Quality of the ECEC Workforce in Romania: Empirical Evidence from Parents’ Experiences

Aniela Matei,Mihaela Ghenţa

doi:10.3390/educsci8010002

Abstract

The quality of the early childhood workforce is central to service provision in this area, being a major factor in determining children’s development over the course of their lives. Specific skills and competencies are expected from early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce. Well-trained staff from ECEC settings are an extremely important factor in providing high-quality services which will positively influence the outcomes of children. The present paper analyses the quality of early childhood education and care workforce from the parents’ perspective in the context of Romania’s early childhood reform agenda. A critical review of the specific situation of the early childhood system in relation to the workforce from this sector is made in the first part of the paper in order to highlight the complexity of this issue. In the second part, the authors will present the results of empirical research developed in 2017 using qualitative and quantitative methods in order to assess the activity of early childhood education and care staff. The main challenges in this field as they emerge from research will be analyzed, the findings having implications for policy-makers and practitioners in the field of ECEC services.

Highlights

Childhood development is a very important stage in defining the path of a person’s life [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
In order to identify the factors that influence the use of early education services in Romania, the authors developed a methodology in two phases: (1) a qualitative methodology to identify perceptions related to kindergarten and nursery staff, and (2) a quantitative methodology to assess at a national level the overall activities of education and care services (ECEC) staff based on opinions expressed by parents of children enrolled in ECEC services
Even if there are a number of deficiencies related to inappropriate professional training, staff providing educational services is perceived as the best-prepared category of staff involved in providing ECEC services

Summary

Introduction

Childhood development is a very important stage in defining the path of a person’s life [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. In this period of individual life, change happens rapidly in many areas of development (emotional, physical, cognitive, and social). The most popular category of programs for early childhood development and education is represented by early childhood education and care services (ECEC) which cover all forms of early childhood education and early childhood care services under an integrated system (for the children from age zero or one to the compulsory schooling age). Admission to compulsory primary education depends mainly on the age of the child, and starts at the age of five or six in most of the EU Member States [5].

Methods

Results

Conclusion