普及儿童早期教育.doc

Early Childhood Education for All: A Wise InvestmentI. INTRODUCTIONIn a time of scarce public resources, the care and education of young children will continue to fall to the bottom of the priority list until there is a shift in public understanding about the economics of raising the next generation. High-quality early childhood education is too vital to be brushed aside as a social services expenditure for only a few families or as too expensive to consider in tight budgetary times.Early education is important for all children. And study after study shows that it is not too expensive.Quite the contrary.Investments in quality child care and early childhood education do more than pay significant returns to childrenour future citizens. They also benefit taxpayers and enhance economic vitality. Economic researchby Nobel Prize-winners and Federal Reserve economists, in economic studies in dozens of states and counties, and in longitudinal studies spanning 40 yearsdemonstrate that the return on public investment in high quality childhood education is substantial.On December 9 and 10, 2004, Legal Momentum and the MIT Workplace Center at the Sloan School of Management sponsored a conference, “The Economic Impacts of Child Care and Early Education: Financing Solutions for the Future,” that led to this report. It brought together some 80 scholars, experts and activists from around the country to examine the economics of early childhood education and to determine how to effectively present this new investment understanding to policymakers and voters. The partners in this effort were Legal Momentums Family Initiative and the MIT Workplace Center; co-sponsors were The National Economic Development and Law Center, The Early Care and Education Collaborative and The Center for Policy Alternatives.Until now, a considerable “blind spot” has blocked the public from seeing the field of early childhood education in economic terms or thinking about creative ways to finance, strengthen and enhance its growth. While virtually every state has maintained economic development funding at high levels in order to aid job growth, state after state has made cutbacks in child care, preschool and afterschool programs.This approach is short-sighted. The research presented in this reporta compilation of impressive work done by experts across the countryshows that high quality early childhood education is a wise investment.The evidence is in: quality early education benefits children of all social and economic groups. There are both short- and long-term economic benefits to taxpayers and the community if early education that meets high standards is available to all children, starting with those who are most disadvantaged. Indeed, universally available quality early education would benefit everyone and be the most cost-effective economic investment. High-quality early childhood education helps prepare young children to succeed in school and become better citizens; they earn more, pay more taxes, and commit fewer crimes. Every dollar invested in quality early care and education saves taxpayers up to $13.00 in future costs. The early care and education industry is economically importantoften much larger in terms of employees and revenues than other industries that receive considerable government attention and investment. Failing to invest sufficiently in quality early care and education shortchanges taxpayers because the return on investment is greater than many other economic development options. Access to available and affordable choices of early childhood learning programs helps working parents fulfill their responsibilities. Quality early education is as essential for a productive 21st century workforce as roads or the internet; investing in it grows the economy.The conference that forms the backbone of this report focused on solutions. Chapter II takes a look at both short-term economic benefits that fuel the economy and the positive long-term impact on tomorrows citizens and tomorrows economy. Chapter III looks at financing for a public investment that yields high public returns. Today, public investments in early childhood education have grown slowly or are stalled, and current revenue streams are limited. Parents are fulfilling their responsibilitiesand paying close to 60 percent of the cost. But the price of quality early education is high. This chapter looks at the financing gap and innovative investment ideas. Chapter IV presents case studies and lessons learned across the country and, specifically, from two statesMassachusetts and Connecticutthat are leaders in current efforts to finance the best early childhood education system possible for all young children in their states. Chapter V presents conclusions and recommendations.普及儿童早期教育 一种明智的投资1 . 导言 在公共资源稀缺的一定时期内，对幼儿的关注和教育将继续停留在社会焦点列表中相对靠后的位置直到社会中出现一个要提高下一代素质的经济意识上的转变。高品质的儿童早期教育太重要了以至于我们的社会不能对此置之不理认为这只是少数家庭所能承担的开销，或者，仅仅认为在紧张的年代里提供所有儿童早教是一种奢侈而不去实施。早期教育对所有儿童来说都是非常重要的。一项又一项的研究表明：它并不是非常非常昂贵。事实恰恰相反。对高质量的幼儿护理和早期教育领域的投资将会给儿童未来的市民带来比投资额大的多的效益。这也将使纳税人受益，并提高社会的经济活力。由诺贝尔奖得主和美联储经济学家在几十个国家跨越40年的纵向经济研究证明了高品质的儿童教育领域的公共投资回报率是相当可观的。2004年12月9日到10日, Legal Momentum和麻省理工学院职业中心在斯隆管理学院主办的一次会议“儿童保育和早期教育的经济影响：未来融资的解决方案”催生了这篇报告。它汇聚了来自全国各地的约80个学者，专家和活动家一起研究早期儿童教育的经济学，并探索如何有效地让决策者和选民了解这一新的投资领域。Legal Momentum的家庭计划和麻省理工学院职业中心发起的这项尝试，得到了国家经济发展与法律 中心，早期护理和教育合作以及政策选择中心的支持。从经济角度看，迄今为止早期儿童教育领域里有关创造性地融资，加强和促进其发展等方面相当的“盲点”已被拦截。与此同时，虽然几乎每个州为了增加就业，保持着经济的高速发展，但一个又一个的州已经削减了在儿童保健，学前和课外计划等领域的资金支持。这种做法无疑是短视的。来自全国的专家们详实的研究成果汇编报告表明，高品质的儿童早期教育是一项明智的投资。证据如下：高质量的早期教育受惠的是社会里所有的儿童和所有的经济组织。如果早期教育能够达到一个很高的标准从最弱势的儿童开始惠及所有儿童，这将给纳税人和社会各界带来很多短期的长期的效益。事实上，普及高质量的早期教育可以使每个人受益，并成为最具效益的经济投资。* 高品质的儿童早期教育有助于幼童在未来学校上学时取得成功，并成为更好的公民，挣的更多，付出更多的税收，并有助于控制犯罪率。*投资于高品质的儿童早期教育的每一美元可在未来带给纳税人高达13美元的回报。*早期保育和教育业从经济学上讲非常重要拥有更大的规模和收入的行业往往能得到政府更多的关注和大量投资。*向纳税人说明高品质早期教育没有得到充分的投资这一现状可以改变，因为该行业的投资回报比许多其他投资方式更高。*得到经济实用的儿童早期教育方案可以帮助大多说工薪阶层更好地履行其作为父母的职责。*高质量的早期教育如同脚下道路或者互联网一样，对于21世纪有用的人才是必不可少的，投资于它将帮助经济增长。会议聚焦于解决方案的寻找，也是本报告的骨架。第二章对高质量的早期教育对于未来社会和未来经济的近期利益和具有积极意义的长期影响进行了展望。第三章着眼于这项具有高额回报的公共投资的融资问题。目前，在早期儿童教育的公共投资增长缓慢或说着几乎停滞，对这项工作的资金支持极为有限。是家长们在履行着职责，支付着近百分之六十的费用。但高质量的早期教育是很昂贵的。本章着眼于资金缺口和创新的投资理念。第四章介绍全国各地的个案研究和吸取的经验教训，特别是马萨诸塞州和康涅狄格州，政府注资努力为所有的孩子提供最好的早期教育系统，他们是所有州的榜样。第五章提出了结论和建议。有效的学前教育规范计划（EPPE