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Access to early childhood education in Australia: Insights from a qualitative study

Description:
This report documents the background, methodology and findings from the Access to Early Childhood Education (AECE): Qualitative Study, undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and commissioned by the then Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR; now the Department of Education) on behalf of the Early Childhood Data Subgroup (ECDSG). The AECE Qualitative Study was undertaken in order to develop a qualitative evidence base about how the concept of "access" to early childhood education (ECE) is defined and understood, and to explore the barriers and supports that exist in relation to access to ECE. A particular aim was to identify key factors that influence parents' decisions about the use of ECE programs for children in the year prior to commencing full-time school. The study sought to build on the findings of an earlier research project that used analyses of existing quantitative datasets and consultations with stakeholders to explore the meanings of "access" and how it could be best measured (see Baxter & Hand, 2013). The initial study found that while overall participation in ECE was generally high in Australia, there were particular groups that had lower rates of participation in ECE in the year prior to commencing full-time school. These groups included Indigenous children and children whose parents were not employed, or had lower levels of educational attainment. The initial research also found that access seemed to be affected by whether the delivery of ECE within a particular state or territory was through a primarily government or non-government model. The AECE Qualitative Study was designed to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence parents' decisions about ECE through qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with 94 parents across a number of different states and territories. Specifically, the research was conducted with parents in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania between July 2012 and April 2013. The research included both families of children who had and had not accessed ECE, which ensured a greater understanding of the issues around the selection of services, preferences for different models, and how potential barriers to accessing ECE may be overcome. One objective of the AECE Qualitative Study was to gauge the extent to which the availability of different models affects parents' perceptions and/or capacity to send their children to ECE. (author abstract)
Resource Type:
Reports & Papers
Country:
Australia

Related resources include summaries, versions, measures (instruments), or other resources in which the current document plays a part. Research products funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation are related to their project records.

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