Structural Factors and Policy Change as Related to the Quality of Early Childhood Education and Care for 3–4 Year Olds in the UK

Abstract

In many developed countries it is now the norm for preschool children to spend time outside the home in early childhood education and care (ECEC). Research indicates that attending ECEC can promote longer-term positive life outcomes, which is more likely when the ECEC is of higher quality. In a UK study of 600 ECEC group settings for 3-4 year olds, staff qualifications were predictive of quality at private (for profit) settings. For voluntary (not for profit) settings, which were more homogenous in staff qualifications, having a staff training plan and a better staff to child ratio were found to be significant predictors of quality. However, state funded nursery classes/schools, which tend to have less favorable staff to child ratios than private and voluntary settings, also tended to have higher process quality ratings, where the presence of more highly qualified staff apparently allowed quality to be maintained with a larger number of children per staff member. A comparison of equivalent quality data from separate UK studies, conducted before and after a period of substantial policy change in relation to ECEC quality, indicated that policy change may have powerful effects in improving ECEC quality with implications for long-term child, and potentially adult, well-being.Keywords: early childhood education and care (ECEC), preschool, policy change, early years educational policy, early years and leadership Frontiers in Education | www.frontiersin.org

A Scoping Review of Quality in Early Childhood Publicly-Funded Programs

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“…Wages and working conditions included elements such as, staff turnover (n = 4), wages (n = 9), working conditions (n = 2), and sufficient staffing (n = 2). Higher staff/educator wages and lower turnover are common features of highquality programming (Jenkins, 2003;Melhuish & Gardiner, 2018;Minervino, 2014;Saluja et al, 2001). Two sources also indicated that turnover can have a negative effect on children and argued that programs in public school systems may be able to ensure lower turnover rates.…”

An observation study of the implementation and quality of a policy-based early childhood education program for newly arrived refugee children in Germany

“…Literature supports that effective policy modi cations can increase program quality along with program impact (Melhuish et al, 2019). Structural characteristics are therefore the distal and regulable aspects of ECE and thus the main objective of statutory quality regulations.…”

Respect for Early Childhood Education: Editorial

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