Educators' Perceptions of Australia's Early Childhood Education and Care Quality Assurance Rating System

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Early Childhood Education; Educational Quality; Rating Scales; Teacher Attitudes; Preschool Teachers; Evaluation Methods; Foreign Countries; Educational Practices; Quality Assurance; Child Care Centers

10.1080/1350293X.2023.2211758

1350-293X
1752-1807

High-quality early childhood education and care is of critical importance to children's optimal development and wellbeing, and to a nation's social and economic capital. Consequently, assessing and monitoring quality through regulatory mechanisms has become increasingly significant across the world. Yet, literature pertaining to the impact of regulatory and quality assurance systems is contentious, and there is a paucity of research that has investigated educators' perceptions of the use and effectiveness of such systems. This article presents findings from a doctoral study that was the first to investigate educators' perceptions of the Australian quality assessment and rating process. Ball's theorisation of 'policy as discourse', 'policy as text' and 'policy as effects' provided a conceptual lens to consider the discursive influence of the assessment and rating process on educators' practice, the limitations of how quality is conceptualised and assessed, and how educators can 'play the game' to attain high-quality ratings.

As Provided

2023

EJ1404133