Quality Early Childhood Education and Care for Children Under Age 3

Reader’s guide

The OECD Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS Starting Strong) is an international, large-scale survey of staff and leaders in early childhood education and care (ECEC). TALIS Starting Strong uses questionnaires administered to ECEC staff and leaders to gather data. Its main goal is to generate robust international information relevant to developing and implementing policies focused on ECEC staff and leaders and their pedagogical and professional practices, with an emphasis on those aspects that promote conditions for children’s learning, development and well-being. It gives ECEC staff and leaders an opportunity to share their insights, allowing them to provide input into policy analysis and development in key areas. It is also a collaboration between participating countries, the OECD and an international research consortium. TALIS Starting Strong builds on the OECD’s 20 years of experience in conducting ECEC policy reviews in the context of the Starting Strong series, the guidance of the OECD Network on Early Childhood Education and Care, and the established TALIS programme collecting data from school principals and teachers.

TALIS Starting Strong seeks to serve the goals of its three main beneficiaries: policy makers, ECEC practitioners and researchers. First, it aims to help policy makers review and develop policies that promote high-quality ECEC, for both professionals in the field and children. Second, TALIS Starting Strong aims to help staff, leaders and ECEC stakeholders to reflect upon and discuss their practice and find ways to enhance it. Third, TALIS Starting Strong builds upon past research to inform the future work of researchers.

TALIS Starting Strong has a cross-cutting focus on equity and diversity in addition to other areas covered by the survey, including staff and leaders’ practices, beliefs, initial preparation, professional development and well-being; as well as other dimensions of process and structural quality. More information on the conceptualisation of these areas is available in the Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018 Conceptual Framework (Sim et al., 2019[1]).

This report is based on information and data available up to January 2020. The analysis presented does not consider any potential environmental and socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Country coverage

This publication features results from staff and leaders who provide ECEC to children under age 3 in Denmark, Germany, Israel and Norway. Data collection in settings serving children under age 3 was an optional component of TALIS Starting Strong 2018, which focused on staff and leaders in pre-primary education (ISCED Level 02) settings in nine countries: Chile, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway and Turkey. Findings from pre-primary settings as well as settings for children under age 3 are available in the TALIS Starting Strong series (OECD, 2019[2]).

In the tables throughout the report, countries are ranked in alphabetical order, with one exception: countries that did not meet the standards on TALIS Starting Strong participation rates are presented last in the tables. Similarly, countries that did not meet the standards on TALIS Starting Strong participation rates are not shown in any figures presenting results of the survey.

One note applies to the information on data for Israel:

• The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.

How is this report organised?

This report presents the results and policy recommendations emerging from TALIS Starting Strong for ECEC settings for children under age 3.

• Chapter 1 gives readers an overview of the main findings and policy implications of the report.

• Chapter 2 describes the policy contexts of ECEC for children under age 3 as well as the governance and organisation of this sector in each of the four participating countries.

• Chapter 3 investigates the characteristics of settings, such as location and size, as well as characteristics of the workforce, including education and experience in the ECEC sector.

• Chapter 4 describes the practices that staff use with children and links these aspects of process quality to characteristics of settings and the workforce.

• Annex A contains information about the TALIS Starting Strong sampling procedures, response rates, sample sizes and a summary of the adjudication outcomes for each sample, along with cautionary notes about interpretation of the results, when necessary.

• Annex B contains information about complex variables derived from the staff and leader questionnaires that are analysed in the report and statistical methods used to analyse the data.

• Annex C contains the full list of online results tables.

What are the key features of the TALIS Starting Strong design?

The key features of the TALIS Starting Strong design are as follows:

• Target sample size: Minimum of 180 ECEC settings per country and level of ECEC (pre-primary education and settings serving children under age 3).

• Target response rate for staff: 75% of the sampled ECEC settings, together with a 75% response rate from staff within participating ECEC settings. An ECEC setting is considered to have participated if 50% of sampled staff within the setting responded to at least one question in the survey.

• Target response rate for leaders: 75% of the sampled leaders in the country.

• Questionnaires: Separate questionnaires for staff and leaders, each requiring approximately 45 minutes to complete. In addition, a combined questionnaire was used for staff in very small settings (i.e. with only one staff member or with only one main teacher and assisting staff) that included suitable questions from both the staff questionnaire and the leader questionnaire.

• Mode of data collection: Questionnaires were completed on paper or on line.

• Survey windows: March to May 2018 for countries participating on a northern hemisphere schedule and August to October 2018 for countries participating on a southern hemisphere schedule (with some extensions in both cases).

