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The Discourse on Quality in Early Childhood Education: What Can We Agree On?

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Professor James HeckmanNobel laureate economist

• Who gets to define quality?– Bureaucrats from a

govt education dept– Auditors from a

professional association

– Academic experts– Local stakeholders– Preschool

proprietors

Can quality in ECE be decontextualised and measured with detached and objective application of universal and timeless criteria?

Can quality accommodate diversity, subjectivity, multiple perspectives, temporal and spatial context?

• Can quality be culturally specific?– British quality …– Singaporean quality …– Indian quality …

… societally/ culturally specific?

… a universal and objective norm?

The discourse on quality

Is defining quality a wild goose chase?

The United States only member country not to ratify agreement

The Quality Ratings Model

… value-free technical choices?

The physical environmenteg: • utilisation of space• furnishings & fittings• maintenance,

cleanliness• learning environment• gross/ fine motor

equipment

Health, safety & nutritioneg: • safety measures• supervision of children• fire/ emergency

measures• first aid supplies• hygiene practices• menu planning/ food

preparation

Administrationeg: • children’s particulars• parent/ guardian info• centre rules and

regulations• dispensing medicines• centre log book• staff records

Staff training/ qualificationseg: • first aid trained• staff to child ratios• % cert, dip, degree• staff trained in special

needs

Programme & curriculumeg: • philosophy of centre• programme planning• lesson/ activity plans• learning centres• progress of children• classroom management• centre-parent

partnership

dangerof rampant subjectivity

pointless precision of objectivism

Summing up …

We can probably agree on the

minimum standards

• In seeking quality, is it possible to require precise, demanding and public conditions, and not equate accountability with accounting?

• Can quality be identified studying actual practice, recognising that there may be many meanings or understandings, and not attempt to reduce it to fit preconceived criteria?

• Can quality be about the pedagogical work, documenting and making public what children are doing, and entering into dialogue about that work?

• Can quality be about ethical and philosophical choices, judgments of value, made in relation to what we want for our children today and in the future?

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