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Towards Competent Systems in Early Childhood Education and Care. Implications for Policy and Practice
Author(s) -
Urban Mathias,
Vandenbroeck Michel,
Van Laere Katrien,
Lazzari Arianna,
Peeters Jan
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
european journal of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1465-3435
pISSN - 0141-8211
DOI - 10.1111/ejed.12010
Subject(s) - early childhood education , competence (human resources) , early childhood , pedagogy , reciprocal , child care , political science , sociology , psychology , medicine , developmental psychology , nursing , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy
The close connection between the quality of provision for young children and professionaliation of the field has long been supported by international research. That the two are inseparable aspects of one picture is beginning to become accepted at European policy level, as evident in recent high level EU policy documents. This article explores the reciprocal relationship between quality and professionalisation, drawing on the findings of the study on ‘competence requirements in early childhood education and care’ ( CoRe ), jointly conducted by the U niversity of E ast L ondon and the U niversity of G ent, and funded by the E uropean C ommission. Based on a review of literature in several European languages and data from a 15‐country survey and seven in‐depth case studies, CoRe has identified systemic conditions for a professionalisation of the entire early childhood system, beyond the formal qualification levels of individual practitioners. The article argues for a critical and systemic reconceptualisation of professional practice in a competent system .