Engaging Young Children
Lessons from Research about Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care
The first years of life lay the foundations for a child’s future development and learning.
Many countries have increased their financial support for provision of early childhood
education and care (ECEC) over the past years. More recently, the focus of debate
has been shifting from expanding access to affordable ECEC to enhancing its quality.
A growing body of research suggests that the magnitude of the benefits for children
will depend on the level of quality of early childhood services, with especially strong
evidence in the case of disadvantaged children.
In light of budgetary constraints, policy makers require the latest knowledge base
of the quality dimensions that are most important for ensuring children's development
and early learning. However, current research is often narrow in focus or limited
to programme-level or national-level conclusions. This book expands the knowledge
base on this topic. It draws lessons from a cross-national literature review and meta-analysis
of the relationship between early childhood education and care structure (e.g. child-staff
ratios, staff training and qualifications), process quality (i.e. the quality of staff-child
interactions and developmental activities), and links to child development and learning.
This report concludes with key insights, as well as avenues for further research.
It was co-funded by the European Union.
Published on March 27, 2018
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