Consensus as a prerequisite for quality in early child care: The dutch case

The rapid growth in the number of nurseries and playgroups in the Netherlands since 1990 has given an impetus to concerns about the quality of these provisions. We argue that parents and staff should define the educational goals that are needed to evaluate the quality of education in child centers. Using data from two surveys, one with child care center staff and one with parents, we will show that on a general level there seems to be an overlap in goal preferences of parents and staff. A closer look, however, reveals a lack of agreement about important goals. Communication between caregivers and parents about educational goals and practices has to be improved. We also make some recommendations for improving the relationship between staff and parents aimed at building consensus about the goals of education in child care centers.