Digi­ta­liza­tion in Early Child­hood Edu­ca­tion: Oppor­tu­ni­ties, Chal­lenges, and Unre­sol­ved Issues

On June 2, 2026, Zukunft D and the GeDAB net­work hos­ted a joint event titled “Digi­tal Plat­forms for Inclu­sive Access to Edu­ca­tion.” Tog­e­ther with repre­sen­ta­ti­ves from govern­ment, aca­de­mia, the field of early child­hood edu­ca­tion, and other stake­hol­ders in early child­hood edu­ca­tion, we dis­cus­sed how digi­tal solu­ti­ons can con­tri­bute to grea­ter par­ti­ci­pa­tion in access to child care. 

The start­ing point was the obser­va­tion that, as digi­ta­liza­tion con­ti­nues to advance, access to early child­hood edu­ca­tion is incre­asingly being orga­ni­zed through digi­tal plat­forms. At the same time, signi­fi­cant bar­riers to acces­sing early child­hood edu­ca­tion pro­grams per­sist. Mar­gi­na­li­zed child­ren in particular—such as child­ren with a history of migra­tion or child­ren with disabilities—often face struc­tu­ral hurd­les in the allo­ca­tion of child­care spots. Fur­ther­more, in many places, the cri­te­ria for assig­ning spots are not trans­pa­rent. As a result, more and more muni­ci­pa­li­ties and pro­vi­ders are tur­ning to digi­tal plat­forms to orga­nize regis­tra­tion and assign­ment pro­ces­ses and make them more transparent. 

With this in mind, we tur­ned our atten­tion to the ques­tion: “Do digi­tal plat­forms help pro­mote inclu­sive access to education?”

Digi­tiza­tion alone does not fos­ter participation

Viola Laux, Divi­sion Direc­tor and Deputy Depart­ment Direc­tor for Early Child­hood Edu­ca­tion and Care at the Schles­wig-Hol­stein Minis­try of Social Affairs, gave us insight into the oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges of digi­tiza­tion using the Schles­wig-Hol­stein day­care data­base as an example.

Her pre­sen­ta­tion made it clear that digi­tal plat­forms offer signi­fi­cant poten­tial: They can con­so­li­date infor­ma­tion, stream­line pro­ces­ses, and make it easier for fami­lies to access ser­vices. At the same time, howe­ver, it was also empha­si­zed that digi­tiza­tion alone does not auto­ma­ti­cally lead to grea­ter par­ti­ci­pa­tion. Com­plex regis­tra­tion pro­ce­du­res, tech­ni­cal jar­gon, or a lack of digi­tal resour­ces can still con­tri­bute to fami­lies being excluded from these services. 

These fin­dings were also con­firmed by Sabine Hil­ger, direc­tor of the Office for Early Child­hood Edu­ca­tion, Upbrin­ging, and Care in the City of Rosen­heim. Unfort­u­na­tely, Ms. Hil­ger had to can­cel her par­ti­ci­pa­tion due to a last-minute emer­gency. In her plan­ned pre­sen­ta­tion, she would have pro­vi­ded insights into the imple­men­ta­tion of the digi­tal regis­tra­tion pro­cess for the AKDB’s day­care spot pilot program. 

The infor­ma­tion that Sabine Hil­ger pro­vi­ded us in the run-up to the event also high­lights the limi­ta­ti­ons of muni­ci­pal over­sight. For exam­ple, as the super­vi­sory aut­ho­rity, the City of Rosen­heim does have an over­all view of the regis­tra­ti­ons and can the­r­e­fore inter­vene to exert con­trol. Howe­ver, Bava­ria lacks a legal basis that would allow muni­ci­pa­li­ties to man­da­to­rily allo­cate spots to pri­vate pro­vi­ders. Regu­la­tory opti­ons the­r­e­fore rely pri­ma­rily on agree­ments and cooperation. 

Ano­ther chall­enge, which both Ms. Hil­ger and Ms. Laux noted, is that in many muni­ci­pa­li­ties, the direc­tors of child care cen­ters make the final decis­ion on the allo­ca­tion of spots. For fami­lies, it is often unclear what cri­te­ria are used to make these sel­ec­tions. As a result, exis­ting lack of trans­pa­rency can per­sist even in digi­ti­zed processes. 

What Digi­tal Pro­ces­ses Need for Suc­cessful Implementation

A key insight from the event was the­r­e­fore that digi­tiza­tion is not an end in its­elf. For digi­tal ser­vices to help break down bar­riers, they must be tail­o­red to the diverse needs of fami­lies and sup­ple­men­ted by in-per­son sup­port ser­vices. At the same time, a deli­be­rate and thoughtful imple­men­ta­tion is nee­ded within govern­ment agen­cies, ser­vice pro­vi­ders, and child care cen­ters. Rai­sing awa­re­ness among the stake­hol­ders invol­ved regar­ding issues of par­ti­ci­pa­tion, trans­pa­rency, and acces­si­bi­lity is a key pre­re­qui­site for ensu­ring that digi­tal pro­ces­ses can truly rea­lize their potential. 

We would like to extend our sin­cere thanks to Viola Laux for her prac­ti­cal insights, her in-depth know­ledge of the Schles­wig-Hol­stein day­care data­base, and the sti­mu­la­ting dis­cus­sion. We would also like to thank Sabine Hil­ger for the infor­ma­tion and per­spec­ti­ves she shared from the city of Rosen­heim. We would also like to thank all par­ti­ci­pants for their ques­ti­ons, exper­tise, and lively discussion. 

Video recor­ding of Viola Lau­x’s presentation

For anyone who was unable to attend the event or would like to explore spe­ci­fic aspects in grea­ter depth, we are making the recor­ding of Viola Laux’s pre­sen­ta­tion available. In it, she pro­vi­des insight into the oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges of digi­tal plat­forms in early child­hood edu­ca­tion and, using the Schles­wig-Hol­stein day­care data­base as an exam­ple, illus­tra­tes both the poten­tial and the limi­ta­ti­ons of digi­tal access procedures.