Early Childhood in the Anglosphere

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Written by two leading experts, this work offers a unique comparison of early childhood education and care services and parenting leave across seven high-income Anglophone countries. The authors explore commonalities, such as the dominance of ‘childcare’ services, widespread privatization, and inadequate parenting leave. They identify significant failings within these systems and examine their causes and consequences. However, the book is fundamentally about hope and the potential for transformative change. It emphasizes the necessity and possibility of reform at this critical juncture, outlining what such transformation could entail and how it might be achieved. A key aspect of this transformation involves rethinking policies and structures, but even more importantly, it requires a shift in how early childhood is perceived. The authors advocate for viewing early childhood services not merely as ‘childcare’ or market commodities, but as education that embodies an ethics of care and serves as a public good with universal access for children. This vision is supported by well-paid, individual entitlements to parenting leave. Drawing on examples from the Anglosphere and beyond, the book argues that a fundamental shift in thinking, policies, and structures is both desirable and feasible in the face of converging crises.