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Conceptions of educational quality for kindergartens

Konzeption von Bildungsqualität in Kindergärten

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Abstract

This paper focuses on the current debate about educational quality in Kindergartens that has been taking place in Germany mainly since the 1990s. Set against a background of different theoretical conceptions of educational quality in Kindergartens, this paper introduces a common theoretical framework of educational quality (structure-process model) that differentiates between four major components: structural characteristics, educational beliefs, educational processes, and networking with families. Relevant national and international studies about educational quality in Kindergartens refer to this theoretical framework. In addition, the authors present standardized instruments that are also based on the structure-process model of quality. Furthermore, by drawing on the structure-process model of quality in Kindergartens, they report on national and international findings regarding the level of quality, prediction of quality, and effects of quality on child development. Finally, an outlook is given with reference to procedures for the development and improvement of educational quality in Germany.

Zusammenfassung

Der vorliegende Beitrag greift die Diskussion um die pädagogische Qualität im Kindergarten auf, die verstärkt seit den 1990er Jahren in Deutschland auf bildungspolitischer Ebene und in der Forschung geführt wird. Vor dem Hintergrund unterschiedlicher theoretischer Zugänge zum Qualitätsbegriff stellt der Beitrag ein Konzept der Anregungsqualität in Kindergärten vor, das sog. Struktur-Prozess-Modell, welches vier Komponenten differenziert: Strukturmerkmale, Einstellungen, Anregungsprozesse sowie Familienbezug/Vernetzung. Dieses Rahmenmodell findet sich auch in einschlägigen nationalen und internationalen Untersuchungen wieder. Des Weiteren werden gängige standardisierte Instrumente zur Erfassung der Anregungsprozesse vorgestellt. Im Anschluss daran werden nationale und internationale Ergebnisse präsentiert, die sich – basierend auf dem Struktur-Prozess-Modell – mit dem Niveau und den Bedingungen der Anregungsqualität sowie mit den Auswirkungen der Qualität auf die kindliche Entwicklung beschäftigen. Abschließend werden Maßnahmen der Qualitätsentwicklung und -sicherung in der pädagogischen Praxis sowie weiterer Forschungsbedarf diskutiert.

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Notes

  1. In this article, we shall use the German term Kindergarten as a generic term for the different forms of institutional child care for ages 3 or 4 and above, prior to school entry.

  2. BiKS stands for “Educational Processes, Competence Development and Selection Decisions in Pre- and Primary School Age”. In the BiKS-3-10 longitudinal study the development of children’s abilities and decisions concerning children’s education—especially regarding the transition from preschool to primary school—are objects of investigation. Starting in the fall of 2005, a group of 550 three- and four-year-old children are observed from the time they enter preschool over a period of 7 years until they have finished the 4th grade of primary school.

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  1. Institut für Erziehungswissenschaft, Lehrstuhl für Elementar- und Familienpädagogik, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Markusstraße 8a, 96045, Bamberg, Deutschland

    Katharina Kluczniok &  Hans-Günther Roßbach

  2. Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, LIfBi – Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsverläufe e.V. an der Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Wilhelmsplatz 3, 96047, Bamberg, Deutschland

    Hans-Günther Roßbach

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  1. Katharina Kluczniok
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Kluczniok, K., Roßbach, HG. Conceptions of educational quality for kindergartens. Z Erziehungswiss 17 (Suppl 6), 145–158 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-014-0578-2

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