How Does Childcare Stratification Relate to Child Well-Being?: An Exploratory Study Employing the Relational Well-Being Approach (RWB)

This study examines how inequality in childcare services across 20 OECD countries relates to child well-being. Using a relational well-being approach, the researchers analysed childcare service quality, accessibility, and economic burden to identify seven distinct patterns of childcare stratification. The findings show that countries with high-quality, universally accessible childcare without financial barriers produce the best overall child well-being, while countries with low spending and high inequality show worse outcomes across material, subjective, and relational well-being dimensions.

Key points

• Seven types of childcare stratification were identified across 20 OECD countries, with only one showing complete equality; stratification was the norm in all others
• The 'high-level complete equality' model produced the highest overall child well-being scores
• Countries with low spending levels and large inequalities showed significantly lower total well-being outcomes
• Material, subjective, and relational well-being dimensions interact and should be considered together when assessing childcare policy impacts
• The study calls for child-centred perspectives to be included in childcare service policy discussions

Limitations

This is a descriptive comparative study using secondary data from OECD countries and does not establish causal relationships between childcare stratification and child well-being. The analysis is limited to OECD nations and may not reflect childcare systems or outcomes in lower-income countries.