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 University of East London and the University of Gent, and funded by the European Commission. 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

Lazzari, Arianna

Peeters, Jan

Urban, M.

Van Laere, Katrien

Vandenbroeck, Michel

UEL Research Repository at University of East London

EditorialMathias UrbanWithout an understanding of history as possibility, tomorrow is problematic. In orderfor it to come, it is necessary that we build it through transforming today. Differenttomorrows are possible.The struggle is no longer reduced to either delaying what isto come or ensuring its arrival; it is necessary to reinvent the future. Education isindispensable for this reinvention. By accepting ourselves as active subjects andobjects of history, we become beings who make division. It makes us ethical beings(Paulo Freire, 1997, p. 55)Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been, since the 1992 Councilrecommendations on child care (Council of the European Communities, 1992), arecurring topic on European policy agendas. The importance of high qualityservices for young children, families and communities has recently been furtheremphasised. From a European perspective, investing in accessible early childhoodeducation and care of the highest quality is crucial to realise wide ranging strategiesand goals. These goals, laid out in the Europe 2020 strategy, are based on a bleakanalysis of the current situation:Europe faces a moment of transformation.The crisis has wiped out years of economicand social progress and exposed structural weaknesses in Europe’s economy. In themeantime, the world is moving fast and long-term challenges — globalisation,pressure on resources, ageing — intensify.The EU must now take charge of its future(European Commission, 2010, p. 3).Europe 2020 is an acknowledgement that yesterday’s solutions will not suffice to‘put Europe back on track’. Europe and its Member States will have to implementpolicies that ensure that economic growth is smart, sustainable and inclusive.Knowledge base and innovation, sustainability and social cohesion cannot bedeveloped in isolation. Against this background, coherent approaches to educa-tion, training and lifelong learning are seen as of particular importance for‘improving citizens’ employability, social inclusion and personal fulfilment’(Council of the European Union, 2010). These analyses, conclusions, goals andstrategies provide the context and arguments for the attention paid to earlychildhood services. They do so from at least two interconnected perspectives:First, early childhood education and care for all children is a cornerstone oflifelong learning:‘[. . .] there is an urgent need to reduce the current number of low achievers in basicskills — particularly reading (for which current data indicate that an average of onein four pupils is unable to read and write properly) — and to further reduce thenumber of early leavers from education and training, as well as a need to increaseparticipation in early childhood education and care, to raise the number ofyoung people with a tertiary-level qualification, and to increase adult participationin lifelong learning. Such needs are particularly acute in the case of those from adisadvantaged background, who statistically tend to perform significantly less wellagainst each of the benchmarks. Only by addressing the needs of those at risk ofbs_bs_bannerEuropean Journal of Education, Vol. 47, No. 4, 2012© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA02148, USA.social exclusion can the objectives of the Strategic Framework be properly met.’(Council of the European Union, 2010, p. 6, emphasis added)Second, early childhood services (alongside other sectors of care and education)form a considerable part of the labour market; they often recruit their workforcefrom groups that are specifically targeted by the education and training strategicframework.Thus, the early childhood sector has the potential to play an importantrole in reducing the number of early leavers of education, raising the number of young peoplein higher education, and increasing the participation in lifelong learning with regard to itsworkforce. This argument is not without contradictions. Findings of a recentEuropean research project on ‘competence requirements in early childhood educa-tion and care’ (Urban et al., 2011) point out the critical issue of high percentages ofthe early childhood workforce in many European countries with low or no formalqualification — up to 50% even in countries with a high level of professionalisationof the early childhood workforce. The ‘invisible assistants’ (ibid) do not figureprominently in debates on the professionalisation of the early childhood workforce.There is recognition, at European policy level, that ‘quality’ for children and the‘quality’ of the workforce are two sides of the same coin:Participation in high-quality early childhood education and care, with highlyskilled staff and adequate child-to-staff ratios, produces positive results for allchildren and has highest benefits for the most disadvantaged.