Conference Program

Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings, services and systems is key for preparing adequate learning environments where children may be involved in meaningful activities supporting their holistic growth (EU Commission, 2014; 2022; 2023; Heckman, 2008; OECD, 2015). However, the identification and definition of quality features vary remarkably among scholars from different epistemological stances (Anders, 2015; Eadie et al, 2024; McLean et al, 2022; Melhuish et al, 2015; Pascal & Bertram, 1999; Pianta et al, 2009). In addition, society at large may coalesce distinctive aspects of the quality concept, according to the unique point of observation of its stakeholders: policy makers, child advocates, school leaders, parents or inspectors.

Being quality a concept indebted to new public management’s theories (Gunter, Grimaldi, Hall & Serpieri, 2016), some even reject it altogether, in favour of a more concrete “good work” (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence,1999). Notwithstanding, quality matters in ECEC (Melhuish, 2011) for children’s lives, therefore it merits careful consideration.

The scientific literature identified quality factors, yet very few ECEC systems evaluate their settings’ quality on a national basis, through internal or external evaluations or a mix of both (Eurydice, 2025; Stringher et al, submitted).

Policy decisions and curricular choices impact the organisation of quality evaluation systems: within accountability systems, incentives and sanctions are deployed to sustain service quality, while service/setting quality appraisal might yield continuous improvement, and system quality evaluation serves a more general governing purpose (EU Commission, 2018; OECD, 2013).

With this theoretical contribution, I provide a conceptual map on ECEC quality definitions and concentrate on the operationalization of preschool quality within the Italian national system for educational evaluation. The methodological choices behind preschool evaluation and the pathway to its scaling up to national level are described, based upon a complex research design involving: the draft of a preschool self-evaluation format (P-SEF); a public consultation on this draft (INVALSI, 2016); an experimentation (Freddano & Stringher, 2021); an ex-ante evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses prior to its national diffusion (Freddano & Stringher, 2026).

In synthesis, this major research-administrative endeavour enables the operationalization of preschool quality in Italy, serving a dual purpose: improvement of individual preschools and of the preschool sector overall. The application of the preschool evaluation format opens new avenues, and three aspects need to be further explored in the future: tools for the observation of child learning, development and wellbeing; preschool external evaluation, complementing the internal exercise; a model for childcare settings self-evaluation. These three lines of research are guided by an overarching principle, that is the best interest of the child.

In sum, national preschool quality evaluation is a first-of-its-kind in the international panorama and a powerful tool to improve the quality of the entire ECEC system, an infrastructure that positions Italy at the forefront of quality for children. Our hope is that improvement stays current for all adults working for children’s development, learning and wellbeing.