ABSTRACT
Early childhood services are also subject to variations in definition, and are often given the name Early Childhood Education and Care services to reflect their holistic nature. The United Nations positioned early childhood as ‘a serious education and human capital development issue’. The Chicago Child–Parent Centres offered preschool education to low-income children from the age of three, with ongoing support offered up until age nine. Early years experiences are important because key outcomes combine to result in more than improvements in academic, health and well-being. Cost-benefit analyses identify the outcomes of early education experiences (for example, in monetary terms these include higher tax income and lower welfare costs for the state arising from higher rates of employment). Early years experiences are important because it is our obligation, as ethical human beings, to ensure that those who are vulnerable are supported in the best way possible.
