2 – TABLE OF CONTENTSTablesTable 4.1 Overview of ECEC governance, curriculum, participation rates, <strong>and</strong> parental leave ............... 31Table 4.2. Types of ECEC settings, by country ........................................................................................ 33Table 4.3 Legal entitlements to free ECEC, by country ............................................................................ 35Table 5.1 Pedagogical approaches <strong>and</strong> evidence ....................................................................................... 46Table 6.1 Overview of pedagogical approaches <strong>and</strong> practices <strong>and</strong> their effects ....................................... 54Table 6.2. Effects of <strong>early</strong> <strong>education</strong> (academic) <strong>and</strong> comprehensive (child-centred) approaches ........... 60Table 7.1 Quality monitoring in country ECEC settings ........................................................................... 71Table 7.2 Areas/aspects monitored as part of process quality ................................................................... 74Table 9.1 Key pedagogical approaches <strong>and</strong> practices in case-study countries ........................................ 100FiguresFigure 7.1 Focus of monitoring in ECEC .................................................................................................. 72Figure 7.2. Purposes of monitoring quality ............................................................................................... 73Figure 8.1. Curriculum frameworks in place for ECEC ............................................................................ 81Figure 8.2 Regulated staff-child ratios from 3 years old to compulsory schooling age, by country ......... 90Figure 8.3 Regulated staff-child ratios for infants to-3-year-olds, by country .......................................... 91EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PEDAGOGY REVIEW: ENGLAND © OECD 2015
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – 3Executive summaryThe <strong>review</strong>This <strong>review</strong> describes variations in, <strong>and</strong> evidence for, pedagogical approaches in formal <strong>early</strong><strong>childhood</strong> <strong>education</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>care</strong> (ECEC) settings; how <strong>pedagogy</strong> is monitored; <strong>and</strong> which policiesaffect pedagogical practice. Its specific focus is on comparisons of Engl<strong>and</strong> (United Kingdom)with Japan, France, Germany, Denmark <strong>and</strong> New Zeal<strong>and</strong>.What is <strong>pedagogy</strong>?Although <strong>pedagogy</strong> is often closely related to a curriculum, <strong>pedagogy</strong> in essence relates to thehow or practice of educating. It refers to the “set of instructional techniques <strong>and</strong> strategies, whichenable learning to take place <strong>and</strong> provide opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge, skills,attitudes <strong>and</strong> dispositions within a particular social <strong>and</strong> material context. It refers to the interactiveprocess between teacher <strong>and</strong> learner <strong>and</strong> to the learning environment” (Siraj-Blatchford et al.,2002). With <strong>early</strong> numeracy, for example, a pedagogical practice might be to encourage countingingredients that children show an interest in while cooking, or asking children to count using anabacus, or jointly counting pages after a story they have enjoyed.Why is <strong>pedagogy</strong> important?Pedagogy in ECEC is a topic that has received increased policy attention. A majority ofchildren in OECD countries now attend some form of provision, whether nurseries, preschools orother <strong>early</strong> <strong>education</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>care</strong>. Neurological research has indicated that significant brain <strong>and</strong>behaviour development occurs during these first years of life, <strong>and</strong> participation in ECEC has beenfound to have significant benefits for children’s <strong>early</strong> development, thus influencing theiropportunities <strong>and</strong> outcomes in later life. For example, the Programme for International StudentAssessment (PISA) analysis from 2014 shows that 15-year-old students who attended preschoolfor at least one year perform better on PISA tests than students who have not attended ECEC. Inthe United Kingdom, students who participated for at least one year in preschool <strong>education</strong> scoredover 40 points higher on the 2012 PISA mathematics test after socio-economic background wastaken into account. Such results indicate that <strong>early</strong> experiences matter for children’s knowledge<strong>and</strong> skills development.Positive child interactions <strong>and</strong> experiences include age-appropriate behaviour<strong>and</strong> domain- or subject-specific stimulation in important <strong>early</strong> developmentareas such as pre-reading literacy <strong>and</strong> <strong>early</strong> numeracy. These interactions <strong>and</strong>experiences are shaped by <strong>pedagogy</strong>.International studies recognise that children’s capabilities are shaped by the quality <strong>and</strong> rangeof <strong>early</strong> experiences <strong>and</strong> interactions in both the home <strong>and</strong> ECEC environment. Experiences ofyoung children in ECEC settings are defined by process quality. This refers to the nature of thepedagogical interactions between ECEC staff <strong>and</strong> children, as well as interactions between peers,<strong>and</strong> with their environment. Positive interactions <strong>and</strong> experiences include age-appropriatebehaviour towards children <strong>and</strong> domain- or subject-specific stimulation in important <strong>early</strong>EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PEDAGOGY REVIEW: ENGLAND © OECD 2015
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