Purpose
The study explores how quality in kindergarten has been thematised and investigated in Norwegian research published from 2010 to 2021. The purpose of the review is to develop relevant knowledge about and insight into what quality in kindergarten is, should be or can be. The research questions are: 1) How many studies investigate quality in Norwegian kindergartens, what is their purpose, and in what form and language are they published? 2) What type of methodological research approaches characterise these studies? 3) Which aspects of quality are highlighted in the studies?
Result
The results show an increase in studies addressing quality after 2017, with most studies published in English. The studies mainly dealt with process quality, focusing on interaction between employees and children. Structure quality was also frequently studied, especially the physical environment and the organisation of kindergarten provision. Fewer studies focused on performance quality and curriculum quality. Most studies were descriptive, while few studies dealt with method development, interventions or literature reviews.
Design
The researchers conducted a systematic literature search to identify relevant studies that focus on quality in Norwegian kindergartens from 2010 to 2021. They searched both national and international databases. In addition, manual searches were carried out in relevant Scandinavian journals. The searches were conducted in February and March of 2021. Encoding, data extraction and quality assessment of the 97 included studies were performed in the EPPI-Reviewer application.
References
Furenes, M. I., Andresen, A. K., Løkken, I. M., Moser, T., Nilsen, T.R. & Dahl, A.-L.S. (2023). Norwegian Research on ECEC Quality from 2010 to 2021—A Systematic Scoping Review. Education Sciences, 13:600.
Financed by
University of Stavanger, Norway