A Review of International Policies, Practices and Research Relating to Quality in Early Childhood Care and Education
Edited by Heino Schonfeld, Dr. Gemma Kiernan and Thomas Walsh
There has been great activity internationally on the question of quality in Early Childhood Care and Education. While the NFQ will primarily reflect Irish developments in recent years, it is important to procure an understanding of international models of policy, practice and research in relation to quality. Much can be learned from the successes and failures in other jurisdictions and cross-national comparisons provide an opportunity for critical reflection on many unquestioned assumptions and practices in Ireland.
In consultation with the CECDE, the CSER chose seven countries for inclusion within the review. These were chose to attain a good representation of particular models of ECCE provision internationally. The countries profiled are Germany, Italy, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, Norway and New Zealand. It was considered important to include Northern Ireland by virtue of our geographical proximity and our aspiration towards enhanced harmonisation of policies under the Good Friday Agreement.
Following an outline of the context of the review and a brief analysis of the complexity of the concept of quality in ECCE, each country is profiled individually. Owing to the variations in structure and operation of ECCE provision in all countries, the review is presented within a broad framework. This includes the following aspects for each country with varying sub-headings, reflecting the organisation of ECCE within various jurisdictions:
Introduction
Context for Quality
Defining Quality
Assessing Quality
Supporting Quality
Educational Disadvantage and Special Needs
Implications for Ireland
The report concludes with a synthesis of the common themes from the cross-national review and an outline of the implications of the findings for the development of the NFQ in the Irish context. These implications include the need for a coordinated policy framework, the use of a broad and flexible definition of quality, the engagement of all stakeholders, the provision of adequate pre-service and in-service training and an adequate support infrastructure to assist implementation.
Making Connections 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
