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Early childhood educators' understandings of quality in five countries: similarities and differences to policy.

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Title: Early childhood educators' understandings of quality in five countries: similarities and differences to policy.
Authors: Rogers, Marg1,2 (AUTHOR) marg.rogers@une.edu.au, Dolidze, Khatuna3 (AUTHOR), Mus-Rasmussen, Astrid4 (AUTHOR), Dovigo, Fabio5 (AUTHOR), Doan, Laura6 (AUTHOR)
Source: European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. Feb2026, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p19-35. 17p.
Subject Terms: *Early childhood education, *Educators, *Global studies, *Government policy, Danes, Countries, Product quality
Abstract: Early childhood educators work in a highly regulated environment in many countries and are constantly asked to produce and improve quality. Our international study of Australian, Canadian, Danish, Georgian and Italian educators' work examined their notions of quality and how this was impacted by government policies and documents such as frameworks, standards and curricula. Quantitative data were analysed using cross-tabulation and descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that some educators' notions of quality aligned with their governments' ideas, but many revealed nuanced concepts. Educators expressed frustration at these differences and the perceived limitations and impact of the imposed policies and documents. Many educators identified how these differences were experienced in the workplace and impacted their teaching, relationships and children's learning. This study will interest policymakers, educators, and teacher educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of European Early Childhood Education Research Journal is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Early childhood educators' understandings of quality in five countries: similarities and differences to policy.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+childhood+education%22">Early childhood education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educators%22">Educators</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Global+studies%22">Global studies</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Government+policy%22">Government policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Danes%22">Danes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Countries%22">Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Product+quality%22">Product quality</searchLink>
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  Data: Early childhood educators work in a highly regulated environment in many countries and are constantly asked to produce and improve quality. Our international study of Australian, Canadian, Danish, Georgian and Italian educators' work examined their notions of quality and how this was impacted by government policies and documents such as frameworks, standards and curricula. Quantitative data were analysed using cross-tabulation and descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that some educators' notions of quality aligned with their governments' ideas, but many revealed nuanced concepts. Educators expressed frustration at these differences and the perceived limitations and impact of the imposed policies and documents. Many educators identified how these differences were experienced in the workplace and impacted their teaching, relationships and children's learning. This study will interest policymakers, educators, and teacher educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of European Early Childhood Education Research Journal is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/1350293X.2025.2484241
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 17
        StartPage: 19
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      – SubjectFull: Early childhood education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educators
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      – SubjectFull: Global studies
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      – SubjectFull: Danes
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      – SubjectFull: Countries
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      – SubjectFull: Product quality
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      – TitleFull: Early childhood educators' understandings of quality in five countries: similarities and differences to policy.
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            NameFull: Rogers, Marg
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            NameFull: Dolidze, Khatuna
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            NameFull: Mus-Rasmussen, Astrid
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            NameFull: Dovigo, Fabio
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              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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