Further details on the sample for all target populations can be found in Annex A.

Classification of levels of early childhood education and care and the TALIS Starting Strong sample

The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) is an instrument for compiling statistics on education internationally. It distinguishes the following levels of education:

• early childhood education (ISCED Level 0)

  • early childhood educational development (ISCED Level 01)

  • pre-primary education (ISCED Level 02)

• primary education (ISCED Level 1)

• lower secondary education (ISCED Level 2)

• upper secondary education (ISCED Level 3)

• post-secondary non-tertiary education (ISCED Level 4)

• short-cycle tertiary education (ISCED Level 5)

• bachelor’s or equivalent (ISCED Level 6)

• master’s or equivalent (ISCED Level 7)

• doctoral or equivalent (ISCED Level 8).

Within early childhood education (ISCED Level 0), settings classified under ISCED-2011 have an intentional educational component and aim to develop cognitive, physical and socio-emotional skills necessary for participation in school and society. Programmes at this level are often differentiated by age, with early childhood educational development serving children under age 3 and pre-primary education serving children from age 3 until entry into primary school. Pre-primary settings in TALIS Starting Strong meet the ISCED-2011 definition for ISCED Level 02. Settings serving children under age 3 in TALIS Starting Strong were not required to meet the ISCED-2011 definition for ISCED Level 01.

Despite the distinction made by ISCED-2011 within ISCED Level 0, many countries, including several participating in TALIS Starting Strong, offer an integrated ECEC system. In integrated ECEC systems, a single government ministry or authority oversees ECEC programmes from birth or age 1 until entry into primary school. For countries with integrated ECEC systems that participated in data collection for both pre-primary settings and settings for children under age 3 (Denmark, Germany and Norway), the TALIS Starting Strong sampling strategy randomly split ECEC programmes that were expected to cover both age groups to be included in the sampling universe for one population of interest or the other. In this way, programmes could be sampled as part of the pre-primary sample or as part of the sample of settings for children under age 3, but the same programme would not be sampled for both levels of ECEC.

Next, staff were sampled within these settings if they were serving children within the designated level of ECEC. As a result, the sample of staff and leaders in settings for children under age 3 is representative of staff and leaders in settings providing services for this age group across all four participating countries, regardless of whether an integrated system exists or not. Furthermore, programmes included in the samples for ECEC for children under age 3 may also serve younger or older children. Home-based settings were included in the samples of settings for children under age 3 in Denmark, Germany and Israel. These represent 16% of the settings serving children under age 3 in Denmark and Germany and 60% in Israel.

The specific programmes or settings vary across and within countries (see Box 1 for details on the types of settings covered in each participating country).

Box 1. Early childhood education and care settings included in TALIS Starting Strong

 

Denmark	Kindergartens, integrated institutions, nurseries, day care facilities and home-based day care
Germany	Kindergartens, school kindergartens, pre-school classes, mixed-age ECEC centres, day nurseries and family day care
Israel	Kindergartens, day care centres and family day care
Norway	Kindergartens

Notes: The settings listed here are the English translations of the setting types within each country. These translations were used for the purposes of creating the TALIS Starting Strong sampling frame.

Data underlying the report

TALIS Starting Strong results are based exclusively on self-reports from ECEC staff and leaders and, therefore, represent their opinions, perceptions, beliefs and accounts of their activities. The views of staff and leaders provide insight into how they perceive the ECEC environments in which they work and how policies in place are carried out in practice. But, as with any self-reported data, the information is subjective and may, therefore, differ from data collection through other means (e.g. administrative data or observations). The same is true of leaders’ reports about centre characteristics, sources of funding and practices, which may differ from descriptions provided by administrative data at national or local government levels. TALIS Starting Strong does not directly measure children’s learning, development and well-being nor does it provide data on children and families participating in ECEC. No data imputation from administrative data or other studies is conducted.

In addition, as a cross-sectional survey, TALIS Starting Strong cannot assess causality. For instance, in examining the relationship between staff education and process quality, it is possible to determine the direction (positive, negative) of the association, its strength and statistical significance. It is not possible, however, to establish whether different levels of staff education lead to different levels of process quality or whether settings with different levels of process quality attract staff with different educational profiles.

Results from both staff and leaders are included throughout the report, to understand the different aspects of ECEC settings that matter for children’s learning, development and well-being. The analyses also aim to draw meaningful international comparisons while acknowledging the complex differences in ECEC systems across participating countries. Throughout the report, emphasis is put on contextualising the findings by highlighting aspects of national settings, and also by breaking down results according to contextual variables, for instance, whether settings include a minority or a majority of children under age 3.

