Conference Program

Within the framework of implementating the integrated 0–6 system (Legislative Decree 65/2017), this research addresses the problem of constructing and experimenting with an operational model for assessing quality in family childcare services and innovative early childhood education services. The study is situated within a pedagogical domain that remains poorly systematized from theoretical and evaluative standpoints, due to the absence of unified national regulations and the heterogeneity of regional normative frameworks (Oldini, 2004; Fortunati, 2006). Considering this context, the study adopts the paradigm of evaluation as a formative, participatory, and contextualized practice. Quality is conceptualized as a processual configuration empirically observable in the ways spaces, temporal organization, educational practices, and interactions are constructed by stakeholders within educational contexts (Restiglian, 2020). This approach integrates perspectives from educational evaluation and customer satisfaction (Capparucci, 2011), conceiving quality as a continuous monitoring process aimed at improvement. Moreover, it is oriented according to the structuring principles of Early Childhood Education and Care (EC, 2018; 2021), such as: educational continuity 0–6, centrality of the educational relationship, children's agency, and co-responsibility with families. This study aims to develop and validate an operational model for quality assessment in family childcare services, and identify scientifically grounded indicators and procedures for analyzing their educational, organizational, and inclusive dimensions. The methodological framework is based on a mixed-methods design, articulated in a preliminary exploratory phase followed by an idiographic phase based on integrated single-case studies (Yin, 2005). The reference population includes home-based educational services affiliated with the APS Network "Scarabocchiando a casa di…," which is the research funder, encompassing over 200 non-profit services distributed across 14 Italian regions. The exploratory phase – already completed – involved the administration of questionnaires to 195 operators and 1,810 families. The questionnaire results highlight quality dimensions specific to family childcare services, including educational personalization, relational continuity, trust-building, and management of special educational needs. In agreement with the Network coordinators, the idiographic phase focuses on 6 services distributed across 3 regions (Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio), selected for their theoretical relevance and capacity to support, extend, or refute a reference theory (Yin, 2005). During the ongoing phase, data collection involves systematic observations through specifically designed structured instruments: focused interviews and documentary analysis. Expected outcomes include: the theoretical-methodological systematization developed regarding the specificity of family childcare services; the theorization of quality assessment in home-based educational services through the integration of perceived quality data from operators and families, systematic observation of empirical evidence; and the reconstruction of processual complexity.