ECEC System in Japan

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ECEC System in Japan
Kindergartens, Day-care Centres and Centres for
ECEC
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2 types of facilities are provided to the
children of the same age 3-6.
Kindergarten Day-Care centre
Target From age 3 to 6 (before entering primary school) From age 0 to 6 (before entering primary school) Children with needs for care (Eligibility determined by municipal governments)
Childcare Time 4 hours a day, as educational standard 8 hours a day, in principle
Legal Foundation School Education Act Child Welfare Act
Governing Body Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)
Standards National Curriculum Standards for Kindergartens Day Care Guideline
Number of Children 1,705,000 (2007) Public 338,000 Private 1,368,000 2,015,000 (2007) Public 945,000 Private 1,071,000
Number of Facilities 14,000 (2007) Public 5,500 Private 8,500 23,000 (2007) Public 12,000 Private 11,000
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• Significant part of age 3-6 (most part of age
  4-6) is enrolled in kindergarten or day-care
  centre.
• About 20 of age 0-2 is enrolled in day-care
  centre.

Number of Children
1,157,500
Age 5 Class (5-6)
1,134,500
Age 4 Class (4-5)
1,105,500
Age 3 Class (3-4)
1,072,500
Age 2 Class (2-3)
1,064,500
Age 1 Class (1-2)
1,085,500
Age 0 Class (0-1)
6,721,000
total
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Minister of MEXT
Minister of MHLW
(Government)
Administrative guidance, advice etc.
Administrative guidance, advice etc.
(Prefecture)
Prefectural Boardof Education
Prefectural Governor
Permission for establishment Guidance, advice
etc.
Permission for establishment
Permission for establishment
Permission for establishment Guidance, advice
etc.
(Municipality)
Municipal Boardof Education
Mayor
Budget
School juridical person
Social Welfare juridical person
(Establisher)
Establishment Management
Establishment Management
Establishment Management
Establishment Management
(Facilities)
Municipal Kindergarten
Private Kindergarten
Municipal Day Care
Private Day Care
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(Government)
Promotional grants for Kindergarten enrollment
MEXT
MHLW
Payment of budget (1/2 of cost by government)
Subsidies for Private School ordinary expenses
(Prefecture)
Prefecture
Payment of budget (1/4 of cost by prefecture)
Subsidies for Private School ordinary expenses
(Municipality)
Municipal Educational Board
Municipality
Payment of budget (1/4 of cost by municipality)
Private Kindergarten
Private Day Care
Parents
Public ECEC facilities are mainly funded by
municipalities.
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• Shared use of the facilities
• A guideline about shared use of the facilities
  between kindergarten and day-care centre was
  formulated. (1998)
• Ensuring consistency between National Curriculum
  Standards for Kindergartens and Day Care
  Guideline
• They exchanged their commissioners when both
  curriculum was revised.
• Promotion of dual qualification and joint
  training courses
• Kindergarten teachers and nursery teachers are
  promoted to entry each training courses organized
  for others.
• Eligibility requirements for qualifying
  examination to become a nursery teacher for
  kindergarten teachers has been relaxed. (2004)
• Established a qualifying examination to become a
  kindergarten teacher for nursery teachers. (2005)
• Dissemination of Good practice of cooperation
• A case book of cooperation between kindergarten
  and day-care centre has been published. (2002)
• A case book of cooperation between primary school
  and day-care centre, kindergarten, etc. has been
  published. (2009)
• Universalization of extraordinary regulation
  relaxation in joint activities in kindergarten
  and day-care centre
• Universalized a extraordinary relaxation which
  has been needed to do joint activities between
  kindergarten and day-care centre. (2005)

• Establishment of the system of Centre for Early
  Childhood Education and Care
• To provide preschool education and childcare
  services coherently and support for child-rearing
  practices, the government has established an
  certification system of Centre for ECEC. (2006)
• Co-establishment of the Ministries office
• The Ministries (MEXT and MHLW) co-established the
  Office for Advancing Kindergarten and Day-care
  Centre (2006)

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Background of the Foundation of Centre for ECEC
It became to be difficult to handle with the
problems accompanied by the low birthrate and
diversification of needs on education/child-care.

• Which facility to use is constraint by whether
  the parents work or not. (If the parents works,
  the children goes to day-care. Otherwise,
  kindergarten.)
• Because of low birthrate, group size of children
  that is important for childrens growth comes to
  small in situation that kindergartens and
  day-care centres are split. Moreover, it is
  inefficient for administration.
• The number of kindergarten pupils has decreased
  100,000, while there are 20,000 waiting list for
  day-care.
• Support for non-working mothers, which have
  uncertainty in child-rearing, is deeply absent.

Established the system of Centre for ECECas
another option

• Universal use regardless of whether the parents
  work or not
• Adequate size of children for their development
• Resolution of waiting list for day-care by using
  existing kindergarten
• Enrichment of support for child-rearing
  activities in community, including non-working
  mothers

To meet the diverse needs of users
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Basic Policies for Economic and Fiscal
Management and Structural Reform 2003 (Cabinet
decision, Jun 2003) (trial translation) To
establish comprehensive facilities which
coherently provide preschool education and
childcare services, the government will do
variety of preparatory measures, including
development of legal systems, such as setting a
fundamental idea in 2004fy, executing pilot
programs in 2005fy, etc. And then, set the
system into practice from 2006fy.
2004fy
2005fy
2006fy
Investigation in the joint session of the
Committee on Early Childhood Education, Central
Council for Education (MEXT) and the Committee
on Children, Social Security Council (MHLW)

• Pilot programs at 35 facilities
• Institutional design based on the evaluation on
  the pilot programs
• Budget for practice (were allocated to the
  budgets for kindergarten and day-care centre
  separately.)
• Submit of the bill

enforcement

• Investigation in the related councils, etc.
• The joint session of the Committee on Early
  Childhood Education, Central Council for
  Education (MEXT) and the Committee on Children,
  Social Security Council (MHLW) has investigated
  the issue from May 2004 and released a report in
  December 2004.
• A committee evaluated the pilot programs on the
  basis of content of education and care, staffing,
  facilities and so on, and released a report in
  May 2006.

