The relationship between teacher qualification and the quality of the early childhood education and care environment

Abstract

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...

Structural characteristics and process quality in early childhood education and care

“…Also the geographical location of a preschool might be related to process quality. For instance, in rural areas there is less availability of ECEC and there is some evidence suggesting lower quality of ECEC in rural areas in China and the United States (Hu et al, 2016a [64] ; Maher, Frestedt and Grace, 2008 [65] ).…”

Process quality in Portuguese preschool classrooms serving children at-risk of poverty and social exclusion and children with disabilities

“…Research findings, however, are far from conclusive. For example, in a recent meta-analysis (Manning, Garvis, Fleming, & Wong, 2017), teacher education was positively associated with overall process quality as measured by the Environment Rating Scales, namely the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS), the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale and their revised versions. Similarly, Pianta et al (2005) found positive effects of having a bachelors' degree in ECEC on both Emotional Climate as measured by the CLASS and the Provisions for Learning factor, based on the ECERS-R.…”

What characteristics of funding, provision and regulation are associated with effective social investment in ECEC in England, France and Germany?

“…Quality in terms of staff ratios and qualifications (which can be associated with ratios) varies between countries as do adherence to a common curriculum, and inspection arrangements (see Table 2). Focusing on staff qualifications, a crucial indicator of quality (Manning et al, 2017), there are clear differences between countries. In France, qualified teachers are employed in écoles maternelles, and most crèches employ staff with degree level qualifications.…”

“…Staff qualifications are of fundamental importance as regards quality: there is a positive association between teacher qualifications and the quality of the early childhood learning environment. Furthermore, low child-to-staff ratios are associated with greater academic progress (Manning et al, 2017). A common curriculum can play a crucial role in ensuring the quality of ECEC services and ensure more consistency within jurisdictions (OECD, 2015).…”