Results are presented only when estimates are based on at least 10 settings/leaders and/or 30 staff. The results referred to in this volume can be found in Annex C and through OECD StatLinks at the bottom of the tables and figures throughout the report.

Reporting staff and leader data

As part of the TALIS Starting Strong 2018 data collection, all staff who worked regularly in a pedagogical way with children in officially registered settings providing ECEC in participating countries were eligible to participate. Within ECEC settings, centre co‑ordinators identified staff as eligible to participate as a centre leader (the person with the most responsibility for administrative, managerial and/or pedagogical leadership) or in one of several roles working directly with children: teacher, assistant, staff for individual children, staff for special tasks, or intern. In some countries, other specific staff roles were also included, but these roles were simultaneously coded to reflect one of the overarching international categories.

The initial assignment of staff to these categories ensured that all staff who were eligible to participate were included in the sample selection process and, if selected, were asked to complete the relevant questionnaire (leader or staff). A combined questionnaire was used for staff in very small settings (i.e. with only one staff member or with only one main teacher and assisting staff). It included suitable questions both from the staff questionnaire and the leader questionnaire. Respondents who completed these combined questionnaires are included in the data reported for both staff and leaders.

The staff categories used to identify staff eligible for participation were also used after data collection to group respondents according to their overall roles in the ECEC settings, focusing on teachers and assistants. Teachers are those with the most responsibility for a group of children. Assistants support the teacher with a group of children. This distinction is used in many of the tables and analyses that provide a comparison between teachers and assistants.

However, several countries do not make a distinction between teachers and assistants in this way. In settings serving children under age 3 in Israel, fewer than 1% of participating staff were identified as assistants, making the comparison between teachers and assistants impossible for this population as well. In the remaining countries and populations (Denmark, Germany and Norway), the roles of teacher and assistant can, but do not necessarily, reflect differences in staff credentials. Rather, for TALIS Starting Strong, the difference between teachers and assistants is defined to reflect the roles that staff members typically have within their settings.

Reporting staff data

The report uses the term “staff” as shorthand for the TALIS Starting Strong population of teachers, assistants, staff for individual children, staff for special tasks and interns. In addition, leaders who also had staff duties (e.g. those working alone or in very small settings) are included in the staff data throughout this report.

Reporting leader data

The report uses the term “leader” to identify the person who was identified as having the most responsibility for administrative, managerial and/or pedagogical leadership in their settings. Responses from leaders who also had staff duties (e.g. those working alone or in very small settings) are included in both the leader data and the staff data throughout this report. Leaders provided information on the characteristics of their settings and their own work and working conditions by completing a leader questionnaire or a combined questionnaire. Where responses from leaders are presented in this publication, they are usually weighted to be representative of leaders. In some cases, leader responses are treated as attributes of staff working conditions. In such cases, leaders’ answers are analysed at the staff level and weighted to be representative of staff (see Annex B).

Staff reports of their own roles in the target group

In addition to the initial categories used to classify staff for participation in TALIS Starting Strong, staff who participated in the survey had the opportunity to describe their roles within a specific group. Staff were asked to consider the first group of children that they worked with on their last working day before the survey (the target group) and to select the category that best represented their role in that group on that day (leader, teacher, assistant, staff for individual children, staff for special tasks, intern or other). Throughout the report, those who describe themselves as “leaders” and “teachers” are grouped together to describe the staff with the most responsibility in the target group.

These staff reports do not necessarily reflect staff members’ broader roles in the ECEC centre, but they provide contextual information for other questions that were asked about the target group. These role distinctions are used in tables and analyses that focus on the target group.

Leader reports of roles within their settings

Leaders provided an overview of the number of staff in each category working in their ECEC settings (leaders, teachers, assistants, staff for individual children, staff for special tasks, interns and other staff). These data cannot be linked to individual staff responses on the questionnaire, but they give a summary of the human resources available in each participating ECEC centre. These role distinctions are used in tables and analyses at the centre level.

Reporting data on the number of children

For a subset of questions, staff reported on their work with the target group (the first group of children that they worked with on their last working day before the survey). In some cases, the target group may reflect a stable group of children and adults. In other cases, the target group may reflect a staff member’s full day of work, involving many other staff (e.g. those who join the group for special activities or who come to ensure that the required group ratios are maintained while another staff member takes a break) and perhaps a changing set of children as well. In settings for children under 3 in Israel, target groups comprise a classroom that can be organised into smaller subgroups depending on the ages of the children.

