The problem addressed by this study was low-quality early childhood education and care programs due to low teacher educational qualifications. Poor quality early childhood education and care programs can be harmful to a child's social and emotional development, leading to poor health, economic, and behavioral outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between early childhood education and care teachers' educational qualifications and classroom quality using a correlational research design. The study based the classroom quality on the quality of teacher-child interactions using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. The study followed Lev Vygotsky's social constructivism theory. The study answered two research questions: What is the relationship between early childhood education and care teachers' educational qualifications and classroom quality? What is the relationship between Early childhood education and care teachers' Classroom Assessment Scoring System scores and their educational qualifications? Results show an increase in the early childhood education and care teachers' educational qualifications increased their classroom quality, and that Classroom Assessment Scoring System scores increased as the early childhood education and care teachers' educational qualifications increased. The results of the study may be used to set new educational requirements for early childhood education and care teachers by state officials and early childhood education and care programs. Future research should build on this study and investigate the outcomes of children in kindergarten who attended early childhood education and care programs to determine if their early childhood education and care teacher's educational qualifications influence their outcomes in kindergarten. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]