Educational resources and early childhood: First cycle of childhood education privatization in the city of Valencia

Abstract

In this article we propose a descriptive analysis of the evolution of the provision of early childhood education at national and regional context but with particular attention to the case of the city of Valencia,to see how the educational offer is structured in a model of “free” choice. Valencia is presented as an interesting case because it has encouraged and developed the private supply model, especially at the level of kindergarten, since the last fifeteen years. To undertake this research we begin with a contextualization in which we present an analysis of non-university level educational offer in Spain, in Valencia region and Valencia city, with special emphasis on the development of preschool supply in town, and we analyze data from a survey to characterize centers offering kindergarten service in the city of Valencia. Data from the last part of the study comes from the project Parental Styles and Educational Demands (UV-INVPRECOMP12-80709) funded by the University of Valencia.