Early Childhood Education
Early childhood education is of critical importance, since a lifetime of successful learning begins at birth. From the day they are born, children are alert, clever and curious about the world they live in. Each child, moreover, has his or her own method of learning. If they are to learn well, children must therefore have access in their earliest years to a range of quality educational opportunities, regardless of social background. Ultimately, early childhood education and care can only succeed if all actors work together and proactively engage with parents.
Focus Area
Reforming Early Childhood Educational Systems
Germany has 16 different educational systems, one for each state. Equal educational opportunities - available from birth and independent of social background - do not exist. Often, the quality of a child’s early educational opportunities is determined simply by where he or she is born. If the current educational systems are to be reformed to offer greater quality, transparency is needed about existing differences. Policymakers need facts and figures, supplied by effective monitoring tools, if they are to use best practices developed elsewhere to improve their own educational structures.
moreEducation From Birth On
Mit der frühkindlichen Förderung will die Bertelsmann Stiftung insbesondere erreichen, dass Kinder in ihrer Persönlichkeit respektiert werden und einen impulsreichen Alltag erleben, Eltern und pädagogische Fachkräfte anregende Lebens- und Lernwelten gestalten und Politiker langfristige Ziele definieren sowie nachhaltig Bildungschancen sichern.







