Arno Engel, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills OECD Berlin Centre, 25 October 2019

1. Providing Quality Early Childhood
Education and Care: Results from
the Starting Strong Survey 2018
Arno Engel, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills
OECD Berlin Centre, 25 October 2019
TALIS

2. 25/10/2019 2
What is TALIS Starting Strong?
An international survey of staff and leaders in early
childhood education and care
Ask staff and leaders about their working practices; training and
satisfaction; views about the sector
9 countries: Chile, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Iceland,
Japan, Korea, Norway, Turkey
2 levels of education: pre-primary (all countries); settings for
children under the age of 3 (4 countries)
?

3. 3
Supporting children’s learning,
development and well-being: framework
Practices
facilitating
language,
literacy and
numeracy
development
Practices
facilitating
socio-
emotional
development
Practices
facilitating group
organisation and
individual
support
Practices
facilitating
engagement of
parents/
guardians
Need for a multidimensional approach

4. 4
Wichtige Ergebnisse für Deutschland
Pädagogische Fachkräfte verfügen über eine
spezifische Ausbildung, aber Leitungskräften mangelt es
oft an einer zielgerichteten Ausbildung für ihre Rolle.
Die Arbeitszufriedenheit von Fachkräften ist hoch, aber die
wahrgenommene geringe Anerkennung in der
Gesellschaft kann sich auf die Arbeit der Fachkräfte mit
Kindern auswirken.
Es gibt bereits viele Kitas mit einen hohen Anteil an
Kindern mit vielfältigen Hintergründen und Bedürfnissen,
aber Fachkräfte sehen Weiterbildungsbedarf, um diese
Kinder besser fördern zu können.

5. WHAT
DO STAFF DO
WITH CHILDREN
AND HOW ARE
THEY PREPARED?
5

6. 0
20
40
60
80
100
Korea Turkey Chile Israel Germany* Japan Norway Iceland Germany* Norway Israel
%
25/10/2019 6
Percentage of staff reporting that the practice applies “a lot” to staff in the centre
Play number games
Encourage children to help each other
Practices to support socio-emotional
development more common than those on
literacy and numeracy

7. 25/10/2019 7
Practices used by staff to facilitate
engagement of parents or guardians
0
20
40
60
80
100
Germany* Iceland Norway Turkey Chile Korea Israel Japan Germany* Norway Israel
Pre-primary education (ISCED 02) Centres for children under age 3
%
“Parents or guardians can get in touch with ECEC staff easily ” more common
than “Parents or guardians are encouraged by ECEC staff to do play and learning
activities with their children at home ”

8. Relation between staff characteristics
and practices (process quality)
Educational
attainment
Training to work
specifically with
children
Role in target
group
Years of
experience
Practices to facilitate
children’s development,
learning and well-being

9. 25/10/2019 9
ECEC staff education and training
0
20
40
60
80
100
Japan Korea Turkey Chile Germany* Norway Israel Iceland Germany* Norway Israel
Pre-primary education (ISCED 02) Centres for children under
age 3
%
Percentage of staff with post-secondary non-tertiary education and short-cycle
tertiary education or at least equivalent of bachelor's degree
Trained to work with children

10. 10
Who are the leaders of ECEC centres?
Percentage of leaders with their formal education or training including:
0
20
40
60
80
100
Norway Iceland Korea Japan Germany* Chile Turkey Israel Norway Germany* Israel
Pre-primary education (ISCED 02) Centres for children under age 3
%
early childhood administration pedagogical leadership

11. WHAT
ARE THE
CONDITIONS
FOR STAFF IN
ECEC CENTRES?

12. Relationship between staff working
conditions and practices
Not feeling valued by
society, work-related
stress
Fewer practices to
adapt to children’s
interests and needs
More behavioural
support practices
(asking children to
quieten down)

13. 25/10/2019 13
Staff feelings more valued by children and
families than by society
0
20
40
60
80
100
Israel Norway Turkey Korea Chile Germany* Iceland Japan Norway Israel Germany*
Pre-primary education (ISCED 02) Centres for children under
age 3
%
Families
Society
Average percentage of staff who “agree” or “strongly agree” that they are valued by:
Children

14. 25/10/2019 a: questions not asked. 14
Top three barriers to leaders'
effectiveness
ECEC staff absences
ECEC staff
shortages
Government
regulation and policy
Pre-primary centres
Chile
Germany* 1 2 3
Iceland 1 2
Israel1 a a 2
Japan 3 1
Korea 2 1
Norway 1 3
Turkey
Denmark** 2 3
Centres for children under age 3
Germany* 1 2 3
Israel 2 1
Norway 1 3
Denmark** 3 2

15. 15
Equity and diversity in early
childhood education and care
What do we learn from
TALIS Starting Strong?

16. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Chile Iceland Japan Israel Germany* Norway Turkey Korea Germany* Norway Israel
Pre-primary education (ISCED 02) Centres for children under age 3
%
25/10/2019 16
Concentration in centres of children with
special needs or different first language
Percentage of centres with:
11 % or more children
with a different first language
11 % or more children with
special needs

17. 25/10/2019 17
Diversity approaches used in daily
interactions with children
0
20
40
60
80
100
Turkey Chile Korea Israel Iceland Japan Germany* Norway Israel Germany* Norway
Pre-primary education (ISCED 02) Centres for children under
age 3
% Use books and pictures featuring people from a
variety of ethnic and cultural groups
The children sometimes play with toys and artefacts
from cultures other than the ethnic majority
Percentage of staff who report the approach applies “to some extent” or “a lot”

18. 25/10/2019 18
Children with special
needs
Dual language
learners
Working with
parents
Child-development
Pre-primary education
Chile 1 2
Germany* 1 2 3
Iceland 1 2
Israel 1 3
Japan 1 2 3
Korea 2
Norway 1 2
Turkey3 1
Denmark** 1 3
Centres for children under age 3
Germany* 1 2 3
Israel 1 2
Norway 1 2
Denmark** 1 2
Top three professional development
needs

19. Fragen?
startingstrongsurvey@oecd.org
www.oecd.org/education/school/earlychildhoodeducationandcare.htm
* Estimates for sub-groups and estimated differences between sub-groups in the TALIS Starting Strong 2018 data need to be interpreted with care. See Annex B for more
information.
** Low response rates in the survey may result in biases in the estimates reported and limit the comparability of the data.
This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries
and to the name of any territory, city or area.
The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of
the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.