The characteristics and quality of pre-school education in Spain

Abstract

We examined 25 four-year-old pre-school classrooms from a random sample of 15 schools within a large urban city in southern Spain. Observational measures of classroom quality included the Early Childhood Environment Rating ScaleRevised, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System and the Observation of Activities in Pre-school. Findings revealed that, on average, classroom quality was low in regards to space and materials, developmentally appropriate activities and instruction; however, classrooms were relatively high on positive climate and productivity, and teachers demonstrated positive relationships with families. The observed ratio of children to teachers was high across classrooms. Results from regression analyses indicate that a higher ratio was associated with lower quality language modelling, teacher feedback and personal care routines available in these settings. Qualitative data from teacher interviews highlighted the importance of a pre-school education for children's development and school readiness, but also emphasised the challenges teachers faced with the new government-subsidised, universal pre-school programme, including increased class sizes and a lack of staff and resources. Implications for maintaining highquality programme standards are discussed.

Structural characteristics and process quality in early childhood education and care

“…First, Love et al (2003 [15] ) have suggested that a restricted range of variance within countries could explain inconsistent results. This appears plausible as most countries have (strong) quality regulations and monitoring systems in place, particularly for a couple of the most commonly studied characteristics, such as staff qualifications, group size and child-staff ratio (Resa et al, 2016 [105] ). However, even cross-national studies have shown that there was considerable variance in some characteristics both within and between countries [e.g.…”

Competencias sociales y emocionales del profesorado de Educación Infantil y su relación con la gestión del clima de aula

“…En relación al número de alumnos por aula, es lógico y comprensible que afecte negativamente al clima de aula en Educación Infantil, puesto que se difi culta el control y el mantenimiento de la atención en alumnos de tan corta edad: que tienen menor capacidad de mantener la atención durante largos periodos de tiempo y un solo profesor tiene más complicado resolver dicha situación (Sandstrom, 2012).…”

Daycare Center Attendance Buffers the Effects of Maternal Authoritarian Parenting Style on Physical Aggression in Children

“…In Spain, a free preschool education period is provided to all children willing to enroll. Subsidized educational services are provided to nearly 100% of 3- to-5-year-old children, above any other European country (see Sandstrom, 2012 , for further information). Children were assessed at kindergarten and first grade.…”

“…Daycare attendance is expected to be a buffering protective factor in the associations between maternal authoritarian style and physical aggression. Due maternal authoritarian style was shown a risk factor for the development of aggressive behavior ( Braza et al, 2015 ), we expect that Spanish daycare center, characterized by a positive classroom atmosphere ( Sandstrom, 2012 ), may buffer this negative effect.…”