Public or Private? a Comparison of Different Dimensions of Quality between Different ECEC Models in Spain

Spanish Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) has made progress in enrolment rates. However, barriers of accessibility, availability and affordability remain. Some studies suggest that the privatisation of these services has resulted in precarious schooling conditions, which made it more difficult to address the social inequalities. Spanish research on school quality is scarce and outdated. With regard to public networks, although social and ethnic barriers persist, quality has not yet been adequately assessed in aspects such as accessibility, family involvement, working conditions or pedagogical training.

This paper compares a public and a private ECEC network in two regions of Spain: the municipal public-school network in Barcelona and the dominant private-school network in the large cities of Andalusia. In addition to the exploitation of secondary data, the first case integrates 22 interviews with Directors of public nursery schools. The second case includes 15 interviews with directors of private and public schools, as well as with experts.

The findings will show how the ownership and management of the centres produce differences in working conditions and facilities and in the degree of openness and flexibility towards families. Also, in the possibilities for training and pedagogical coordination within the centres. The economic constraints of the private centres, only able to compete against public nursery schools in terms of opening hours, explain part of the differences in service provision.

Furthermore, it shows how public networks, associated with educational quality, as in Barcelona, influence preferences towards public education, even among socio-economic groups who typically choose private education. Conversely, it highlights the privatisation consequences on childcare markets, linked to a greater and more diversified supply of childcare services, yet lacking economic stability. This contribution concludes that access alone is not enough. The proven benefits of ECEC can only be realised if it is of quality.