Balancing Early Childhood Education and Work. Consultations with Key Groups about Striking a Balance: Families, Work, and Early Childhood Education.

Overview & Synopsis

This report documents some of the findings from a consultative interview process which marked the final stage of a New Zealand research program on families, work, and education. The consultations followed from, and were based in part on, the report "Striking a Balance: Families, Work, and Early Childhood Education." The focus of this short, follow-up report is on topics concerned with early childhood education and parents in paid work. The report incorporates information provided by 16 key early childhood, community, and policy groups. Issues addressed in the consultations included: (1) benefits and problems of work-based early childhood education; (2) benefits and difficulties of maximizing parents' work time by increasing the hours available for early childhood education services; (3) benefits and difficulties of multiple use of early childhood education services; (4) pros and cons for parents of having a range of early childhood education services available; (5) language maintenance (especially for Maori children); (6) access to early childhood education services in terms of fees and funding, transportation, and location; (7) extent to which services accommodate New Zealand families' changing patterns of paid work; and (8) links between early childhood education policies, parental leave, and other labor market and health policies. The report includes a summary of findings and an appendix containing the interview questions. Contains 15 references. (Author/EV)