Understanding quality and success in Early Year settings: Practitioners' perspectives

Alexander, Elise (2017). Understanding quality and success in Early Year settings: Practitioners' perspectives. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-851662

There is increasing recognition of the importance of high quality staff in early years settings in the light of the government’s efforts to reform services for young children and their families through the Children Act 2004. Indeed, staff qualified to higher levels have been identified as a significant factor in the provision of high quality services. However, earlier research suggests that practitioners may be confused about what constitutes quality in the care and education of young children, and this confusion may be exacerbated by the wide range of stakeholders in the new children’s services. This research aims to examine practitioners’ understandings of quality and success in the context of their particular settings, the effects of these understandings on the children with whom they work and the implications for training and professional development. To gain insights into practitioners’ perspectives, interviews and observations will be carried out in 18 settings (nursery classes, schools, private day nurseries and children’s centres) in two London Boroughs and two shire counties, selected on the basis of ‘good’ Ofsted reports. This research will also contribute to a wider debate about the development of practitioners’ professional knowledge.

Data description (abstract)

This data is formed of a combination of interviews used to gain practitioners' perspectives on the understanding of quality and success in early year settings. A mixture of biographical questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and observations were used across 18 settings (4 schools, 3 private day nurseries and 11 Children's Centres). Perspectives were sought from a range of 165 practitioners, including heads of schools and centres, nursery nurses, teachers and assistants. A total of 66 interview transcripts were obtained discussing the understanding of 'quality' and 'success' in their context, the expression of such understandings in the daily experiences of the children and the implications of these understandings in professional development planning. Observations were conducted on 70 children but were not included for reasons of ethics and confidentiality promised to the participants verbally.

Data creators:
Creator Name Affiliation ORCID (as URL)
Alexander Elise Roehampton University
Contributors:
Name Affiliation ORCID (as URL)
Tallant Laura University of East Anglia
Cottle Michelle Roehampton University
Nichols Michelle Roehampton University
Sponsors: ESRC
Grant reference: RES-061-23-0012
Topic classification: Social welfare policy and systems
Social stratification and groupings
Education
Labour and employment
Society and culture
Keywords: early childhood, quality, training
Project title: Understanding Quality and Success in Early Years Settings / Practitioners' Perspectives.
Grant holders: Elise Alexander
Project dates:
FromTo
1 September 200628 February 2009
Date published: 13 Feb 2015 12:49
Last modified: 14 Jul 2017 09:10

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