Composition of staff teams in early childhood education and care centres in nine countries

Abstract

This study draws on data from TALIS Starting Strong 2018, an international survey of early childhood education and care (ECEC) staff and leaders, to examine the staff roles (leader, teacher, assistant, specialised staff, intern, other) that are included in ECEC centres in nine countries: Chile, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway and Türkiye. The staffing profiles in ECEC centres are compared across countries as well as within countries, according to whether the centre was co-located with a primary school, its size in terms of the number of children enrolled, and the concentration of children with special needs and those from socio-economically disadvantaged homes. In addition, associations between the share of teachers and assistants in ECEC centres and staff reports of their time working on tasks without children, their collaboration with colleagues, their work-related stress and job satisfaction were examined. Results are discussed in terms of the different policy contexts in the participating countries and implications for building an ECEC workforce to address demands for both increased access to and better ECEC quality for children.