A National Review of Policy, Practice and Research Relating to Quality in Early Childhood Care and Education in Ireland 1990-2004
Researched and Written by Maresa Duignan and Thomas Walsh
This report presents a detailed review of documentation pertaining to quality in early childhood care and education. Policy, practice and research in this arena in Ireland, has experienced a renaissance since the early 1990’s and this has resulted in a marked increase in related documentation, particularly since the introduction of statutory regulation of pre school services in 1997.
Policy, practice and research documentation is considered in separate chapters.
The complex web of policy, related to ECCE, emanating from statutory and non-statutory organisations, is clearly and concisely presented along with its implications for the work of the CECDE towards the development of the NFQ.
The search for documentary evidence of practical initiatives related to quality revealed a rich store of information and expertise, which provides valuable insight and direction towards the development and implementation of the NFQ. The overarching implications of this body of material are summarised and presented.
Whilst comparatively little research has been completed at a national level on the issue of quality in ECCE, many individual organisations and researchers have been engaged in addressing the key questions of quality over the past decade. In this section, the contribution of this body of work is considered and the implications for the development of the NFQ are presented.
The report concludes with a discussion of the generic themes that have emerged from the review in relation to defining, assessing and supporting quality in ECCE in Ireland. A synthesis of these themes is presented along with eight recommendations for future actions towards the development, implementation and maintenance of a National Framework for Quality in ECCE in Ireland.
Insights on Quality may be downloaded in in full here or in sections below:
Centre for Early Childhood Development & Education
Gate Lodge, St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. Tel: 00353 (0)1 8842110 Fax: 00353 (0)1 8842111
Email: early.childhood@spd.dcu.ie
