Early Childhood Education And Care Services Research Articles

Early Childhood Education and Care in Kosovo: A Targeted Educational Approach Producing and Maintaining Social and Gender Inequalities

This article examines participation in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Kosovo based on a recent survey and administrative data. Kosovo’s ECEC policy aims to provide education and care for children aged 0 to 6 through an approach consisting of highly targeted public services for more vulnerable social groups, while expecting the rest to rely on the market or the family. It also provides a universal, public (2.5 hours a day) school preparatory programme for children aged 5-6 years. Availability of ECEC services has been rising, but remains well below the levels of the countries in the region. New services are increasingly coming through a market-based provision which leaves large social groups such as low-income families, rural families, parents with lower educational status and other socio-economically disadvantaged parents worse off. Since ECEC is considered highly relevant for children’s personal development and success in school, as well as for female participation in the labour market, the findings suggest that the current policy contributes towards cementing and furthering social and gender inequalities in the long run. In the absence of more comprehensive public services and other supportive family policy measures, Kosovo maintains a strong implicit familialistic policy with a weak potential to contribute to women’s employment. Key words: Kosovo, ECEC, defamilialisation, familialism, privatisation.

When a crisis undermines quality public service provision: Romanian early childhood education and care through the SARS-Cov-2 epidemic

What appeared to be the success of many Eastern European states in managing the toll of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic in its first round has been attributed to the early introduction of strict lockdown. However, erring on the side of caution came at a high price, with mixed economies of welfare shifting sometimes radically towards families, with the related costs unevenly distributed. Using the case of early childhood education and care (ECEC), the article explores the specifics of what has been a more general pattern in epidemic-induced social policy adaptation in the Romanian context: the overnight, radical and prolonged individualisation of service provision without the corresponding remaking of the cash nexus. It expands on the timeline of government decisions on family policy adaptations, including ECEC service provision. The article also reviews fragmented evidence about the impact of ECEC service suspension on the mixed economy of early years care. The article explains how and why the Romanian government was able to effectively suspend ECEC service delivery between March and September 2020 while keeping related financial arrangements practically unaltered, and do so without open protest. The Romanian case reveals how and why a family policy environment historically characterised by fragmented, selective and partially adequate provision, directly and indirectly maintaining the familialisation of young children’s care, acts as a catalyst for more of the same in hard times: fragmented, selective and only partially adequate intervention. In conceptual terms, the article suggests that familialist family policy is particularly sticky, more so in times of crisis than in ‘good’ times.

Reasons Given by ECEC Professionals for (Not) Being in Contact With Parents During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the German government took drastic measures and ordered the temporary closure of early childhood education and care services (apart from emergency care). Most pedagogical professionals in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings were unable to provide institutional care for children during this period, and thus experienced difficulties fulfilling their legally mandated professional obligation to educate children. Building on the importance of professional–parent collaboration, this study investigates the reasons ECEC professionals gave for (not) being in contact with parents during the pandemic. The database comprises a nationwide survey conducted between April and May 2020 (n = 2,560 ECEC professionals). The results show that the vast majority of respondents were in contact with parents; their stated motives include providing informational or emotional support for parents and children, maintaining a relationship, or inquiring about family wellbeing. The explanations for not being in contact with parents include already existing contact with parents by another member of the ECEC staff, an employer-mandated contact ban, problems on the parents’ side, or personal reasons. We find some differences between managers in center-based childcare, pedagogical employes in center-based childcare, and professionals in family based childcare. Practical implications concerning professional–parent collaboration and the temporary closure of ECEC services are discussed.

Feeding practices in Australian early childhood education and care settings.

Feeding practices used by educators in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings can influence the diet quality of young children. However, Australian data is scarce and limited to describing barriers to responsive feeding. This study describes the use of feeding practices amongst a group of Australian educators. Direct observation of feeding practices and assessment of centre policy were conducted using the 'Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation' tool. Self-reported feeding practices and demographic data were collected via online survey using the Childcare Food and Activity Practices Questionnaire. Ten centre-based ECEC services in South East Queensland, Australia. Educators working in ECEC. A total of 120 meals were observed and 88 educators provided self-report data (n 84 female). Centre policy supported the use of responsive feeding practices, and this was reflected in the high frequency with which children could decide what and how much to eat, across both observed and self-report data as well as low levels of pressure to eat and use of food as a reward (observed at 19·9 % and 0 % of meals). The only apparent discrepancy was regarding modelling. Median score for self-reported role-modelling was 5·0 (4·3-5·0) and educators were observed to sit with children at 75 % of meals, however observed occasions of enthusiastic role modelling was only 22 % (0-33·3) of meals. Research addressing how educators conceptualise feeding practices, as well under what circumstances they are used, particularly in centres with different models of food provision, may shed light on why modelling is rarely implemented in practice.

