Abstract
The Australian Government’s (2022) Preschool Reform Funding Agreement and initiatives by state governments aim to lift enrolment and maximise the benefits of early childhood education (ECE) in the year before school. The Agreement is particularly relevant for children and families from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom do not utilise the annual attendance target of 600 hours available to every child. Children’s enrolment and daily attendance records are key to understanding participation in ECE, but few studies or government reports have examined this information in detail. Drawing on administrative records provided by 19 long day care and preschool centres/schools in areas of socio-economic disadvantage, we analysed weekly attendance for 971 preschool-aged children over four 10-week terms. Results for the ‘percentage of enrolled days’ attended (M = 88%) and ‘total hours’ attended (M = 576 h) approached the target but differed for children enrolled in preschool versus long day care.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 32-48 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Australasian Journal of Early Childhood |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 7 Dec 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright the Author(s) 2023. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- early childhood education
- early childhood education enrolment and attendance
- early childhood education participation
- long day care
- preschool/kindergarten