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Because of the range and diversity of early childhood
programmes, these two viewpoints need to be
integrated. Many observable attributes have been
shown to promote child development, yet they must be
relevant and applicable to each setting in which they are
applied. The absence of standards can result in toleration
of poor quality provision and a lack of guidance on
how professional development programmes might be
structured (Siraj-Blatchford and Wong, 1999).
A pathway that draws upon measurement expertise
while allowing for adaptation, revision and alignment
with cultural values and discourse is essential for
accurately measuring and comparing the quality of
early childhood education.
Consensus can be reached on many crucial dimensions
of the process and structures of quality in early
childhood settings. For example, the International Step
by Step Association (ISSA), a non-government network
of professionals especially active in Europe and Central
Asia, has identified principles that underpin teaching
practices of high quality (ISSA, 2009). They cover seven
domains: interactions; family and community; inclusion,
diversity, and values of democracy; assessment and
planning; teaching strategies; learning environment; and
professional development. Such frameworks can help
form the basis for monitoring quality.
Perhaps the most critical element of process quality
is the interaction between teachers and children, its
nature and depth, and the extent to which interactions
enable children to be autonomous and stimulated
(Mashburn et al., 2008; Britto et al., 2011). ISSA highlights
three principles when assessing interactions: whether
educators interact with children in a friendly and
respectful manner that supports the development of
each child’s construction of self/identity and learning;
whether interactions help develop a learning community
where all children are supported to reach their potential;
and whether educators engage in purposeful, reciprocal
interactions with other adults to support children’s
development and learning.
Early childhood education environments of high quality
are also inclusive. Educators should provide opportunities
for every child and family to learn and participate,
identify children who are falling behind, and address
individual differences in needs and skills. A key aspect
of inclusiveness is that children have the opportunity
to learn in their native language. In areas with linguistic
One of the most critical
elements of a quality
pre-primary education
is the interaction
between teachers and
children, and whether
children are enabled to
diversity, teachers
who are fluent in
children’s native
tongues can have
enormous benefits
for language and
literacy development
(Ball, 2011).
Much of the attention
on monitoring
be autonomous and
quality has focused
stimulated
on quantitative
measures – such as
child/teacher ratios,
class sizes, teacher qualifications, access to water and
good hygiene, or availability of materials – because the
data are easier to collect. However, while improvement
in these measures can increase process quality, it does
not ensure it. Studies show modest correlations between
the two dimensions at the classroom or programme level
(Yoshikawa et al., 2013).
Finally, the quality of early childhood care and education
systems is understood to play a major role in achieving
desirable outcomes. Five elements of achieving
quality have been identified for high income countries:
setting quality goals and regulations; designing
and implementing curriculum standards; improving
qualifications, training and workforce conditions;
engaging parents and communities; and advancing data
collection, research and monitoring (OECD, 2012c). The
applicability and relevance of these actions in low and
middle income countries have not yet been addressed.
In integrated and devolved systems, the quality of
governance, both horizontal (across sectors) and vertical
(across levels, from national to local), has also been
considered critical (Britto et al., 2014).
MEASURING QUALITY OF SETTINGS
Several measures of early childhood education quality
have been tested. They tend to involve trainees rating
a setting using observation, documentation and
interviews during a two- to four-hour visit. The most
desirable characteristic of an effective measure of
quality assessment is validity, i.e. the extent to which
the element assessed is meaningful and has proven
positive effects on child outcomes. Establishing validity
becomes more complicated when aiming for a measure
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