Policy for early childhood education and care: Tools for thinking

It is difficult, if not impossible, to think about early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies without taking into consideration social or cultural vantage points, worldviews, lived understandings, or “ways of life”, based on core values and beliefs that underlie what we believe is best or effective in specific contexts for young children and their families. Socio-cultural vantage points or perspectives are always value laden and dynamic, which is to say they can change over time and influence and be influenced by other socio-cultural perspectives. With this in mind, we begin by stating some assumptions about ECEC: that all young children and their families need nutrition, safe shelter, good health and well-being, and the conditions that will help them to live peacefully without depleting natural resources. Families with young children need to be able to teach them how to be successful in whatever bio-ecological niche in which they reside.