4240.0.55.001 - National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2011  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/03/2012   
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PURPOSE OF THE COLLECTION


The National Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Collection has been established to provide nationally comparable statistics on early childhood education and care (ECEC). Statistics produced through the collection enables improvements in the quality and accessibility of national ECEC data and assists in the progress reporting for the National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education (NP ECE). Chapter 7, Collection Background and Governance, provides further context to the collection and background information, including information on governance and the NP ECE.

The collection is underpinned by standards specified within the Early Childhood Education and Care National Minimum Data Set (ECEC NMDS). Further information on the ECEC NMDS is available on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website: http://meteor.aihw.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/442053.

Data standards and collection instructions for the National ECEC Collection are also outlined in detail within the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Data Collection Guide, 2011 (cat. no. 4240.0.55.002).

Data collected through the National ECEC Collection are published annually, with the second iteration being Experimental Estimates of Preschool Education, Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 4240.0).


PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLICATION

The National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Concepts, Sources and Methods publication details information for data users relating to the 2011 National ECEC Collection. It includes an overview of the collection and discussions on collection scope and coverage, key concepts and definitions, data quality, the availability of data, and background and governance information.

The Data Collection Guide is published in conjunction with the Concepts, Sources and Methods publication. The Data Collection Guide provides detailed guidelines, instructions and definitions to assist jurisdictions in the collection and reporting of ECEC data.


USE AND MAINTENANCE OF THIS PUBLICATION

The Concepts, Sources and Methods publication has been developed by the National Centre for Education and Training Statistics within the ABS. Further collection improvements are planned, and changes in data collection capabilities and methodologies across jurisdictions will necessitate updates to this publication on an annual basis.

For further assistance or information, please contact the ABS by emailing education.statistics@abs.gov.au.