We are here to celebrate 25 years of Early Childhood Studies degree courses and the flourishing of this education over these years. It is also a period when early childhood education came in from the cold: after decades of policy neglect, in 1997 early childhood gained sustained government attention. It became at last a policy priority: responsibility for early childhood was integrated within education; entitlements, initiatives and regulations have poured forth; funding has grown.
Are the results a cause for celebration too? In my view, sadly not. Rather it is a story of missed opportunities, of failure to transform a deeply flawed and dysfunctional system and create something new and inspirational.
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