Preschool practices in Sweden, Portugal, and the United States.

The study investigates the relevance and reliability of the two observational tools The Teacher Observation in Preschool and  the Child Observation in Preschool in and across Sweden, Portugal and the United States. In addition, the researchers investigate the extent to which the measurement tools provide good descriptions of behaviour and interaction in kindergartens in the three countries.

The results show that the measurement tools identified behaviour in kindergartens that was relevant and gave reliable results in all three countries, although the researchers believe there is a need to include some culture-specific variables for each country. The researchers also claim that the measurement tools provide good descriptions of behaviour and interaction in kindergartens, and that these descriptions reflect the current discussions about kindergarten provision in each country. They believe that such measurements, which are based on behavioural frequency, can provide thorough descriptions of a kindergarten environment, without having to add external or comparative assessments of the observed behaviour.

The data material was collected through observations in 78 kindergartens in Sweden, 42 in Portugal and 168 in the USA. The two tools used measure kindergarten practice and are based on a behavioural frequency approach. In all countries, observations started at the beginning of the kindergarten day. The observers observed each kindergarten teacher and each child's behaviour. The observer then restarted the process and proceeded to observe the same individuals throughout an entire day of kindergarten, so that all adults and children were observed the same number of times. These data were then collected at departmental level to summarise the experiences of the teachers and children during the day. Finally, this data material was analysed for each country.

Coelho, V., Åström, F., Nesbitt, K., Sjöman, M., Farran, D., Björck-Åkesson, E., Christopher, C., Granlund, M., Almqvist, L., Grande, C. & Pinto, A. I. (2021). "Preschool practices in Sweden, Portugal, and the United States". Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55:79-96.