Improving Quality in Early Education and Care Environments (Level 5 UNIT ONLY)

Course Overview

This unit explores quality from these different perspectives and encourages students to reflect critically on their role, the role of others in settings and how broader factors impact on quality. The unit will introduce students to a range of evidence and data to encourage them to develop a critical awareness of how quality information can be used and interpreted. An important aspect of this is learning to ask questions about evidence, such as why the evidence has been collected, how effectively it was collected, any potential biases or political influence. This will enable students to make informed judgements about quality in different contexts.Quality improvements can be categorised into top-down (e.g. statutory curricula) or bottom-up (e.g. practitioner-led). The unit considers both and encourages students to develop their research skills to enable them to better understand the significance of their and other practitioners’ roles, in enhancing quality for children through the setting environment and practice. A key part of this is clear and accurate communication with others and this is included in taught and self-directed activities.