Education under five in Spain: A study of preschool classes in Seville

Abstract

This article presents the results of an assessment of the Quality of Infant Education done in the Seville area. Quality was dejined in structural and process variables. Structural variables were the ratio, group size and training of teachers; process variables included classroom quality, assessed with the ECERS scale (Harms and Clifford, 1980), and educational practices, observed with GAP (Palacios and Lera, 1991). The sample was composed of 59 preschool units ofjive-year-old children. Data show a description ofthe structural and process variables of quality, the interrelations between both sets of variables, and differences in the quality ofprovisions offered by public and private sectors. The results indicate a general low quality of care and that there is a need for further improvement in the quality ofday-care provision.

The characteristics and quality of pre-school education in Spain

“…The findings from the classroom observations support previous research on the quality of pre-school education in Spain, and specifically in Seville (Lera 1996;Palacios, Lera, and Oliva 1995). Low classroom quality was apparent in several studies from the 1990s, and the current findings indicate that the quality has remained low and may have actually decreased since that time.…”

“…Although the average quality of pre-school classrooms was minimal across sites, Seville scored significantly lower than the other three cities on overall quality and on each indicator of quality on the ECERS (Palacios 1998). Evidence from local study in Seville In a prior study that focused specifically on pre-schools in Seville, Lera (1996) found that classrooms were generally missing key components of the physical environment as measured by the ECERS. For example, they lacked materials and equipment in the areas of dramatic play (e.g., dress-up clothes) and gross motor (e.g., tricycles and outdoor toys).…”

How do activity settings, preschool teachers’ activities, and children’s activities relate to the quality of children’s interactions in preschool? Findings from Austria

“…Smidt 2012). With regard to research, older findings from Lera (1996) indicate that a structuring role of preschool teachers was associated with better quality of preschools. Additionally, several studies indicate positive effects of a teacher's scaffolding on interaction quality (Sylva et al 2007;Chien et al 2010;Smidt 2012;Acar, Hong, and Wu 2017).…”

Niños y madres en prisión: escenarios de desarrollo familiares y escolares en los centros penitenciarios españoles

“…Como en anteriores investigaciones (Lera, 1996;Petrogiannis y Melhuish, 1996), el aspecto que resulta mejor valorado en estas guarderías es el de las interacciones en el aula. Por el contrario, las bajas puntuaciones en cuidados personales se relacionan con la falta de hábitos higiénicos en las rutinas de aseo y en los cambios de pañales pero, también, con las dificultades que tienen las madres para despedir y recibir a los pequeños ya que, en la mayoría de los centros, no pueden llevar a sus hijos a la guardería.…”

“…Probablemente, la principal conclusión que pueda extraerse de la evaluación realizada en estas guarderías es que su nivel de calidad no es muy diferente del panorama que se observa en el conjunto de la educación infantil en España y en algunos países europeos (Lera, 1996;Petrogiannis y Melhuish, 1996;Tietze, Cryer, Bairrao, Palacios y Wetzel, 1996). En términos generales, este panorama parece dominado por dos cuestiones principales: la necesidad de mejorar los bajos niveles de calidad existentes y los importantes contrastes que siguen apreciándose entre diferentes centros.…”