Between the Educational and the Welfare-Oriented: Early Childhood Education in Spain as a Space of Multilevel Governance. An Approach from the Sociology of Childhood

Abstract

This article analyzes early childhood education in Spain (0-3 years) from the perspective of the sociology of childhood, focusing on the tensions that characterize this space of multilevel governance. The first cycle of early childhood education constitutes a paradigmatic case of diffuse competence where the attributions of the central State, autonomous communities, and municipalities converge, generating a heterogeneous mosaic of models and coverage. The work addresses three fundamental analytical axes: the historical tension between the educational and the welfare-oriented in early childhood care; the problem of territorial equity that generates profound educational inequalities in access to the service; and the question of participation and the voice of childhood in the public policies that affect them. In contrast to economistic approaches centered on future profitability, a perspective is proposed that recognizes children as full social actors and places their present well-being as the central axis. The analysis incorporates the framework of the European Child Guarantee and questions the assumptions underlying the different models of care, raising the need to overcome the adult-centric logic that has characterized the design of these policies.