ABSTRACT

Despite widespread availability, accessibility and affordability of early years settings in the Maltese context, the quality of services within childcare and kindergarten has never been explored. This study presents the perspectives of 436 practitioners from 50 childcare or kindergarten settings who were invited to reflect upon their understanding of quality through an interview or focus group discussion. Practitioners are key, influential stakeholders, responsible for supporting young children and their families at a significant time of growth, development and transitions. Given their crucial role in providing quality learning experiences, it is imperative to access their insights into ‘quality’ issues which can offer much-needed evidence for policy development. NVivo analysis of practitioners’ responses to an open-ended question yielded five broad factors including environmental factors, relationships, practitioner matters, child-oriented factors and issues associated with policies and praxis. These results are interpreted in light of their implications for policymakers and practitioners.

摘要

尽管在马耳他的背景下，早年环境的可用性、可及性和可负担性普遍存在，但从未探索过儿童保育和幼儿园的服务质量。本研究展示了来自 50 个托儿所或幼儿园环境的 436 名从业人员的观点，他们被邀请通过访谈或焦点小组讨论反思他们对质量的理解。从业者是关键的、有影响力的利益相关者，负责在成长、发展和过渡的重要时期为幼儿及其家庭提供支持。鉴于他们在提供优质学习体验方面的关键作用，必须了解他们对“质量”问题的见解，这可以为政策制定提供急需的证据。NVivo 对从业者对开放式问题的回答进行的分析得出了五个广泛的因素，包括环境因素、关系、从业者问题、面向儿童的因素以及与政策和实践相关的问题。这些结果是根据它们对政策制定者和从业者的影响来解释的。