To better understand the numbers of staff and children that interact together in these target groups, this report refers to the number of staff per child in the target group. With regard to target groups, the “number of staff per child” refers to the total number of staff working with the target group, regardless of their role, divided by the number of children in the target group. Because the number of staff per individual child is low, when specific examples are cited for comparative purposes, they are presented as the “number of staff per ten children” in the target group. This grouping of ten children is designed to facilitate comparisons across different staffing approaches and different countries. It does not imply that target groups include only or exactly ten children; some target groups may be larger and others smaller. The results can be interpreted as the average number of staff (i.e. leaders, teachers, assistants, staff for individual children, staff for special tasks, interns or others) with whom a group of ten children may interact at various points during their time in the target group.

In addition to reporting the number of staff working in their settings, leaders also report on the number of children enrolled in their settings. To understand the numbers of staff and children that interact together in settings, this report also refers to the number of staff per child in the centre. In regard to settings, the “number of staff per child” refers to the total number of staff working in a setting, regardless of their role, divided by the total number of children enrolled. Again, because the number of staff per individual child is low, when specific examples are cited for comparative purposes, they are presented as the “number of staff per ten children” in the setting. The results can be interpreted as the average number of staff (i.e. leaders, teachers, assistants, staff for individual children, staff for special tasks, interns or others) with whom a group of ten children may interact at various points during their time in the setting.

These TALIS Starting Strong indicators on the “number of staff per child” differ from regulated child-to-staff ratios, as they do not take into account factors such as whether staff members are working full-time or part-time, the number of hours during which each child attends the centre, and the time staff are expected to directly interact with children (versus time when staff may be present at the centre but engaged in other types of work, such as planning or professional development).

Rounding figures

Because of rounding, some figures in tables may not add up exactly to the totals. Totals, differences and averages are always calculated on the basis of exact numbers and are rounded only after calculation.

All standard errors in the publication have been rounded to one, two or three decimal places. Where the value 0.0, 0.00 or 0.000 is shown, this does not imply that the standard error is zero, but that it is smaller than 0.05, 0.005 or 0.0005, respectively.

Statistically significant differences

Statistically significant differences are denoted using different colours in figures. See Annex B for further information.

Additional data sources

Throughout the report, additional data sources are included to better understand the context of ECEC systems in participating countries. Additional data sources include the OECD’s Education at a Glance publication (2019[3]), the OECD Family Database (2020[4]) and an OECD policy survey on Quality beyond Regulations (2019[5]). The OECD Quality beyond Regulations policy survey provides data on the policies and regulations governing aspects of quality in ECEC settings. It was completed in 2019 by ministries and governing authorities responsible for the oversight of ECEC in countries, including the countries participating in TALIS Starting Strong. This publication presents the first findings of the OECD Quality beyond Regulations policy survey for countries participating in TALIS Starting Strong.

Abbreviations

• ECEC Early childhood education and care

• ISCED International Standard Classification of Education

• PPP Purchasing power parity (i.e. the purchasing power of staff salaries using a common currency [USD] to facilitate cross-country comparisons)

• QRIS Quality rating and improvement systems

• s.e. Standard error

• TALIS Teaching and Learning International Survey

Further technical documentation

For further information on the TALIS Starting Strong instruments and the methods used, see the TALIS Starting Strong 2018 Technical Report (OECD, 2019[6]).

This report uses OECD StatLinks. All tables and figures are assigned a URL linking to a corresponding Excel^TM workbook containing the underlying data. These URLs are stable and will remain unchanged over time. In addition, readers of the e-books will be able to click directly on these links, and the workbook will open in a separate window if their Internet browser is open and running.

References

[4] OECD (2020), OECD Family Database, https://stats.oecd.org (accessed on 13 January 2020).

[3] OECD (2019), Education at a Glance 2019: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/f8d7880d-en.

[5] OECD (2019), “OECD Network on Early Childhood Education and Care: Quality beyond Regulations survey”, Internal document, OECD, Paris.

[2] OECD (2019), Providing Quality Early Childhood Education and Care: Results from the Starting Strong Survey 2018, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/301005d1-en.

[6] OECD (2019), TALIS Starting Strong 2018 Technical Report, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://www.oecd.org/education/talis/TALIS-Starting-Strong-2018-Technical-Report.pdf.

[1] Sim, M. et al. (2019), “Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018 Conceptual Framework”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 197, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/106b1c42-en.