Journal article
Trends in preschool attendance in Australia following major policy reform: Updated evidence six years following a commitment to universal access
M O'Connor, E O'Connor, S Gray, S Goldfeld
Early Childhood Research Quarterly | ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC | Published : 2020
Abstract
Major policy reforms were instigated in 2008 in Australia to ensure that all children have access to a preschool program in the year before starting school. The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) provides a means of monitoring the impact of these reforms at the population level, as teachers of all children in their first year of school retrospectively report on children's preschool experiences every three years. Early indications from AEDC data spanning the preschool years of 2008–2011 indicated that the proportion of children attending preschool remained relatively stable over this period. In this short communication, we update this with analysis of preschool trends from 2008 to 201..
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Awarded by Australian Education International, Australian Government
Funding Acknowledgements
This paper uses data from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The AEDC is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. The findings and views reported are those of the author and should not be attributed tothe Department or the Australian Government. There are a number of key groups to be acknowledged for their support of the AEDC: including all schools, principals, and teachers across Australia that participated in the AEDC; and each of the State and Territory AEDC Coordinators Coordinators and their Coordinating Committees who helped to facilitate the AEDC data collection in their respective jurisdictions. We appreciate their time and commitment. Personnel support for this analysis was funded by the Australian Government, and was supported by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. Prof Goldfeld is supported by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Career Development Fellowship 1082922. We wish to acknowledge the work of Joanne Tarasuik, Amanda Kvalsvig, and Emily Incledon who contributed to earlier work examining trends in preschool attendance over the first three years of the policy reform.