Skip to main content
Article
Domains of quality in early childhood education and care: A scoping review of the extent and consistency of the literature
Educational Review (2022)
  • Patricia Eadie, The University of Melbourne
  • Jane Page, University of Melbourne
  • Penny Levickis, The University of Melbourne
  • Catriona Elek, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
  • Lisa Murray
  • Liang(Lucas) Wang
  • Catherine Lloyd-Johnsen
Abstract
Early childhood education and care programmes provide opportunities to enhance children’s learning and development, especially when high-quality learning experiences and educator-child interactions are embedded within them. However, the quality of early childhood education programmes varies greatly. Quality in early childhood education and care is conceptualised in three domains: structural, process and system. Understanding how to drive quality improvements in early childhood education and care relies on clear, consistent evidence concerning each of these domains, however, the current literature is not comprehensive. This scoping review maps the extent and consistency of the research literature in each domain of quality to identify knowledge gaps and inform future research. Through a search of the peer-reviewed literature, 85 meta-analyses and systematic reviews meeting our inclusion criteria were identified. We found a wide variation in the number of included studies in each domain and sub-domain of quality. We found the greatest number of meta-analyses and systematic reviews related to programmes, interventions, and curricula (process quality) and professional development and support (structural quality). The literature included in this scoping review is heterogeneous and of varying methodological quality, with inconsistent or contradictory findings. The research is most consistent in relation to pedagogy, professional development and support, and programmes, interventions, and curricula (process quality) and learning environments (structural quality). Interactions between the different domains of quality are complex and future research should focus on the associations between different features of quality in early childhood education programmes and practices that are critical to implementing successful continuous improvement initiatives.
Keywords
  • Early childhood education
Publication Date
June 7, 2022
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2022.2077704
Citation Information
Patricia Eadie, Jane Page, Penny Levickis, Catriona Elek, et al.. "Domains of quality in early childhood education and care: A scoping review of the extent and consistency of the literature" Educational Review Vol. 76 Iss. 4 (2022) p. 1057 - 1086
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/catriona-elek/3/