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Professor Mathias Urban, Desmond Chair in Early Childhood Education at DCU.
Professor Mathias Urban, Desmond Chair in Early Childhood Education at DCU.

Urban addresses world stage on Early Childhood Education

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"Childhood policy must be better coordinated and resistant to any changes in government"

Professor Mathias Urban, holder of the Desmond Chair in Early Childhood Education at DCU, will today tell a gathering of the world’s most influential think tanks that early childhood education requires a more coordinated approach to governance, resourcing, professional preparation and evaluation.

Prof. Urban, a leading figure in early childhood studies, will be presenting a policy paper at the 2018 T20 (Think 20 – a network of research institutes and think tanks for the G20 countries) Summit in Buenos Aires.

Addressing a plenary session on ‘Education for the Future: Global Perspectives for Local Solutions’, Prof. Urban will argue that the varied social, cultural and political complexities regarding early children programmes globally necessitate a holistic approach. He has called for G20 governments to develop national policy frameworks and strategies that reach beyond electoral cycles and policies of any specific government and which are “strong enough to resist changes in government and administration”.

The T20 provides research-based policy advice to the G20 countries on issues of global importance. This week’s conference is designed to foster collaboration with the G20 leaders meeting in Argentina at the end of this year.

Speaking in advance of his address to the T20, Prof Urban said “Early childhood development, education and care is gradually receiving greater attention at national and international levels. This Summit marks the first time that early childhood development, education and care has received such prominence in the G20 discussions”.

He added: “There is an increasing recognition by the World Bank, OECD, UNESCO and others that short-term, disconnected programmes and initiatives are ineffective and need to be replaced by a more coordinated, bigger-picture approach. This involves connecting and investing in practitioners, in administration, in research and in governance.”

Commenting on Ireland’s track record and current status in the area of early childhood development, education and care, Prof. Urban said: “Not only is our early childhood education chronically underfunded, but it is also characterised by governance issues and a lack of coordination. The system is hopelessly fragmented in Ireland. We need to up our game, but it is critical that money be put into a system that is working and competent. Ireland is at the bottom of the OECD ladder in terms of GDP spend on early childhood education. We can see a lot of interesting early child policy development and implementation, for example in South America, from which we in Europe and the so-called ‘Western World’ can learn, in terms of a whole-country approach.”

Note for Editors

  • Mathias Urban is Desmond Chair of Early Childhood Education at Dublin City University, Ireland. He works on questions of diversity and equality, social justice, evaluation and professionalism in working with young children, families and communities in diverse socio-cultural contexts. From 2010 to 2011 he coordinated the European CoRe project (Competence Requirements in Early Childhood Education and Care). His current and recent projects include collaborative studies on early childhood professionalism in Colombia (Sistemas Competentes para la Atención Integral a la Primera Infancia), studies on Privatisation and on the impact of Assessment Regimes, and an 11-country project on Governance and Leadership for Competent Systems in Early Childhood. Mathias is an International Research Fellow with the Critical Childhood Public Policy Research Collaborative, a member of the PILIS research group (Primera Infancia, Lenguaje e Inclusión Social), Chair of the DECET network (Diversity in Early Childhood Education and Training), a member of the AERA special interest group critical perspectives on early childhood education. Mathias is the President of the International Froebel Society (IFS).

  • The policy paper presented at T20 today, ‘It takes more than a village. Effective Early Childhood Development, Education and Care services require competent system’, was authored by MathiasUrban, DCU; Alejandra Cardinin, CIPPEC; and Rita Flórez Romero, Unversidad Nacional de Colombia.

  • T20 Conference website: https://t20argentina.org/