DCPI25 - EARLY CHILDHOOD RIGHTS AND CARE

Perceived as a social need since the end of the 18th century, childcare emerged more as a response to women’s need to enter the workforce than as a child’s educational right. Only around the mid-19th century do we see the first concrete attempts to create structures for teaching and culture, through the work of educators such as Fröbel, the Agazzi sisters, and Maria Montessori, who laid solid foundations. Over the years, awareness grew that all children must have both access and quality pathways within Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). This new vision places greater centrality on children and on education, moving beyond the idea of these services as mere assistance to families. Internationally, attention to ECEC already stands out from 2001 with the first edition of Starting Strong: Early Childhood Education and Care (OECD 2001). Subsequent editions have progressively outlined the progress made in various countries, and in the sixth edition of 2023 (OECD 2023), it is evident that, on the one hand, attendance of children aged 3 to 5 is nearly universal across OECD countries, and on the other hand, enrollment of children under 3, though increasing, still shows high variability between countries. Nationally, governance model oriented toward structures 0-6 within an educational continuum shows Italian system gradually aligning starting with the establishment of the integrated 0-6 system ( Legislative Decree 65 of 2017). Although important steps remain, it is undeniable that many of the concerns raised in the European discussion have been broadly accepted in Italy and progressively integrated into a wide-ranging system.