Second, ECEC contributes to reducing social inequality, reducing child poverty, and promoting inter-generational mobility as children from disadvantaged families receive much less cognitive and emotional stimulation. Third, the provision of affordable, quality childcare services has allowed most OECD countries to maintain or increase female labour participation (OECD, 2006). In contrast, the PISA survey of school principals, which are at the high school level in Japan, reported a high level of school autonomy with regards to instructional policies.