Children's right to access early childhood education: in search of democracy and freedom
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21814/childstudies.6080Keywords:
Early childhood education, Democracy, Children, Educational institutionsAbstract
The text addresses the intersection between childhood, freedom and democracy in the context of early childhood education, highlighting the connection between the history of children and women, and their relationship to educational institutions and pedagogical ideas, in an ecosystem influenced by economic, socio-political and cultural factors. In the last two centuries, the promotion of the right to equal access to early childhood education has oscillated between social and pedagogical movements, which are interdependent but whose overvaluation of one or the other has marked the history of childhood education. The text analyses how early childhood education in Portugal has been at the service of democracy, especially in terms of access for all children to nursery schools and kindergartens, emphasising the need for the existence of conditions that guarantee the implementation of participatory and emancipatory educational practices.
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Legislative References
Decree-Law no. 2/2022, of January 3. Free attendance at registered crèches (social solidarity institutions, private or cooperative) for all children born on or after September 1, 2021.
Ministerial Order no. 305/2022, of December 22. Extending the free attendance of crèches in the private-for-profit network and IPSS without a cooperation agreement, to children born after September 1, 2021.
Decree-Law no. 65/2015, of July 3. Universal access to pre-school education for 4-year-olds.
Decree-Law no. 33/2014, of March 3. Defines the legal regime for the installation, operation, and supervision of social support establishments managed by private entities, establishing the respective administrative offense regime.
Ordinance no. 262/2011, of August 31. Rules governing the conditions for setting up and running a crèche. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2012.0056
Decree-Law no. 85/2009, of August 27. Universal access to pre-school education for 5-year-olds.
Ministerial Order no. 426/2006, of May 2. Programme to expand the social equipment network.
Decree-Law no. 5/1997, of February 10. Framework Law for Pre-School Education.
Order no. 5220/1997, of July 10. Curriculum guidelines for pre-school education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12968/prps.1997.1.2.41394
Normative Order no. 131/84, of July 25. Approves the rules regulating the conditions for setting up and running for-profit nurseries and kindergartens.
Decree-Law no. 158/84, of May 17. Rules for setting up and running for-profit nurseries and kindergartens.
Decree-Law no. 119/83, of February 25. Statutes of Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS).
Decree-Law no. 427-B/77, of October 14. Creation of short-term higher education and Higher Education Schools.
Decree-Law no. 6/1977, of February 1. Creation of Normal Schools for Childhood Educators.
Decree-Law no. 5/1977, of February 1. Opening of the Public Kindergarten Network of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research.
Decree-Law no. 5/1973, of July 25. Veiga Simão Reform.
Decree-Law no. 28081, of October 9. Extinction of nursery schools.
Decree-Law of July 2, 1923. Camoesas Reform.
Statistical Sites
Statistical Yearbook of Portugal. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://culturaportugal.gov.pt
Directorate-General for Education and Science Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dgeec.mec.pt/np4/home
PORDATA. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pordata.pt
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