No abstract

The core aspect within process quality is quality of interactions between caregivers and children. This article investigates six interaction skills of caregivers in ECEC groups for toddlers in Norway using the Caregiver Interaction Profile (CIP) scales. The participants are 110 teachers and 58 assistants in 111 toddler groups. Results show that caregivers score between moderate and adequate-to-good levels on the more basic interaction skills. For the more educational interaction skills, scores were mostly at the inadequate level. Comparing teachers and assistants, teachers score higher on respect for autonomy, structuring and limit setting, verbal communication, and developmental stimulation. In addition, correlations show that the CIP scores were differentially associated with several ITERS-R scales, which supports the applicability of the measure. Because of the overall moderate-to-low scores, there is a need for in-service training to improve the process quality of ECEC for toddlers.

Background As a part of its welfare system, Norway provides universal access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) for all children between the ages of 1 and 5. To provide this access, Norway has undergone considerable structural changes in recent decades (Vassenden et al. 2011). These changes began with the 2003 ECEC settlement, which required municipalities to offer all children a place in ECEC. In 2009, access to a place in an ECEC programme became a legal right for all children. The overall purpose of these settlement initiatives and the establishment of universal access to ECEC was to ensure social equality and secure a good start for all children (Haug and Storø 2013). To meet heightened demand, new and larger ECEC settings were built, group sizes were expanded, the number of children under the age of three attending ECEC settings increased and a new type of organisation, flexible groups was formed (Gulbrandsen and Eliassen 2013). Most of the changes were related to quantity; however, in recent years, quality has appeared more systematically on policy-makers' agendas, especially for infants and toddlers (OECD 2015; Vassenden et al. 2011). The quality aspects of ECEC are related to children's experiences in ECEC institutions, such as their involvement in interactions and activities that are assumed to be beneficial for their learning and development (Sylva et al. 2006; Thomason and La Paro 2009). The concept of quality in ECEC is multifaceted, although the general consensus is that

This study presents Norwegian ECEC staff members' thinking on quality of interaction. Open-ended interviews were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis based on the Caregiver Interaction Profile scales. Findings are that ECEC staff members include both basic care aspects of interaction and educational aspects of interaction in their thinking, but weigh them differently.Immediate responses focussed mainly on seeing, meeting, supporting and communicating with children, characterized as sensitive responsiveness, and an aspect of basic care interaction. After prompts, the focus was still on the abovementioned aspects, but thoughts characterized as educational aspects of interaction also featured. They focused on verbal communication, mainly as a social tool, linked to sensitive responsiveness and rarely expressed thoughts about child development theories or objectives in the Norwegian framework plan. Their own role beyond basic care aspects was seldom mentioned, and they seemed to hold a 'taken for granted attitude' to children's learning and development.

High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is related to childrens' socioemotional and cognitive development, and the most important aspect regarding quality in ECEC is staff's interpersonal or interactive skills. Despite this, research on staff's interactive skills is currently sparse in Norway. This study uses the Caregiver Interaction Profile (CIP) scales to evaluate staff's interactions with children aged 1-5, asking whether staff interact differently with children aged 3-5, compared to those aged under 3. 19 staff members participated in the study. Videos of individual staff members interacting with groups of children were recorded, coded and analysed in accordance with CIP scales. The main findings show that staff score adequate-to-good for basic interactions (sensitivity responsiveness, respect for autonomy, structuring and limit setting) and inadequate for educational interactions (verbal communication, developmental stimulation, fostering positive peer inetractions) during free play and routine situations. Similar patterns are found for staff regardless of children's age. Limitations and implications are discussed, proposing further research on interaction quality in Norwegian ECEC contexts.