The longitudinal study on the effects of early childhood education and care on child development

Numerous longitudinal studies conducted in western countries have shown that the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) exerts long-term effects on child development and well-being. The enhancement of the quality of ECEC is issues that take precedence for many countries. However, the quality of the ECEC on offer has not been adequately examined in Japan.

This study will first, longitudinally examine the effects of the quality of ECEC on the development and the sense of well-being of children. The multidimensional quality of ECEC environment including their structural and process-related quality will be scrutinized in detail and will be evaluated. Second, the efforts by local governments to ensure and to improve the quality of ECEC will be assessed. Third, an effective means of ensuring and improving the quality of ECEC will be contemplated and implemented on the basis of the outcomes of the first tow investigations.