(Council of the European Union, 2010, emphasis added)What constitutes high quality in ECEC is a complex and often contradictory matter:definitions of quality and strategies to ensure it vary considerably across countries(Penn, 2009). There is, however, a general agreement between researchers andauthors that quality is a construct that is value-laden and dependent on expectationsand perspectives. ‘Quality’ is constructed in the ways we talk about it and the wayswe aim at achieving it — in discourses, practices and contexts — all of which are subjectto constant change. A rich body of literature provides evidence of an ongoinginternational debate that has examined the practices and discourses of ‘quality’ andargued against the dominance of technocratic and managerial attempts to univer-sally define, deliver, measure and assess it (Dahlberg et al., 1999, Dahlberg et al.,2007, Pence & Moss, 1994, Penn, 2011). Helen Penn (2011) suggests that thesearch for one final definition of quality is ‘a search for fool’s gold’ (p. xi). But I arguethat it is this ongoing search, the process of continuously questioning, debating,inventing and re-inventing, valuing and evaluating practices with and for youngchildren, families and communities that constitutes quality of early childhood edu-cation and care as a democratic and transformative practice.How we understand early childhood education and care, its purposes andpractices touches on key areas of European policies. They include:— promoting democracy, citizenship, children’s and civil rights— working towards equality of opportunity and social cohesion— addressing diversity (linguistic, ethnic, cultural . . .) including children withspecial educational needs— reducing poverty and exclusion— promoting creativity and innovation.Interconnected socio-economic, educational and civil rights-based rationales forinvesting in high quality services for young children and their families have been478 European Journal of Education© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.laid out in European and international policy documents. Given the interconnect-edness and complexity of the matters at stake, there are no simple solutions,technical interventions or ‘quick fixes’ available. First and foremost, the criticalissues identified in the Europe 2020 strategy and the Lifelong Learning pro-gramme raise questions of purpose of early childhood education and care, questionsof orientation, participation and desired outcome. In imagining and building thefuture of early childhood institutions in Europe, the question is not ‘what works?’,but what should it work for, for whom and to what end? And, most important in ademocratic society, as Gert Biesta suggests, ‘who should have a say in determiningthe latter’ (Biesta, 2007, p. 5).This issue of the European Journal of Education addresses current Europeantrends and developments in the field of early childhood education and care fromthree interconnected perspectives: it provides a platform for exploring policies,practices and theoretical underpinnings relating to the institutions set up to supportyoung children and their families in Europe.There is no ‘safe ground’ on which toconstruct our research and that has consequences for design, process andoutcome: it confronts researchers with the necessity to situate and position them-selves in relation to the contested meanings. In designing and conducting researchinto the complexity of European early childhood education and care systems, weare asked not to take sides, but to take a stand. The individual contributionsapproach their specific topics within a shared framework that acknowledges thateducation is inevitably political and value based — which creates the need forconstant democratic dialogue. The choice of contributions to this issue does notattempt to offer definite answers, let alone ‘solutions’ to the ‘problem’ of earlychildhood care and education in Europe. It insists that all suggestions can only bepreliminary and are subject to constant democratic renegotiation. Rather thanpromoting one ‘right’ answer, the perspectives offered in the shared framework ofthe issue aim at exploring the critical questions we suggest we need to ask inresearch, policy and practice.The articles focus on centre-based early childhood education and care.However, providing institutions such as crèches, preschools and childcare centresis only one element, albeit important, of a coherent support system for all youngchildren, families and communities in our societies. Caring and learning in a muchbroader sense is the topic of the first article by Peter Moss. He explores therelationship between early childhood education and care provision and otherpolicies to support families, especially the entitlement to maternity and parentalleave in 25 European countries. He identifies substantial gaps between the end ofwell-paid leave and the entitlement to ECEC in most countries, with few excep-tions in the Nordic countries and Slovenia.Mathias Urban, in the second article, examines the renewed interest in earlychildhood in recent European policy documents. He asks if and how the changingpolicy context leads to different understandings of the purpose of early childhoodeducation and care and discusses the implications for research in relation to policyand practice. He argues for a reconceptualisation of the role of research as aninherently political practice.The following two contributions draw on the findings of the study on ‘com-petence requirements in early childhood education and care’ (CoRe), jointlyconducted by the University of East London and the University of Gent. Thearticle by Mathias Urban, Michel Vandenbroeck, Katrien Van Laere, AriannaMathias Urban 479© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Lazzari and Jan Peeters explores the reciprocal relationship between quality andprofessionalisation and identifies systemic conditions for a professionalisation ofthe entire early childhood system, beyond the formal qualification levels of indi-vidual practitioners. It argues for a critical and systemic reconceptualisation ofprofessional practice in a competent system. Katrien Van Laere, Jan Peeters andMichel Vandenbroeck, in the following article, discuss findings of a 15-countrysurvey on competence profiles of early childhood practitioners which unveils thehuge differences in the roles and responsibilities of the core professionals andassistants in most countries. This, they argue, contributes to the persistent dividebetween ‘education’ and ‘care’ even in countries that have integrated these in onesystem.The fifth article takes a broader perspective on European and internationalpolicies towards young children and families. Maria Herczog’s focus is on chil-dren’s rights, which she explores in their relationships and tensions to earlychildhood education and care policies. She