Quality is a word that has almost lost its meaning in early childhood services. It has become a formula or a shortcut for saying everything is under control, or even a kind of cynical double-speak, a way of advertising or justifying a project or programme about which there may be grave doubts.
It may be a way of indicating that certain procedures have been followed, as in a quality assurance rating. American psychological research suggests that quality can be reduced to 'structural' variables - items which are easily measurable, such as staff-child ratios, or the number of lavatories or the amount of space per child - and 'process' variables, the more intangible but still measurable relationships which are created between adults and children.
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