Merging Care and Education

07/04/2003

"I believe in liberty for all men: the space to stretch their arms and their souls; the right to breathe and the right to vote, the freedom to choose their friends, enjoy the sunshine, and ride on the railroads, uncursed by color; thinking, dreaming, working as they will in a kingdom of beauty and love." -W. E. B. Du Bois

MERGING CARE AND EDUCATION

In many nations there is a split in care and education services. Early childhood services are administered as part of a nation's welfare system while primary and secondary schools are housed in the education system. Often this results in a significant inequality in the quality of services provided for children and families as well as in the pay of the employees in each sector. In the latest UNESCO Policy Brief on Early Childhood, "Re-forming the Education and Care Workforce in England, Scotland and Sweden," Peter Moss from the Thomas Coram Research Unit in London, assesses the impact of efforts in England, Scotland, and Sweden to move responsibility for early childhood services from welfare to education departments.

Moss concludes that in England and Scotland, the resulting impact on the workforce has not been signficant since it continues to be divided between teachers, assistants and child care workers. In Sweden reforms may result in more equality in the broad education workforce because it opted for a more sweeping structural reform: "The objective is a single profession, working with a wide age range and across differing settings—from young children in nursery to teenagers in gymnasia. The thinking is radical, that integration requires new practice across the system—not traditional methods of school teaching extended down the age range."

To view the complete Policy Brief, go to http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/ecf/pdf/brief13en.pdf.

UNESCO is a member of the World Forum Alliance. To learn more about UNESCO and the other members of the Alliance, go to http://www.ccie.com/ECEorgs/index.php.

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