Building a framework for outcome-oriented early childhood education and care
Supporting young children’s acquisition of socio-emotional competences, early literacy, and numeracy, and facilitating their transition to primary education
Highlights
Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) forms the first tier in the German education system, and all children from the age of one year are legally entitled to benefit from this service.
Across the European Union, ECEC is regarded as a steppingstone for success in education and lifelong learning. In the past decade, Lower Saxony has increased state funding to improve the structural quality of and the access to ECEC provision for all children, focusing primarily on enhancing the staff-child-ratio and reducing parental fees.
In Germany there is no tradition or mandate for ECEC provision to focus on and plan for achieving specific learning outcomes. The education mandate as decreed in national legislation is to support children in becoming self-determined, responsible, and socially minded individuals (§ 22 SGB VIII). The education mandate as decreed in the state legislation of Lower Saxony (§§ 2-4 NKiTaG) sees explorative self-learning in every-day activities as the foundation for early learning.
There is no systemic approach to realizing the ambition that all children should – within their individual possibilities – acquire certain levels in competences that are vital for a successful transition to primary school. There is no specific curriculum for elementary education and there are no guidelines for ECEC professionals on how to plan or strive for children to achieve learning and development outcomes.
