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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Contents >> Concepts and Definitions >> Reporting Data for the National ECEC Collection

REPORTING DATA FOR THE NATIONAL ECEC COLLECTION


Within the publication Experimental Estimates of Preschool Education, Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 4240.0) four table concepts are presented:

  • Episodes of preschool program
  • Children in a preschool program in 2011
  • Children in a preschool program in the YBFS
  • Episodes of workers delivering preschool programs.

Episodes of Preschool Program
The tables presented using this concept included episode counts of children aged 4 and 5 years old who were enrolled in and attended a preschool program in the 2011 reference period.

For the 2011 National ECEC Collection, not all jurisdictions were able to supply child data collected with a URL data collection methodology to enable counts of children to be derived. For these jurisdictions, child data were only able to be provided at the service provider record level as totals of children enrolled and attending preschool programs at each service provider. Data collected at this level could only be reported as episodes of preschool program enrolment and attendance.

All jurisdictions, irrespective of whether child data were provided at the child record level or at the service provider record level, are included in these tables.

A child episode record was included in these tables if they:
  • were enrolled in / attending a preschool program
  • were aged 4 or 5 years old

The following conceptual map outlines the base population for episodes of children in a preschool program in 2011.

Figure 3.9: Defining the Population - Episodes of Preschool Program



Children in a Preschool Program in 2011
The tables presented using this concept included all children aged 4 and 5 years old that were enrolled in and attended a preschool program in the 2011 reference period. This occurred regardless of whether children also attended a preschool program in a previous year (i.e. including children who were enrolled in and attended more than one year of a preschool program).

To be included in these tables, data must be of a quality that allows the accurate identification of unique child records to ensure that each child is only counted once in the totals. This requires child data collected with a URL data collection methodology and a client/child database. See 'Identification of Unique Child Records’.

A child was included in these tables if they:
  • were enrolled in / attending a preschool program
  • were aged 4 or 5 years old

The following conceptual map outlines the base population for children in a preschool program in 2011.

Figure 3.10: Defining the Population - Children in a Preschool Program in 2011



Children in a Preschool Program in the YBFS
The tables presented using this concept included all children aged 4 and 5 years old who were enrolled in and attended a preschool program in the YBFS for the first time in 2011 (i.e. excluding children who were enrolled in and attended more than one year of a preschool program).

To be included in these tables, data must be of a quality that allows the accurate identification of unique child records to ensure that each child is only counted once in the totals. This requires child data collected with a URL data collection methodology and a client/child database. The data in these tables also require two years of data and the ability to identify children in their second or subsequent year of a preschool program, to enable accurate determination of whether a child is enrolled in multiple years of a preschool program. See ‘Identification of Unique Child Records in the YBFS’.

A child was included in these tables if they:
  • were enrolled in / attending a preschool program
  • were aged 4 or 5 years old
  • were enrolled in a preschool program for the first time in 2011.

The following conceptual map outlines the base population for children in a preschool program in the YBFS.

Figure 3.11: Defining the Population - Children in a Preschool Program in the YBFS



Episodes of Workers Delivering Preschool Programs
The tables presented using this concept included episode counts of workers delivering preschool programs. In 2011 it was not possible to identify workers who worked for more than one service provider and therefore these counts included double-counting of some workers. This meant that all worker data for all states and territories are presented as episodes.

A worker was included in these tables if they:
  • were employed (and paid) by the ECEC service provider
  • spent the majority of their time in contact with children in the preschool program during the reference period (i.e. primary and other contact workers)
  • had a main role of either:
    • Principal / director / coordinator / teacher-in-charge
    • Group leader / teacher
    • Assistant / aide
    • Other contact worker
  • delivered a preschool program for at least one hour during the reference period.

The following conceptual map outlines the base population for workers in ECEC service providers that are considered to be delivering a preschool program.

Figure 3.12: Defining the Population - Workers Delivering Preschool Programs



It is important to note that the terminology ‘worker’ within this flow chart does not represent the definition of a ‘teacher’ for the purposes of the National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education, Performance Indicator 2: The proportion of teachers delivering preschool programs who are four year university trained and early childhood qualified (COAG 2008a).



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