Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services: New Approaches to Defining Quality (Early Childhood Education (Paul Chapman Publishing))

`Not only does this book offer a great deal of insight into evaluating early childhood services, it also provides a focal point for those interested in establishing goals, objectives and evaluation criteria for their own early childhood programmes′ - Early Years

`Quality′ has become a priority issue for all concerned with early childhood care and education services. Starting from the premise that `quality′ is a relative and dynamic concept based on values and beliefs, Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services examines how the definitions of quality are established and who is involved in their establishment.

The book advocates that the process should involve a range of stakeholder groups, including children, parents, staff, care providers, researchers, employers and the community. A key issue that emerges is the need for new and creative approaches to the development of an inclusionary process in the definitions and attainment of quality care.

Alan Pence is the UNESCO Chair for Early Childhood Education, Care and Development at the University of Victoria and a Full Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He is the former Director of the School and has established three specialized units: the Unit for Early Years Research and Development (www.web.uvic.ca/~eyrd/); the First Nations Partnership Programs (FNPP: www.fnpp.org) for Community-Based Aboriginal Child and Youth Care Education; and the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU: www.ecdvu.org), focusing on ECD leadership promotion and capacity building in the Majority (Developing) World. Dr. Pence is the recipient of the Canadian Bureau for International Education’s Award for Educational Leadership, the University of Victoria’s inaugural Craigdarroch Research Award for Societal Contributions, and his ECDVU program was a finalist for the internationally prestigious WISE Awards for innovation in education.