Accessibility, affordability, accountability, sustainability and social justice of early childhood education in China: A case study of Shenzhen

This study examined the accessibility, affordability, accountability, sustainability, and social justice of early childhood education (ECE) services in Shenzhen, China, using Li et al.'s (2017) '3A2S' framework. Government documents and secondary data during the past decade were collected and evaluated. The results indicated that: (1) the ECE services have improved in the dimensions of accessibility, affordability, accountability, sustainability, and social justice; (2) more efforts should be made in increasing fiscal budget into ECE services and ensuring the quality of the ECE services; and (3) the government needs to take up more responsibilities to strike a balance between market force and governmental regulation. Implications and suggestions are also included. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.