Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/early-childhood-trends-around-the-world/5017558/
We asked members of the World Forum community to share their thoughts on early childhood trends around the world. Here is what they had to say. (Note: We received such an overwhelming response to our appeal for country input, that we have included in this article only abbreviated versions of most of the reports. To read the full reports from all countries that contributed, go towww.ChildCareExchange.com/ecetrends/.
•Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia
Liana Ghent, International Step by Step Association, Budapest, Hungary
Under the educational system of former communist countries, the care and teaching of children 0-7 years was a service provided by governments in kindergarten financed and run by the state or by big enterprises. After the political and socio-economical system changed, many kindergartens either closed down or started charging parents significantly higher amounts for their services. All of the above has had the unfortunate effect of reducing access to child care and leaving it and school readiness in the hands of non-professionals in early childhood. The families that have been most affected by these changes are those with low socio-economic status, language differences, from rural areas, and with challenging personal issues.
In an attempt to improve the situation, in some countries ...