Constructions of quality: Australian Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services during COVID-19

ABSTRACT There is increasing pressure on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings to align their practices and values to that of schools, with the notion that a quality education in ECEC consists of providing care whilst also ensuring strong learning outcomes. This paper employs the constructs of structural and process quality to theorise the perceived disparities between ECEC institutions and schools and between ECEC services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiences of 29 Australian ECEC educators provide insight into the differing constructions of quality across ECEC services during the COVID-19 lockdown periods that occurred from May to August 2020 in the state of Victoria. The findings suggest that despite increasing pressure for ECEC programmes to be more like schools, the pandemic amplified society’s positioning of ECEC as a caregiving service, highlighting the perceived differences between ECEC and schools and within the ECEC sector itself. While the findings suggest that ECEC educators were discouraged by the lack of recognition they received for providing quality education during the pandemic, the disruption of the pandemic prompted opportunities for reflection and action, providing more visibility of the quality of care that ECEC educators provide and the importance of their roles within the community.

The impact of investing in social care on employment generation, time-, income-poverty by gender: A macro-micro policy simulation for Turkey

This paper uses applied macro–micro policy modeling and simulation to explore the gendered impact of increased public expenditures on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) on employment and income generation, time allocation to paid versus unpaid work, and poverty. We use a statistically matched dataset from the 2015 Time Use Survey and the Survey on Income and Living Conditions in Turkey to assess the poverty impact not only in terms of official income poverty but also in terms of time-poverty and a combined time- and income poverty measure. We find that increased spending on expansion of ECEC services in the order of 1.8 percent of GDP, generates over a million new jobs, and provides employment for previously non-employed persons, in particular, women. Many job recipient households are lifted above the income poverty threshold reducing the official poverty rate. However, employment into a new job creates a substantial time-poverty effect for women with small children, increasing their time- and income-poverty measure by 50 percent. The positive consumption effects of higher purchasing power (through new jobs and earnings) are dominated by the negative consumption effects of higher time deficits in household production. When newly employed women with small children are also given access to childcare services, their required time for household production decreases by more than one-third, effectively addressing the gendered time poverty. With simultaneous access to ECEC, the time-poverty rates of newly employed women with small children is reduced almost by half and their combined time- and income-poverty rate is reduced by 67 percent. These findings show that employment creation through increased social care spending does not only have the potential to generate a substantial number of jobs in a gender balanced manner, but it also helps to alleviate time- and income poverty and improve gender equality.

Moroccan immigrant mothers’ experiences of Italian preschool institutions. A mixed-method study

ABSTRACT Being an immigrant mother demands both the redefinition of one’s identity as a woman and as a mother and a ‘double cultural mediation’ in children’s upbringing, between the culture of origin and that of the host country. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) are key settings to supporting the wellbeing and the integration of immigrants. This contribution presents research conducted in Italy within the international ISOTIS project (www.isotis.org). Drawing on 114 structured interviews and 12 narrative-biographical interviews, this paper analyses how Moroccan mothers described their relationship with the ECEC system, teachers, and other parents. While survey data indicated that mothers who perceived discrimination were likely to participate less, the qualitative interviews showed that the ECEC settings were generally supportive and non-discriminatory. The ECEC services’ support resulted to be a turning point in the educational and social path of children and mothers themselves. The relationship with the teacher was depicted mostly as positive and meaningful, though the Italian parents’ network seemed harder to join, unveiling a segmented experience of social inclusion and exclusion between in and out of the school context. The findings may contribute to identifying factors facilitating or hindering immigrant parents’ full inclusion and participation in the community life.

Partnership with families in early childhood education: Exploratory study

CHILDREN LEARN in the context of relationships with important caregivers. The early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector increasingly recognises that supporting strong relationships between families and ECEC services is a powerful way to improve children’s educational, health and wellbeing outcomes. We report findings from a study which, via online surveys and focus groups with parents and educators, sought to understand (a) parents’ experiences of collaborative practice, (b) educators’ confidence in working with families, and (c) educators’ perceptions of training needs. The results suggest families commonly feel welcomed and respected but desire improvements in educator communication. Most educators reported high confidence to share children’s progress but less confidence to greet families by name, raise or respond to parent concerns, or work with families facing significant parenting stressors. These findings indicate a need for practice support and training to improve educators’ skills and confidence in partnering with families.

