The aim of this project was to investigate Early Childhood Education policies in four South-American countries. In the past two decades, the region has had significant improvements in the sector, but each nation has created a... [ view full abstract ]
The aim of this project was to investigate Early Childhood Education policies in four South-American countries. In the past two decades, the region has had significant improvements in the sector, but each nation has created a peculiar legislation and has chosen diverse strategies to implement the law. Previous work showed that, despite the improvements, Latin-American countries have been struggling to solve similar problems: centers’ poor infrastructure, teachers` initial training and continuous education, insufficient investment in the sector and low coverage for 0 to 3 year-old children (PARDO, M.; ADLERSTEIN, 2015).
Information on Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Brazil early childhood education public policies was analyzed so as to reveal the following aspects: legislation, attendance and curriculum. Data were collected from official government sources, such as websites, published documents, national literature and national databases.
Results indicate that the four countries have organized systems for Early Childhood Education, based on a set of laws, and a set of national documents, including pedagogical guidelines.
There is a variety of centers types in these countries, that is, some are early childhood education educational institutions, others are home-based and yet, one may find mixed initiatives like family centers. The background of the professionals may also vary, including teachers, social workers and heath staff. In Peru and Colombia, the public systems are mainly focused on vulnerable children and they tend to have more family daycares than in Argentina and Brazil. In Brazil, the Early Childhood Education services are part of the educational system, which is under the responsibility of Ministry of Education only. In Argentina, the responsibility to orient Early Childhood services is shared between the Ministry of Education (formal center) and the Ministry of social work (informal centers).
