A comparison with the Nordic Approach

In 2007 a study was carried by John Bennett, the main author of the OECD Studies ‘Starting Strong I’ and ‘Starting Strong II’. Twenty of the thirty OECD member countries participated and, for the first time in history, a comparison was made of early childhood education and care models (ECEC) of the said countries, which brought a rich harvest of new insights in this area. The study highlighted a particular difference between countries that followed what is called the ‘Nordic Approach’ and those that followed a ‘Schoolification’ or Pre-School Approach and concluded that the former was much more attuned to the requirements of children up to 6 years of age. This is a table from the report.