Structural characteristics and process quality in early childhood education and care

This literature review examined how structural features of early childhood education and care settings relate to the quality of interactions and experiences for children aged 0 to 5. The strongest evidence showed that staff qualifications and professional development improve quality, as do smaller group sizes and lower child-staff ratios. Quality rating systems at the national level were associated with better quality, though many lack the ability to distinguish between different levels of quality. Evidence was limited for very young children aged 0 to 2 and for family daycare settings.

Key points

• Staff pre-service and professional development showed the strongest positive relationship with process quality
• Smaller group sizes and lower child-staff ratios were generally positively related to process quality
• Quality rating and improvement systems at system level were associated with higher process quality, but most lacked sensitivity in differentiating fine-grained quality levels
• Evidence showed complex interactions between structural features at different levels that jointly predicted quality
• Most studies focused on centre-based provision for ages 3-5; limited evidence for ages 0-2 and family daycare

Limitations

This is a literature review synthesising existing research, so it cannot determine causation or test interventions directly. The evidence base is heavily skewed towards centre-based settings for older preschoolers, limiting what we know about quality factors for very young children and family-based care.