Germany

The initial results of the NUBEKK (Nationale Untersuchung zur Bildung, Betreuung und Erziehung in der frühen Kindheit) study funded by the Ministry for Families, the Jacobs Foundation, the Robert Bosch Foundation, and some federal states show that early childhood education is improvable in Germany. The study has explored 600 childcare facilities over two years. 2000 children and their parents have been observed in this period. In a quality test especially related to reading, math, science and intercultural learning, 80% of the childcare facilities only reached a score in the middle range. But results also show that mothers notice increased communication skills after early entrance into kindergarten. The complete research report will be published in Autumn 2012.