Family Studies, Kean University , New Jersey, USA

    Jennifer J. Chen

Appendix

Appendix

Australian State and Territory Regulatory Authorities

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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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