Early Learning and School Readiness: Research Evidence

STUDY 1

Early Childhood Research Review 2003-2017

British Educational Research Association Early Childhood Special Interest Group and TACTYC: Association for Professional Development in the Early Years (2017)

Led by Jane Payler and Elizabeth Wood, this wide-ranging review of existing research on early childhood education and care was a collaboration by more than 50 academics, covering UK research since 2003 and encompasses children aged from birth to seven, their families, communities and practitioners. It emphasises integrated education and care for young children and is structured according to five themes, each authored by a different team.

Professionalism (by Jane Payler and Geraldine Davis)

Qualifications among the largely female young early education workforce have risen in recent years, yet policy requirements, status, pay, career pathways and conditions of service have not risen commensurately. The sector struggles to recruit enough qualified staff, although attrition has reduced. Settings employing well-qualified staff tend to achieve higher Ofsted judgments but graduates' influence in settings is variable because inconsistent policy and leadership have limited the emergence of professionalism in the sector. Research indicates that early education practice requires highly skilled workers with strong competences, but policymakers have little regard for them. However, professional development among workers has been shaped by process-oriented communities accommodating and addressing the increasing complexities workers experience.