Child care policy and child care burden: Policy feedback effects and distributive implications of regulatory decisions

The policy feedback literature highlights that the design of public policies can affect recipients’ experience of those policies and programs. In this paper, we examine the largely unexplored distributional implications of market-based early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. We present the results of a quasi-behavioral conjoint survey of 606 parents in the City of Toronto. Grouping parent respondents by income and access to public subsidies, we find evidence that access to public subsidies influences the ECEC preferences of lower income parents. We explore these findings with respect to how non-subsidized lower income parents experience the market for ECEC. We find evidence that non-subsidized lower income parents are more cost-conscious; this is likely to result in their using less well-regulated ECEC that is more variable in quality. In turning to less well-regulated care, the burden of performing oversight and quality assessments falls on these parents. However, our study finds that lower income non-subsidized parents report the least engagement with learning about ECEC, suggesting that they are likely to be the least able to effectively monitor their children’s care arrangements. We explore the implications of these findings regarding the effects of policy on vulnerable children’s access to high quality ECEC services.

Childcare availability and maternal employment: New evidence from Japan

As grandparental childcare in Japan becomes highly uncommon in recent years, working mothers need to rely more on formal childcare services. In 2015, the Japanese government launched the Comprehensive Support System for Children and Child-rearing (CSSCC) to promote the expansions of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. This study estimates the effects of ECEC availability on maternal employment in the new context, using a fresh dataset combining official municipality data and individual-level data of a sample of mothers with preschool children extracted from an original Japanese nationwide survey dataset for 2015, 2016, and 2017. Identification for the maternal employment effects is based on the variation across municipalities and over time in the pace of ECEC expansions triggered by the CSSCC. The empirical results show that a one percentage point increase in the capacity rate of ECEC facilities targeted at the 0–5 age group predicts an increase of 0.27 percentage points in mothers’ working probability. The overall increase in working probability is almost entirely explained by the increase in nonregular employment rather than regular employment and is mainly driven by mothers with low education. A new type of ECEC service established under the CSSCC for the 0–2 age group has a sizable effect exclusively on the nonregular employment of mothers from three-generation households. Comparisons with the findings by previous studies and implications for the future design and implementation of family policy are discussed.

Development of physical activity policy and implementation strategies for early childhood education and care settings using the Delphi process

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to gain consensus on an evidence informed physical activity policy template for early childhood education and care (ECEC) and determine best-practice dissemination and implementation strategies using the Delphi process.MethodsThree-round modified Delphi methodology. During round one an expert working group developed an evidence informed ECEC specific physical activity policy template. Rounds two and three involved national online surveys to seek insight from a group of experts on the draft physical activity policy template.ResultsNinety per cent of experts reported ECEC services are fully responsible for having a physical activity policy. There was consensus on the components of the policy and key physical activity and sedentary behaviour statements and recommendations. The most effective methods for disseminating a physical activity policy to ECEC providers included online (websites, social and electronic media), ECEC targeted launch events, direct mail outs and via professional associations. Twenty five key strategies related to management, supervisors and educators; the ECEC physical environment; communicating with families; and accreditation, monitoring and review, were identified as necessary for the successful implementation of physical activity policy in ECEC. Experts reached consensus on nine of these strategies indicating they were both easy to implement and likely to have a high level of influence. Key barriers and enablers to implementing ECEC-specific physical activity were also identified.ConclusionsThis evidence informed physical activity policy template for ECEC provides recommendations on the amount of physical activity and sedentary time (including screen time) children should have whilst attending ECEC and aligns with national/international guidelines. A number of effective physical activity policy implementation strategies for ECEC were identified. An important next step is advocating for the introduction of legislative requirements for services to have and implement a physical activity policy.

