The Worldwide Expansion of Early Childhood Care and Education, 1985–2010

Abstract

Although early childhood care and education (ECCE) enrollments have expanded significantly around the world since the 1960s, little is known about the economic, social, and cultural drivers explaining this growth. Using country fixed effects and a sample of 117 countries, this study explores three predictors framing the growth of ECCE enrollments across countries and over time: economic development, improvements in women’s status, and country linkages to world society. The findings suggest that economic development was most strongly related to growth in ECCE enrollment before 1995 and that women’s status and world society indicators were even stronger predictors between 2000 and 2010. Analyses by country type suggest differences for developing countries and countries in transition compared with developed countries.