This Campbell systematic review examines the current empirical evidence on the correlation between teacher qualifications and the quality of the early childhood learning environments. The review summarises findings from 48 studies with 82 independent samples. Studies included children from pre‐kindergarten and kindergarteners prior to elementary/primary school and centre‐based providers. The review shows a positive statistically significant association between teacher qualification and the quality of early childhood learning environment. This finding is not dependent on culture and context given that the evidence is from several countries. Mandating qualified teachers, i.e. with tertiary education, may lead to significant improvement for both process and structural quality within centre‐based and home‐based ECEC settings. However, the evidence is from correlational studies, so evidence is needed from studies with designs which can assess causal effects. Further research should also assess what specific knowledge and skills learnt by teachers with higher qualifications enable them to complete their roles effectively. Synopsis/plain language summary Higher teacher qualifications are associated with higher quality early childhood education and careThis review examines the empirical evidence on the relationship between teacher qualifications and the quality of the early childhood learning environment. Higher teacher qualifications are significantly positively correlated with higher quality in early childhood education and care. What did the review study?Poor quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) can be detrimental to the development of children as it could lead to poor social, emotional, educational, health, economic and behavioural outcomes.The lack of consensus as to the strength of the relationship between teacher qualification and the quality of the early childhood learning environment has made it difficult for policy makers and educational practitioners alike to settle on strategies that would enhance the learning outcomes for children in their early stages of education.This review examines the current empirical evidence on the correlation between teacher qualifications and the quality of early childhood learning environments. What studies are included?Included studies must have examined the relationship between teacher qualification and quality of the ECEC environment from 1980 to 2014, as well as permit the identification of the education program received by the lead teacher and provide a comparison between two or more groups of teachers with different educational qualifications.Furthermore, the studies had to have comparative designs and report either an overall quality scale or an environment rating scale.A total of 48 studies conducted with 82 independent samples were included in the review. What are the main results in this review?Overall, the results show that higher teacher qualifications are significantly correlated with higher quality early childhood education and care.The education level o...

Poor-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) can be detrimental to the development of children, as it may lead to poor social, emotional, educational, health, economic, and behavioral outcomes. A lack of consensus, however, regarding the strength of the relationship between teacher qualification and the quality of the ECEC environment makes it difficult to identify strategies that could enhance developmental and educational outcomes. This meta-analytic review examines evidence on the correlation between teacher qualifications and the quality of ECEC environments. Results show that higher teacher qualifications are significantly correlated with higher quality ECEC environments. Specifically, the education level of teachers or caregivers is positively correlated to overall ECEC qualities, as well as subscale ratings including program structure, language, and reasoning.

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Ten women with autism spectrum disorder participated in oral interviews in order to share their experiences since their diagnosis and to discuss the factors that had enabled them to achieve success in different aspects of their life. Participants were encouraged to share their perspectives on their success and to discuss the challenges they encountered in their daily lives and how they overcame these. Interviews were analysed using a narrative-themed approach. Participants indicated that both internal and external factors enabled them to achieve success in different aspects of their lives. These included being an agent of change, a changed identity after diagnosis, experiencing the belief of others in their capability and seeing themselves as a mentor to others. Their experiences with overcoming obstacles in their lives enabled them to develop self-efficacy and to shape their own success.