Data on Early Child Education and Care Learning Environments in Germany

Abstract

Early child education and care (ECEC) learning environments play an important role in children’s developmental status and educational outcomes as international research has shown. However, the data basis for analyzing the effects of learning environments on children’s competencies and educational trajectories has been rather sparse in Germany. The National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) has been set up in order to contribute to filling this gap. The main task of the NEPS is to prepare Scientific Use Files that are disseminated to the scientific community. Because all NEPS data and documentation are translated and available to the international scientific community, the aim of this paper is threefold: After giving an introduction to the field of research and discussing the objectives and legislative characteristics of the German ECEC system, we present an overview on the sections of the NEPS that survey children 2 years before regular school enrollment and the ECEC characteristics they experience. On the basis of first-wave data, we deliver some first results on how children in Germany are cared for within the German ECEC system. The paper ends with a discussion on further possible contributions, especially when longitudinal data are being made available by the NEPS for quantitative educational research and evidence-based political decision making.

Negotiating Germany’s first Muslim–Christian kindergarten: Temporalities, multiplicities, and processes in interreligious dialogue

“…Gifhorn lacked 220 kindergarten places in 2020, mirroring the deficit trend across Germany, which is why new kindergarten schemes are welcomed by politicians. Encouraged by government subsidiaries for kindergarten proposals, several operators from municipalities (35%), Protestant (25%) and Catholic churches (18%) and private companies run kindergartens and are – at times – in fierce competition with each other (Linberg et al, 2013). Local churches utilized the kindergarten deficit within municipalities to attract financial resources, advance religious profiles, and offer distinct faith-based curricula (Rösler, 2015).…”

Reasons Given by ECEC Professionals for (Not) Being in Contact With Parents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Staff-child ratios vary between 1:3 to 1:5 for groups with 0-3-year-old children and 1:7 to 1:12 for groups with 3-6year-olds (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2020). The most important center-based ECEC institutions are preschools (Kindergärten) for 3-6-year-old children, crèches (Krippen) for 0-3-year-olds, and day care centers (Kindertagesstätten) for 0-6-year-olds (Linberg et al, 2013). Family based ECEC services (Kindertagespflege), meanwhile, are official daytime 1 Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the term "ECEC professionals" always refers to members of the three professional groups: "managers in center-based ECEC services, " "employes in center-based ECEC services, " and "professionals in family based ECEC services."…”

Distinct Multivariate Structural Brain Profiles Are Related to Variations in Short- and Long-Delay Memory Consolidation Across Children and Young Adults

“…This indicates the kickoff of long-term memory stabilization (Bauer, 2006;Henke, 2010;Morgan & Hayne, 2011;Perner & Ruffman, 1995;Scarf et al, 2013;Tustin & Hayne, 2010). In Germany the transition from kindergarten to school occurs at the age of 6 years and is accompanied by dramatic increase in learning and knowledge accumulation, demands posed on children due to a structured primary school curriculum (Linberg et al, 2013;Mashburn et al, 2018). It challenges not only cognitive abilities but potentially also memory consolidation processes in this age group (Brod et al, 2017;Nolden et al, 2021).…”