Indigenous caregivers and indigeneity in Bogota: between two worlds

ABSTRACT Recently, the government of Bogota (Colombia) has focused on improving Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services in a way that considers diversity. The national policy and the political project for Bogota recognise ECEC services based on a positive discrimination approach. Among them there is an indigenous ECEC service, known as House of indigenous Knowledge (HIK), staffed by Indigenous professionals. Based on ethnographic research in three HIKs this article aims to study the legitimacy of indigenous caregivers (ICs) as early childhood professionals (ECP). Using the political sociological approach of Boltanski and Thévenot On Justification, the paper aims to analyse the professionalism of ICs in terms of competing ‘regimes of actions’. It shows the importance of ICs’ implicit cultural knowledge compared to the ‘western’ ECEC practitioners’ expertise. It sheds light on what IC practice ought to be: rooted in Indigenous traditions, while at the same time, acknowledging a ‘western’ vision of ECEC professionals’ practices.

A matter of universalism? Rationalities of access in Finnish early childhood education and care

ABSTRACT Universal access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) has become a policy goal in many countries. In comparing and categorising national ECEC systems, Finnish ECEC has been presented as an example of a universal system. However, as municipalities are responsible for the provision of ECEC services in Finland, it is important to examine how access to ECEC is locally rationalised: how universal is Finnish ECEC after all? Drawing on discursive institutionalism, we analysed what kinds of rationalities administrators of local ECEC services constructed in terms of access to ECEC concerning four-year-old children, and what kind of possible preconditions were constructed in these rationalities. As a result, we found three different but intertwined rationalities of access to ECEC: equality of access for all children, a real need for ECEC, and the parents’ choice. The parents’ position in the labour market, the level of concern for the child or family, and the parents’ decision emerged as constructed preconditions for access. Our examination illustrates the importance of examining local-level policy discourses in order to understand the historical and social constructions of access to ECEC.

The Involved, Engaged or Partnership Parents in Early Childhood Education and Care

The parental relationship in ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) service forms a key factor for its quality. This relationship is also complex and problematic and can be understood in different ways. There is a lack of research about the parental relationship in ECEC compared with schools. However, some researches have revealed the importance of a functional parental relationship in ECEC but also that the relationship can challenge the professional task of the teachers. One way to understand the parental relationship is study it out of two different frameworks, a vertical or horizontal framework. The vertical framework regards the teachers as experts and with asymmetrical, involved or engagement parental relationship. The horizontal framework regards both teachers and parents as experts and with a symmetrical partnership parental relationship. This review of research has scrutinised how the parental relationship in ECEC is described based on a division into levels as parental involvement, engagement or partnership relation. All three levels were identified in the 22 articles studied, but with a slight domination of the parental partnership. Four advantages of the parental relationship have been identified, quality-indicator, empowerment of parents and teachers, impact on future student academic achievement and flexible relationship. Three problems have been identified, different roles of parents and teachers, discrimination and complex relationship. One conclusion is that the parental relationship is of great importance to the ECEC service, but that it is more realistic to consider this as a balance between vertically and horizontally-framed parental relationships in ECEC services.

Identifying Barriers and Solutions to Increase Parent-Practitioner Communication in Early Childhood Care and Educational Services: The Development of an Online Communication Application

There is considerable evidence that highlights the importance of family involvement in early childhood education and care (ECEC) on children’s development and how when combined with professional involvement has a very positive impact on children’s holistic development and therefore, quality ECEC. However, in practice, communicating with families from diverse backgrounds who have limited time, employment obligations, and varying expectations for their child’s ECEC has proven to be challenging. To investigate family involvement practices in ECEC services, 18 semi-structured interviews with Irish practitioners and 15 families were conducted. To understand the influence of family involvement on children’s development, this study was underpinned by Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological framework. The interviews demonstrated that there is a dearth of communication between the home and ECEC services which results in misunderstandings between ECEC stakeholders (practitioners and families). Five barriers to family involvement (attitudinal, structural, cultural, environmental, and welfare) were identified during the interview phase. Subsequently, the development of TeachKloud, a cloud-based management ECEC tool, originated in part, to facilitate quality family involvement practices. TeachKloud was trialled for three months by seven ECEC services and 13 families of children aged 2.8–5.6 years old. A survey was administered after the respective trials to assess the efficacy of TeachKloud in supporting quality practice in ECEC services. This paper focuses on TeachKloud’s impact on family involvement. Findings indicate that online technologies such as TeachKloud decrease barriers to family involvement and make children’s learning more visible to families, thereby, improving the quality of ECEC provision.

