Quality in early education and care: What do we mean?∗

Abstract

early childhood education and care” has become a slogan. In New Zealand we do not seem to have a clear understanding of what quality in early education and care is even though it is our mission to secure and enhance it. Considerable overseas research on the characteristics of quality in early childhood centres has been carried out, yet there is no simple answer to the question of what quality is. Quality may be taken to mean either the character of a centre or its excellence; Quality may be viewed at either the programme level or the service level. No single measure is possible because various approaches to defining and assessing quality may be used. In this paper it is suggested that we need to know what is important from the perspectives of staff, parents, different cultural groups, and child development research findings if we are to promote the quality of early education and care in New Zealand. ∗The author is a Ross Fellow of Knox College, Dunedin.