Quality Matters in Early Childhood Education and Care: Czech Republic 2012
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) can bring a wide range of benefits – for children, parents and society at large. However, these benefits are conditional on “quality”. Expanding access to services without attention to quality will not deliver good outcomes for children or long-term productivity benefits for society.
This series of country reports focuses on quality issues. Each report tackles a specific theme that was selected by the country reviewed. These reports suggest strengths and point to areas for further reflection on current policy initiatives.
What does research say?
Curriculum and standards can reinforce positive impact on children’s learning and development. They can: i) ensure even quality across different settings; ii) give guidance to staff on how to enhance children’s learning and well-being; and iii) inform parents of their children’s learning and development. Countries take different approaches in designing curriculum. There is a need to think beyond curriculum dichotomies (e.g., academic-oriented vs. comprehensive approaches, staff-initiated instruction vs. child-initiated activities, etc.) and consolidate the “added value” of individual approaches.