Discover what high‑quality early childhood education really looks like and the key indicators used to measure it.
The articles in this section cover the practices, environments, and teaching approaches that define quality ECE and help children thrive.
The key elements that decades of international research show are essential for high‑quality early childhood education. If you want to understand why ratios, group size and teacher training – the “iron triangle of quality” – matter so much for children’s development, this is a clear and valuable guide.
The formula to produce quality early childhood education that is remarkable for children reflects over thirty years of research into factors important for effective teaching
Quality Teaching Early Foundations Dr Sarah Alexander Quality teaching from birth lays a foundation for children’s later educational achievement. Quality teaching during the early years
“Quality” – What is quality in early childhood education really? By Dr Sarah Alexander. It is usual for ‘quality early childhood education’ to be talked about
Group size refers to the number of children who interact together with the same teachers in a defined space, and research shows that small groups are essential for responsive relationships, healthy development, and high‑quality ECE. NZ’s regulations allow the total licence size to act as the group size, a practice that conflicts with international evidence and undermines efforts to ensure quality ECE.
Research comparing centres with full ECE‑qualified staffing to those with lower qualification levels shows that children benefit significantly when every teacher is trained in early childhood education. This article explains why one hundred percent qualified staffing strengthens conversations, complex play, intentional teaching, and continuity of care.
Degree‑level ECE training is shown to be the minimum qualification needed for teachers to deliver the intentional pedagogy and long‑term learning gains children deserve, with research demonstrating that anything less produces outcomes no better than having no qualified teacher at all. These studies make it clear that only fully trained ECE teachers are truly qualified to support children’s development in ways that last well into the school years.
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