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68 – CHAPTER 7: MONITORING QUALITY IN PEDAGOGYDenmarkIn Denmark, the quality assurance system focuses on a facility’s physical, intellectual andaesthetic environment. The manager, in co-operation with setting’s parental board, assesses theenvironment from a child-centred perspective (MFCA, 2007). The municipalities furthercontribute to quality assurance by providing educational and psychological counsel forpedagogues, serving as an intermediary between the national level and ECEC settings. The aim isto promote best practices and ensure a uniform standard of quality in centres around the country(Jensen et al., 2010).Denmark clearly demonstrates a pedagogical quality perspective, since the views of differentstakeholders are considered in defining quality. The system of quality assurance takes a childcentredperspective, and educational and psychological forums exist for pedagogues to share theirviews and experiences on, for example, best practices. In addition, each ECEC provider has aparent board, to ensure that parents’ views are represented.FranceIn France, quality in ECEC settings is defined by conditions of structural quality. Thisincludes school size and the level of staff qualifications, but is also stipulated in the mandatedKindergarten Quality Criteria and school curriculum, which provide pedagogical guidance forstaff in kindergarten. The criteria and curriculum stipulate a number of learning and developmentareas. Article L321-2 amended by the Act of July 8, 2013, states that the training in infant classesand kindergarten should promote each child’s individual personality, stimulate children’s sensory,cognitive and social development, and develop their self-esteem and emotional development.These curricular areas aim to provide pedagogical guidance, and one aspect of pedagogicalquality is associated with how well they achieve these aims. New programmes with revisedlearning areas are currently being developed in accordance with these 2013 guidelines, and wereopen for consultation in autumn 2014 by early years teachers, to allow for their input into theprocess.In France, some aspects of quality reflect an objective perspective, given that quality in ECECsettings is commonly defined by structural quality conditions, Kindergarten Quality Criteria andthe school curriculum. But other aspects of quality monitoring also reflect a pedagogicalperspective of quality, such as the incorporation of the experiences and views of practitioners.GermanyOne definition of the desired quality of ECEC is provided in the Social Code Book VIII,which is linked closely to German legislation. Federal law stipulates that all young people havethe legal right to be supported in their development and encouraged to become independent andsocially competent personalities (§ 1 SGB VIII). ECEC providers are obliged to fulfil a number ofconditions, including supporting the education, care and upbringing of children in equal measure,since these are considered inseparable elements of pedagogical practice. In particular, childrenshould be supported in line with their age and level of development (e.g. language development),and children’s individual interests, needs and their social-emotional background must be takeninto account (§ 22a SGB VIII). A national framework, the Common Framework of the FederalStates for Early Education in ECEC Centres, was subsequently produced to reinforce these valuesand promote common guiding principles for Länder curriculum. ECEC pedagogy is expected tosupport children’s exploration, self-determined learning processes and teamwork. This isperceived to provide pedagogical guidance to ECEC staff.The quality of pedagogy in Germany is linked to interactions supporting both care andeducation, and those satisfying the individual needs of children, especially in view of their age,level of development and ethnic background. Germany’s Nationale Qualitätsinitiative im SystemEARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PEDAGOGY REVIEW: ENGLAND © OECD 2015