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Kindergarten(education)
Day-Care(childcare)
Gap betweentwo system
Centre for Early Childhood Education and
Care(certified by prefectural government)
Combined kindergarten and day-care center model
Day-Care
Kindergarten

Centres may choose their typesaccording to needs
of the locality
Kindergarten

kindergarten model
Functional Day-Care
Day-Care

day-care center model
Functional Kindergarten
Functional KindergartenFunctional Day-Care
Local discretion model

Supporting function for child care
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Evaluation on the system of Centre for ECEC
About 80 of parents using Centre for ECEC and
more than 90 of the facilities think highly of
the system of Centre for ECEC. Moreover, about
90 of parents responded that the system should
be promoted.
Facilities
Parents
evaluation on being a Centre for ECEC
What the system of centre for ECEC should be?
Impressions to be a Centre for ECEC
Ignorant10.8
Bad 0.8
Reasons of high value
(1) Time flexibility (46.5) (2) Seamless use
regardless of whether parents have jobs or not
(45.7) (3) Enrichment on educational activities
(30.9) (4) Exchange between various ages
(27.3) (5) Enrichment on support for
child-rearing practice (24.6) (6) School
provided lunch (14.4) (7) Others (5.6)
No answer21.4
ComparativelyBad 6.2
Low-value 0.8
High-value 58.2
Comparatively low-value 2.4
Good46.2
To be enhanced 86.6
Comparatively high-value 17.3
ComparativelyGood 45.4
No needs to be enhanced 2.6
What administrative authorities should do?
Facilities say that
ltAdministrative authoritiesgt should enhance
relationship between the Ministries, should
improve financial status, should simplify
accounting control, etc.
Municipalities say that
ltNational governmentgt should improve financial
aid, should enhance relationship between the
Ministries, should PR on the system,
etc. ltPrefecturesgt should improve financial
aid, should simplify subscription procedure,
should relate with the municipalities,
etc ltMunicipalitiesgt should relate with the
prefectures, should PR of the system, should
establish financial aid by their own, etc.
Prefectures say that
ltNational governmentgt should improve financial
aid, should simplify accounting control,
should simplify subscription procedure,
etc. ltPrefecturesgt should relate with the
municipalities, should smooth the way for
judgment, should PR on the system, etc
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Number of the Centre for ECEC

• Number of certification 358 (April 1, 2009 )
• Number of certification prospected about 2,000
  (as a result of the survey thorough
  prefectures)

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Present status (problems)
Direction of reform
Urgent equipment of the Centres for ECEC

• The system is not so spread despite of getting
  high-value from parents and facilities.

• The government aims to increase the number of
  certification more than 2,000 by end of 2011fy,
  on the basis of users needs and facilities
  interest for the certification.

Financial support

• The government will create financial supports for
  functional day-care in the kindergarten model,
  functional kindergarten in the day-care centre
  model and local discretion model by founding
  Child Security Fund, etc.

• Insufficient financial support

Dissolution of double administration

• The government will institutionalize child
  grant to unify the subsidy desks, application
  procedures and execution.
• The government will quickly unify and simplify
  the administrative procedures. For example, to
  unify the desks, to combine or eliminate
  documents overlapped, and simplification of audit.

• Complicated financial regulation and application
  procedure
• Lack of relationship between the Ministries or
  local governments

Comprehensive provide of education, childcare and
child-rearing support / maintenance and
improvement of teachers competency

• It is necessary to build a mechanism to
  coherently provide education, childcare and
  child-rearing support based on the situation in
  each area.
• To maintain and improve teachers competency is
  needed.

• In the future, the centre for ECEC should be
  integrated into combined kindergarten and
  day-care centre model.
• The Centres will enrich their function of
  child-rearing support for the families and
  communities.
• To enrichment quality of education and care,
  training courses and measures in facility
  operations are important.
• It is important to allow more flexibility in the
  teacher-training course and qualification
  examination.

Ideal institution of preschool education and care

• The government will investigate on the ideal
  institution for coherent provision of education,
  childcare and child-rearing support based on the
  situation in each area.
• The government will prove the efforts based on
  the new National Curriculum Standard for
  Kindergartens and Day Care Guideline, and the
  efforts in the Centres for ECEC.
• Regarding administrative systems for kindergarten
  and day-care centre, it is necessary to take
  relationships such as with compulsory education,
  sound growth of children, maternal and child
  health, welfare of disabled children, labor
  administration, etc. into account. And it is
  necessary to functional enhancement of
  co-established Office for Advancing Kindergarten
  and Day-care Centre and general coordination by
  the cabinet office.

schedule

• The government will follow up the status of these
  reformation.
• The government will promote concrete
  institutional investigation based on the
  direction of the reformation of childcare system.
• The government will rethink about the system of
  Centre for ECEC in tandem with investigation in
  the reformation of childcare system because the
  investigation for reformation at 5 years after
  enforcement is stipulated in the Law