Explaining the enduring deficit of public ECEC services in the south of Italy

PurposeThis article seeks to explain why the public provision of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in Reggio di Calabria – the largest city of the Calabria region in Southern Italy – has remained among the lowest in the country, failing to respond to the growing local demand for such services. Most of the limited formal supply of ECEC services currently available in the city is almost exclusively provided, for a fee, by private – until recently unregulated – day care centres, whereas households who cannot afford them must still rely on family care.Design/methodology/approachBased on original research findings, the article explains how such a supply configuration is the result of several concurrent factors – structural, institutional and cultural, on both the demand and the supply side of the service relation – and has been conditioned by both national and local specificities.FindingsThe complex interplay of these factors accounts not only for the enduring absence of an adequate public provision of ECEC services in the city and its region but also for the reproduction of an “unsupported” familistic model of care, while a loosely regulated private supply answers the growing demand coming from the working women who can afford it.Social implicationsThe lack of public ECEC, which was significantly aggravated by the 2008 financial crisis, represents a major constraint for women's emancipation and social justice in an already difficult socio-economic context.Originality/valueThe article provides in-depth knowledge on the enduring deficit of public ECEC services in a region and city that are little studied, together with a contextualized interpretation of its causes and implications.

Implementation of an Early Childhood Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Program in New South Wales, Australia: Munch & Move.

Background: Childhood obesity is an important public health issue. Approximately 20% of 2–4 year olds are overweight or obese, meaning 1 in 5 Australian children start school above a healthy weight. In the state of New South Wales (NSW) the combined prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is significantly higher among children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds and children from regional, rural and remote areas. This paper describes implementation of a healthy eating and active play program (Munch & Move) for center-based early childhood education and care (ECEC) services aimed at influencing healthy behaviors in young children in NSW, Australia. It shows changes over time including a focus on disadvantaged, Aboriginal and remote communities. It also discusses the challenges and future opportunities for the program.Methods: Routine data in relation to service delivery (reach) and implementation indicators are collected by Local Health District staff. Fifteen implementation indicators (known as practices) were introduced to monitor the implementation of Munch & Move (six related to promoting and encouraging healthy eating, four related to improving physical activity, two related to small screen recreation; and three related to quality of service delivery).Results: As of 30 June 2017, 88.4% of ECEC services have staff trained in Munch & Move. Of the 15 practices related to promoting and encouraging healthy eating, increasing physical activity and improving the quality of service delivery 13 practices saw significant improvements between 2012 and 2017. This was consistent for services with a high proportion of Aboriginal children and for services in disadvantaged and remote communities. There has been a statistically significant increase in the proportion (37.6–81.0%, p < 0.0001) and type of ECEC services (preschools 36.1–81.3%, p < 0.0001, long day care 38.6–81.0%, p < 0.0001, and occasional care 34.0–74.6%, p < 0.0001) that have implemented the program since 2012 as well as in services with a high proportion of Aboriginal children (33.6–85.2% p < 0.0001), services in disadvantaged communities (37.4–83.3% p < 0.001), and services in remote communities (27.8–59.4% p < 0.0139).Discussion: This paper demonstrates that Munch & Move has seen large improvements in the delivery of training, practice achievements and program adoption in ECEC services across NSW including services in disadvantaged and remote communities and that have a higher proportion of Aboriginal children.

Comparing regulatory and non-regulatory indices of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) quality in the Australian early childhood sector

