The University of Oxford’s Professor Iram Siraj defines “quality” in early childhood education at this online talk organised by the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).
How do we identify high quality preschools? Are high preschool fees always indicative of high quality care and education? These important questions were addressed at a recent public lecture hosted by SUSS.
At the engaging session, Professor Siraj shared how two early childhood observation rating scales—the Early Childhood Rating Scales-Revised (ECERS-R), and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale Curricular Extension (ECERS-E)—put a numerical value to quality in kindergartens and childcare settings.
The ECERS-R assesses preschool space and furnishings, personal care routines, language reasoning, activities, interaction, programme structure and staff. Complementing that, the ECERS-E examines literacy, mathematics, science and environment, and diversity in preschool curriculum.
Evidently, when it comes to quality in early education, looking at curriculum alone is not enough. Rather, “quality” encompasses having a highly qualified workforce, challenging play-based curriculum, a safe and stimulating environment as well as intentional educator practices that support sustained shared thinking and warm relationships between adults and children.
In other words, excellent preschools combine both structural quality (i.e., aspects like group size, teachers’ qualifications and child-to-teacher ratio) and process quality (i.e., daily experiences and interactions that drive development). Preschools with high fees may have good structural quality but minimal process quality. So, price is no guarantee of a great preschool.
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