Managing the Quality of Substitute Workers in Early Childhood Education
Kröger, Miia (2021)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021090917639
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021090917639
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this thesis was to find ways to improve the quality of substitute work done in the context of daycares. The purpose was to provide guidelines that ensure quality for substitutes coming to work in the daycare setting.
The data for the thesis was collected via two mixed focus groups consisting of 14 workers in the field of early childhood education (managers, practical nurses, and teachers). The focus group interviews were conducted virtually through Microsoft Teams due to the coronavirus pandemic and in accordance with the guidelines set by the City of Vantaa. The idea was to use the interview data to explore how quality is viewed in the context of Early Childhood education and what kind of guidelines could be in place to keep this quality standard with changing substitutes
The results showed that the qualifications and training of the substitutes affected the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The interview revealed that in terms of improving structural quality there should be changes in policy, a smaller adult-to-child ratio, good management, higher education for the staff and healthy facilities in use. Process quality elements that were found to be important in the research were the different levels of interaction between the children and the workers and the guardians and the workers. The main method for quality measurement that was used by the interviewees was customer satisfaction and specifically the children’s reactions to changes in the service.
The data for the thesis was collected via two mixed focus groups consisting of 14 workers in the field of early childhood education (managers, practical nurses, and teachers). The focus group interviews were conducted virtually through Microsoft Teams due to the coronavirus pandemic and in accordance with the guidelines set by the City of Vantaa. The idea was to use the interview data to explore how quality is viewed in the context of Early Childhood education and what kind of guidelines could be in place to keep this quality standard with changing substitutes
The results showed that the qualifications and training of the substitutes affected the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The interview revealed that in terms of improving structural quality there should be changes in policy, a smaller adult-to-child ratio, good management, higher education for the staff and healthy facilities in use. Process quality elements that were found to be important in the research were the different levels of interaction between the children and the workers and the guardians and the workers. The main method for quality measurement that was used by the interviewees was customer satisfaction and specifically the children’s reactions to changes in the service.