ERIC Number: EJ1103082
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0300-4430
EISSN: N/A
Comparing Quality of Childcare and Kindergarten Centres: The Need for a Strong and Equal Partnership in the Greek Early Childhood Education System
Gregoriadis, A.; Tsigilis, N.; Grammatikopoulos, V.; Kouli, O.
Early Child Development and Care, v186 n7 p1142-1151 2016
The purpose of this study was to examine whether kindergartens and childcare centres differ in terms of educational and caregiving components. More specifically, two aspects of the process quality of the early childhood education and care were examined regarding the "Activities" and the "Programme Structure." A multi-stage sampling technique was applied to recruit a national representative sample from the Greek early childhood education system. A total of 535 early childhood classrooms from kindergarten and childcare programmes participated in the study, together with 4158 children. The quality of the participating classrooms was evaluated with the use of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) edition. Results showed a medium-quality picture from both the kindergarten and childcare classrooms. Explanations are provided regarding the statistically significant differences between the two types of preschool programmes. This study attempts to initiate a discussion about the need to build a strong and equal partnership between kindergarten and childcare programmes and to move towards a more coherent approach in the Greek early childhood education system.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Educational Quality, Child Care Centers, Kindergarten, Early Childhood Education, Partnerships in Education, Learning Activities, Rating Scales, Statistical Analysis, Program Effectiveness, Institutional Characteristics, Observation, Multivariate Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Kindergarten; Primary Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Greece
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A