ECEC in the European Union: analysis and governance of ECEC systems of four Member States

This paper explores Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Italy – with a focus on Tuscany – and in three EU Member States, namely Finland, France, and Germany. In order to better understand the ECEC systems, a snapshot of the regulatory framework related to ECEC in the EU is provided at the beginning. Then, the analysis of the ECEC systems is around five topics, accompanied by some socio-demographical data, especially on female employment. The topics are: the type of Early Childhood Education and Care system selected, with a focus on the administrative and political aspects; the articulation of Early Childhood Education and Care services; the percentage of use; roles, the tasks and training of professionals involved in ECEC; the services-family and local communities relationship.