Global report warns stronger public investment is key to protecting equitable early childhood education

An international coalition of education unions and advocacy organisations is calling on governments to increase public investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC), arguing that growing reliance on market-based systems risks widening inequality, placing pressure on educators and limiting access for children and families.

The call comes as Education International and partner organisations released two reports examining the global growth of private early childhood provision and its implications for children's rights, workforce conditions and equitable access to education.

While the reports examine international trends, many of the issues identified resonate with policy discussions currently underway in Australia, where governments continue to consider reforms aimed at improving affordability, accessibility, quality and accountability across the early childhood education and care sector.

The reports argue that early childhood education should be recognised as a public good, with governments retaining responsibility for ensuring all children can access high-quality early learning regardless of where they live or their family's financial circumstances.

According to the authors, insufficient public investment has enabled greater reliance on private provision in many countries, contributing to disparities in affordability, service availability and educational outcomes.

They argue that governments remain ultimately responsible for ensuring equitable access, even where services are delivered by a mix of public, community and private providers.

For Australia, the findings arrive amid ongoing debate about how best to balance public investment with a mixed-market system that includes government, not-for-profit and for-profit providers.

A key finding of the reports is that high-quality early childhood education depends on sustained investment in educators.

The organisations argue that workforce shortages, lower wages, insecure employment and limited professional recognition continue to affect many early childhood systems internationally, with these challenges often more pronounced where competition and commercial pressures influence service delivery.

Given that women make up the overwhelming majority of the global early childhood workforce, the reports also highlight the broader implications for gender equity and workforce participation.

For Australia, workforce attraction and retention remain central policy priorities, with governments investing in initiatives including wage support, qualification pathways and measures designed to increase educator supply.

Rather than opposing all forms of private provision, the reports focus on the risks that can emerge when markets expand without sufficient public investment or effective regulation.

The authors argue that where access increasingly depends on a family's capacity to pay, children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, rural communities and other disadvantaged groups may face greater barriers to participating in quality early learning.

They also point to the importance of transparent regulation, public accountability and robust quality assurance regardless of service ownership.

These issues have also featured in recent Australian policy discussions, including reviews of the National Quality Framework and proposals aimed at strengthening regulatory oversight following several high-profile incidents across the sector.

Education International has called on governments to treat early childhood education as an essential public service by increasing investment, strengthening regulatory frameworks and supporting the professionalisation of the workforce.

The organisations argue that public funding should be directed towards expanding access to affordable, high-quality early learning while ensuring educators receive appropriate pay, professional recognition and career development opportunities.

Although Australia's early childhood education and care system differs from many of those examined in the reports, the themes of affordability, workforce sustainability, equity and public accountability remain central to current reform discussions.

As governments continue to consider the future direction of the sector, the reports add an international perspective to an increasingly familiar question: how can public investment best support a system that delivers equitable, high-quality early childhood education for every child while ensuring long-term sustainability for providers and the workforce?

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