Open AccessCrossroads – Early Childhood Education in the Mid-1990s
Author(s) -
Linda Mitchell
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
new zealand annual review of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1178-3311
pISSN - 1171-3283
DOI - 10.26686/nzaroe.v0i5.1113
Subject(s) - early childhood education , early childhood , quality (philosophy) , strengths and weaknesses , childhood education , economic growth , political science , public relations , business , psychology , economics , developmental psychology , social psychology , philosophy , epistemology
In the 1990s the early childhood community has emphasised the importance of high quality services that provide the best possible environments for young children. Structural features of quality are generally agreed. This paper describes the current provision and quality of early childhood services in New Zealand. It argues that there has been a steady erosion of high-quality publicly-funded early childhood education and that the competitive free market model is inappropriate for the provision of education services. The paper discusses weaknesses in the state infrastructure that supports early childhood education and inadequacies in current funding arrangements. It analyses the 1995 budget decisions with particular focus on free kindergartens. Finally the paper describes an initiative by NZEI Te Riu Roa to develop proposals to take the sector forward on a sound basis into the 21st century.