Early Childhood Education around the World

A friend recently relayed her frustration in trying to find an affordable preschool for her three-year-old son. She and her husband both must work to support their growing family, and although she'd like to be a stay-at-home-mom, necessity dictates otherwise.

This is the case for many American families. Finding affordable, quality early childhood education is growing increasingly difficult. More and more, both parents are forced to work—making early education a care-related issue as well.

In the industrialized world, free or partially-funded early childhood education programs are more often the rule and not the exception. So where exactly does the United States stand on early childhood education and care? Unfortunately, our country is ranked rather low in recent reports by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).