Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting Early Childhood Care and Education in Semi-Remote Areas of Egypt: A Study of Policy and Provision

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) provision is an underdeveloped service in the Egyptian context and predominantly an urban phenomenon, it is also one which has been markedly under researched. This thesis applies a mixed-method quantitative-qualitative sequential approach to identify and consider the relationship between socio-demographic factors and ECCE provision in the semi-remote setting of Egypt’s region of North Sinai. In addition, it seeks to uncover the perceptions of ECCE stakeholders (parents, care practitioners and policy makers) towards the existing ECCE policy and provision. The findings indicated that the socio-demographic characteristics of parents and their children, in addition to the economically disadvantaged condition of the semi-remote area affected the availability, accessibility and quality of ECCE. More specifically, children’s age and health alongside parental characteristics such as education, marital status, income, employment and family structure, significantly impacted childcare arrangements. Furthermore,localised contextual factors, such as neighbourhood poverty and infrastructure were also found to be affecting childcare provision. The data suggest that the top-down approach to ECCE policy design and implementation is to be rendered inappropriate and ineffectual in dealing with the socio-demographic realities associated with ECCE provision in North Sinai.