argues that great efforts are being madeby various actors to promote and implement a children’s rights agenda, but acomprehensive approach is missing.Arianna Lazzari, in the sixth article, argues that a vision of ECEC as a publicgood is an essential precondition for developing and sustaining high quality servicesfor young children and their families. She builds her argument on the analysis ofthe origin and development of municipal preschool education in the EmiliaRomagna region (Italy). Her article investigates historical and socio-cultural con-ditions for municipal early childhood institutions and the trends in ECEC policy-making at local and regional level over time.Among the many minority groups in Europe, Roma andTravellers are the mostmarginalised. Poverty, discrimination and racism are common experiences formembers of these communities across Europe. Young children are a minoritywithin these minorities, argues Colette Murray in the seventh article of this issue.She explores why, after centuries of oppression, Roma and Traveller issues haveonly recently become prominent on the European policy agenda. She discusseshow this relates to developments in other areas of policy: the European children’srights agenda and the recognition that early childhood education and care is a keypolicy tool to combat social exclusion. The European policy developments thatframe her article are examined from a local vantage point: the experiences ofTraveller and Roma children in Ireland and the Irish Preschool Education Initia-tive for Children from Minority Groups.Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark (the Nordic countries) are regularlypraised for their achievements in early childhood education and care: a universal,child-centred, holistic approach with an emphasis on participation, democracy,autonomy and freedom. But policies and institutions for young children do notexist in isolation. They have been developed in the wider context of the Nordicwelfare state. The final article by Kirsti Karila explores the historical roots ofECEC in Nordic countries, their commonalities and differences. She discusseshow Nordic countries develop and redefine their ECEC policies in a changingglobal economic and cultural context and identifies signs of erosion of the keyelements of the Nordic model in recent policy debates.I would like to thank Jean Gordon from the European Institute of Education andSocial Policy (EIESP) and editor of the European Journal of Education for offeringme the opportunity to guest-edit this edition on early childhood education and480 European Journal of Education© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.care. Christina Keyes, assistant editor, with a critical eye, has proven invaluable inshaping this issue from the first drafts to the final versions. Sincere thanks for hersupport. None of this would have been possible without the commitment and hardwork of the authors. My sincere thanks to all.The article in Part II by Stan van Alphen analyses early school leavers (ESLrs)in the European labour market. Previous research suggests that the ongoingeducational expansion is a negative development, since, in the worst case, itcreates credential inflation. Findings from the 2005 cross-sectional EU-SILCdata show, however, that the negative effect of early school leaving on income isreduced by educational inclusiveness at the country level. Results from two-levelhierarchical analyses indicate that the influence of family background is indeedconditional upon the level of educational inclusiveness at country level. This istrue for all but one of the indicators of family background included in this article.Mathias Urban, University of East London, Cass School of Education and Communities,Stratford Campus, Water Lane, London E15 4LZ, UK, m.urban@uel.ac.uk,www.uel.ac.uk/cass/staff/mathiasurbanREFERENCESBIESTA, G. (2007) Why ‘What Works’ Won’t Work: Evidence-Based Practice andthe Democratic Deficit in Educational Research, Educational Theory, 57, pp.1–22.COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (1992) Council recommendation of 31March 1992 on child care (Brussels, Council of the European Communities).COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (2010) Council conclusions of 11 May 2010 onthe social dimension of education and training (Brussels, Official Journal of theEuropean Union).DAHLBERG, G., MOSS, P. & PENCE, A. (1999) Beyond Quality in Early ChildhoodEducation and Care. Postmodern Perspectives (London, Falmer).DAHLBERG, G., MOSS, P. & PENCE, A. R. (2007) Beyond Quality in Early Child-hood Education and Care : languages of evaluation (New York, NY, Routledge).EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2010) Europe 2020. A strategy for smart, sustainable andinclusive growth (Brussels, European Commission).FREIRE, P. (1997) Pedagogy of the Heart (New York, Continuum).PENCE, A. R. & MOSS, P. (Eds) (1994) Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services:new approaches to defining quality (London, P. Chapman).PENN, H. (2009) Early Childhood Education and Care. Key lessons from research forpolicy makers.An independent report submitted to the European Commission by theNESSE network of experts (Brussels, European Commission).PENN, H. (2011) Quality in Early Childhood Services : an international perspective(Maidenhead, McGraw-Hill/Open University Press).URBAN, M., VANDENBROECK, M., VAN LAERE, K., LAZZARI, A. & PEETERS, J.(2011) Competence requirements in early childhood education and care.Final report(London and Brussels, European Commission, Directorate General for Edu-cation and Culture).Mathias Urban 481© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Towards Competent Systems in Early Childhood Education and Care. Implications for Policy and Practice

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Towards Competent Systems in Early Childhood Education and Care. Implications for Policy and Practice

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