QualityMatters: How and under what conditions does quality in early education and care matter? A study across four European countries

Abstract

QualityMatters, an extension of a European Commission funded study, the CARE project, intends to examine whether the quality of teacher-child interactions varies as a function of particular classroom features (e.g., types of activities, content, and grouping), to answer the overarching question: how and under what conditions does quality in early education and care matter? Through a cross-cultural process-oriented approach, the researchers in QualityMatters will capitalize on the variation in the ECEC systems present in 4 European countries (Finland, Netherlands, Poland, Por­tugal) to examine the complex relations of teachers’ choices regarding the activity and teacher-child interactions. The project will examine the extent to which children’s classroom interactions with teachers vary across activity settings, while taking into consideration country specifications regarding structural regulations. While much of the ECEC research has examined process and structural quality as separated constructs, QualityMatters will look at aspects at the intersection of process and structure, likely to be relevant for child development and learning.