Current trends in European early child care and education

In this article, selected quality characteristics of the early care and edu cation (ECE) systems in 15 European Union (EU) countries are examined. To u nderstand the systems in their respective national contexts, statistics con cerning maternal employment, single-parent families, and birthrates are pre sented. Issues discussed for each country include the availability and affo rdability of ECE provisions for parents and children, the level of public s upport provided for in-home parental care, teacher educational requirements , and the quality of care and education experienced by children. Although s everal of the EU countries provide adequate services to support families wi th young children, there are areas that need improvement in many countries. The problems of insufficient services to meet the needs of children under 3 years of age and inadequate funding of ECE services in most of the EU cou ntries are discussed.