Identifying high quality centre-based childcare using quantitative data sets: what the numbers do and don’t tell us
Marianne Fenech, Naomi Sweller and Linda Harrison
Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University and Charles Sturt University
Contact Email:   marianne.fenechmq.edu.au

That the quality of centre based childcare impacts on children’s developmental outcomes is well established. Currently, how to more effectively promote and monitor quality in centre based care is a priority of the Australian and state/territory governments (Commonwealth of Australia, 2008). Penn and Lloyd (2007) note that in developing early childhood policy, policy makers are most receptive to the scientific evidence offered by quantitative studies. In this paper, however, we argue that evidence from both quantitative and qualitative approaches to quality offers a stronger platform to inform the development of policy such as the National Quality Framework for early childhood education and care.

For this purpose, we draw on preliminary findings from an Australian Research Council Discovery funded multi-phased project. This project is taking a mixed-methods approach to investigate elements that determine and sustain quality in Australian centre based childcare. In this paper, we present longitudinal data for 74 centres and consider the utility of three approaches – external observation measures used internationally (ECERS/ITERS), Australia’s national system of accreditation (QIAS), and staff perspectives – to identify high quality centres and the elements that support high quality. How findings can inform the development of the National Quality Framework will be discussed.

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