&lt;p&gt;Este estudo analisa as associações entre as pontuações provenientes de processos regulatórios de avaliação da qualidade da educação infantil australiana (Early Childhood Education and Care – ECEC) do National Quality Standard (NQS)2 e das duas escalas de avaliação de qualidade (SSTEW – Sustained Shared Thinking and Well Being; e ECERS-E – Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extension). A amostra consiste em 257 unidades de ECEC em três estados australianos. Os resultados indicaram: associações positivas modestas entre as pontuações do NQS e das escalas; alguma especificidade entre as áreas de qualidade do NQS (aspectos do projeto e práticas pedagógicas para as crianças; relações com crianças) e de uma escala de avaliação – a SSTEW; variabilidade das pontuações das escalas de qualidade dentro de cada classificação do NQS; e atenuação dessas associações quando o tempo entre as avaliações ultrapassa 24 meses. As conclusões sugerem que o NQS e as escalas de avaliação indicam um núcleo comum de qualidade, mas capturam aspectos diferentes da qualidade, sugerindo que ambos poderiam ser usados para melhorar os padrões de qualidade nas pré-escolas australianas, onde as escalas de avaliação potencializam a qualidade ainda mais do que o NQS.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Palavras-chave:&lt;/strong&gt; National Quality Standard, ECERS-E, SSTEW, Qualidade, Pré-Escola, Regulamentação&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Comparando índices regulatorios y no regulatorios de calidad de la educación infantil en Australia&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Este estudio analiza las asociaciones entre los puntajes provenientes de procesos regulatorios de evaluación de la calidad de la educación infantil australiana (Early Childhood Education and Care – ECEC) del National Quality Standard (NQS) y de las dos escalas de evaluación de calidad (SSTEW – Sustained Shared Thinking and Well Being; y ECERS-E – Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extended). La muestra consiste en 257 unidades de ECEC en tres estados de Australia. Los resultados indicaron: asociaciones positivas modestas entre los puntajes del NQS y de las escalas; alguna especificidad entre las áreas de calidad del NQS (aspectos del proyecto y prácticas pedagógicas para los niños; relaciones con niños) y una escala de evaluación – la SSTEW; variabilidad de los puntajes de las escalas de calidad dentro de cada clasificación del NQS; y atenuación de dichas asociaciones siempre que el tiempo entre las evaluaciones supera los 24 meses. Las conclusiones sugieren que el NQS y las escalas de evaluación indican un núcleo común de calidad, pero capturan aspectos distintos de la calidad, lo que sugiere que ambos se podrían utilizar para mejorar los estándares de calidad en el sistema preescolar australiano, en el que las escalas de evaluación potencian todavía más la calidad que el NQS.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Palabras clave:&lt;/strong&gt; National Quality Standard, ECERS-E, SSTEW, Calidad, Sistema Preescolar, Reglamentación&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Comparing regulatory and non-regulatory indices of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) quality in the Australian early childhood sector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This study examines associations between Australia’s regulatory ratings of quality in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) – the National Quality Standard (NQS) – and two research-based quality rating scales. The analytic sample consisted of 257 ECEC services across three Australian states. Results indicated (1) modest positive associations between NQS ratings and scale scores; (2) some specificity between NQS quality areas (educational programs and practice; relationships with children) and one research scale – the Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing (SSTEW) scale; (3) variability in quality scales scores within each NQS designation; and (4) mitigation of these associations when the time-gap between ratings exceeded 24 months. Findings suggest NQS and research scales tap some common core of quality, yet capture different aspects of quality, suggesting both could be used to raise standards of quality in Australian preschools, where the research scales potentiate raising quality to even higher levels than NQS.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keywords&lt;/strong&gt;: National Quality Standard, ECERS-E, SSTEW, Quality, Preschool, Regulation&lt;/p&gt;

Encouraging intercultural attitudes and practices in contemporary ECEC services. Insights from A research conducted in Italy, Spain, and Hungary

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the results of a European survey that was part of a European funded project, entitled ‘Multicultural Early Childhood Education’, carried out between 2017 and 2018, in three countries: Italy, Spain, and Hungary. The goal was to explore the intercultural training needs of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) professionals, to support them to meet the needs of different children and families, with a focus on the ones with immigrant, refugee, and Roma background. It was an exploratory study about the cultural background of ECEC educators, through an analysis of their competences and training needs, with an attention to the issues of multiculturalism and interculturality. The research was focused on the ‘good practices’ promoted within the educational contexts of partner institutions. The survey was carried out through a semi-structured questionnaire, delivered to a sample of 477 practitioners and pedagogical coordinators/coaches working in ECEC services of Tuscany, Barcelona, and Budapest, collecting 260 completed questionnaires. Analysis of the data collected shows the importance of strengthening the relationship between ECEC services and immigrant families to promote the inclusion of children and their families. The analysis also shows that training and support are needed for ECEC practitioners to improve their practice in this field.

Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Early Education and Care

&#x0D; High quality early intervention is a crucial component of supportive and inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) and crucial for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For children with ASD, there is limited access to ECEC services and there is little research or writing on the importance of bridging even conversations between the fields of ECEC and special education needs. This paper addresses the importance of starting a conversation by delineating current literature on ASD and early intervention services while making recommendations for how practitioners and policy-makers can consider the needs of young children with ASD in ECEC programming, bringing together clinicians and educators in ECEC settings into broader and closer collaborations. Through investigating current wide-scale reports on ASD in ECEC and inclusive settings, screening, early intervention, and evidence-based interventions, as well as the specific needs of parents of children with ASD, we seek to bring such essential discussions to the forefront. In turn, practitioners can provide supportive early-years environments for children with ASD, as well as early intervention and identification services that support inclusive practices.&#x0D;