--- title: Quality url: https://buildingchildcare.ca/quality/ date: 2024-10-24 modified: 2025-03-25 author: Billie Carroll description: Quality should be at the core of all early learning and child care (ELCC) provision; it is a foundational pillar of the Canada-wide $10/day child care plan. --- # Quality ## quality ![Photo of a group of 4 kids sitting together.](https://buildingchildcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/group-of-4-kids-600x278.png) ## Quality should be at the core Quality – a pillar of the $10/day plan – should be at the core of all early learning and child care (ELCC) provision. [Research shows](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/24/10/norway-law-decrees-let-childhood-be-childhood) that high quality ELCC programs are beneficial for children, but poor quality child care may be negative. As international ELCC official [Adam Pokorny declared](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/11/11/early-childhood-education-and-care-new-direction-european), “access without quality is of little merit.” ## Multiple definitions of quality Understandings of ELCC quality are determined in part by the stakeholder’s perspective – child, parent/family, or early childhood professional – and in part by ideas about the purpose of ELCC, informed by societal values and historical, economic, and political context. Nevertheless, [common elements emerge](https://childcarecanada.org/publications/quality-design/06/01/quality-design-what-do-we-know-about-quality-early-learning-and-ch) from consideration of ELCC quality globally. ### Common elements of ELCC quality - Safety; - Good hygiene; - Good nutrition; - Opportunities for rest; - Equity and inclusion; - Opportunities for play; - Opportunities for motor, social, language, cognitive, and cultural learning; - Encouragement of emotional growth; - Positive interactions with adults; - An environment and practices that support positive interactions among children. ## A quality system Some analyses of ELCC quality focus on quality at the level of the individual child care centre or service, often using indicators of quality or measures of process quality (such as the [ECERS](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/24/10/environment-rating-scales) or [CLASS](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/24/10/classroom-assessment-scoring-system-class)). Another way of looking at quality is at the system level. In [OECD research](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/04/10/curriculum-issues-national-policy-making), the major obstacles to ELCC quality found across countries were structural failings – lack of adequate financing, unfavourable staff to child ratios, poorly qualified and poorly remunerated staff, inadequate pedagogical theory, and inadequate implementation. A consensus has emerged that some system-level conditions are essential for ensuring that high quality ELCC programs are the norm, not the exception. Early childhood education expert [Mathias Urban emphasizes](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/20/10/starting-wrong-critical-perspective-latest-permutation-debate) that inclusive, ongoing processes of exploring, debating, and searching for ELCC quality are fundamental to democratic and transformative ELCC practice. ![Section title: resources about ELCC quality](https://buildingchildcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/resources-pink.png)resources **[Elements of a high quality early learning and child care system](https://childcarecanada.org/publications/quality-design/05/03/elements-high-quality-early-learning-and-child-care-system) ** Childcare Resource and Research Unit, article, Sep 2005. Canada **[Quality child care in focus: What parents should look for](https://childcarecanada.org/publications/video/13/02/quality-child-care-focus-what-parents-should-look) ** Childcare Resource and Research Unit, video, Feb 2013. Canada **[Envisioning quality in early learning: Essential actions for a national program](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/24/03/envisioning-quality-early-learning-essential-actions) **  Early Childhood Pedagogy Network, video, Mar 2024. Canada [**A review of research on the effects of early childhood education and care (ECEC) upon child development**](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/24/11/review-research-effects-early-childhood-education-and-care)  University of Oxford, report, Dec 2014. Europe [**Conditions for moving beyond “quality” in Canadian early childhood education**](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/20/12/conditions-moving-beyond-%E2%80%9Cquality%E2%80%9D-canadian-early-childhood) Early Childhood Pedagogies Collaboratory, article, Dec 2020. Canada [**Starting wrong? A critical perspective on the latest permutation of the debate on the quality of early childhood provision**](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/20/10/starting-wrong-critical-perspective-latest-permutation-debate) Alliance for Childhood European Network Foundation, book chapter, May 2015. Europe **[Providing quality early childhood education and care: Results from the Starting Strong Survey 2018 (TALIS)](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/20/02/oecd-providing-quality-early-childhood-education-and-care)** Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), report, Oct 2019. International [**Starting strong VI: Supporting meaningful interactions in early childhood education and care**](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/21/12/starting-strong-vi-supporting-meaningful-interactions-early) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), report, Jun 2021. International [**Quality by design: What do we know about quality in early learning and child care, and what do we think? A literature review**](https://childcarecanada.org/publications/quality-design/06/01/quality-design-what-do-we-know-about-quality-early-learning-and-ch) Childcare Resource and Research Unit, article, Jan 2006. Canada [**Inclusion quality: Children with disabilities in early learning and child care in Canada**](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/21/06/inclusion-quality-children-disabilities-early-learning-and) SpeciaLink, book, Jun 2021. Canada [**Will the increased investment in early childhood education and care in Canada pay off? It depends!**](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/24/07/will-increased-investment-early-childhood-education-and) Canadian Public Policy, journal article, May 2024. Canada [**An examination of regulatory and other measures to support quality early learning and child care in Alberta**](https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/20/12/examination-regulatory-and-other-measures-support-quality) Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care and The Muttart Foundation, report, Nov 2020. Alberta