1. So far, so good – what more, what next? Christine Stephen University of Stirling, Scotland

2. So far – where are we now? Two years of part-time preschool (3-5 years) education – extending from 475 hours to 600 and to some 2-year olds 95% of 3-year olds and 98% of 4-year olds make use of government- funded, part-time place 0-3s predominantly private & voluntary sector provision Playgroups, childminders and community childminding schemes Heritage language preschool provision (Gaelic) Varied training routes for practitioners

3. So far – where are we now? Curriculum for Excellence, ages 3-18 with early level 3- 6 years Pedagogy in the early level – ‘active learning’, experiential, predominantly child-initiated Assessment and profiling – local initiatives, growing interest in ‘documentation’ Pre-birth to Three: Positive Outcomes for Scotland’s Children and Families

4. So far – where are we now? Government priorities: – Work-force development – Access to a teacher in preschool – Early intervention – Integrated services – Getting it Right for Every Child – National Parenting Strategy – Provision in scattered and remote communities – Gaelic-medium provision

5. So good – policies and practices? Concern with evidence- based practices and policies Wide consultation Active, play-based pedagogy Funding early intervention Increasing investment Improving qualification levels What kind of evidence – appropriate, valid, reliable? Who is listened to? Conceptual clarity? Rhetoric? Normalizing? Purpose of investment, measuring change Who decides what is needed?

6. Could do better Respectful interactions Confident staff acting on professional judgement Inspiring physical environment and resources Responsive planning Time for conversations Evaluation as an everyday practice

7. So good? Talking about quality – What are the characteristics of high quality early education and childcare and to what extent is good quality different for children under 3, 3- to 5-year olds in preschool and children in primary 1? – Different stakeholders have particular expectations about the outcomes from early years provision and what counts as quality so how can we acknowledge and reconcile these different judgements? – What measures of quality should we adopt? – What does good quality look like from the perspectives of children? – Some factors associated with high quality, like staff qualifications and adult/child ratios, can be regulated but how can we ensure that equally important aspects like relationships and interactions create excellent education and care experiences?

8. What next ? Understanding/taking account of family contexts and learning at home – ‘funds of knowledge’ – ‘habitus and capital’ – ‘social situation’ Articulating/debating ways construct children and childhood and value alternative purposes and outcomes Identifying/considering normalizing practices and guidance

9. What next ? Challenging/defining concepts and evidence base Talking about pedagogy – developing intersubjectivity – talking about ‘technique’ and ‘manner’ – extending authenticity and personal meaning – exploring meta-cognitive strategies Examining children’s perspectives – respectful and appropriate engagement – gathering multimodal responses – identifying values and preferences Exploring alternative forms of provision

10. What next? Articulating relationships with users of research Debating questions, justifying methods, warranting findings Synthesising, theorising, generalising Exploring, intervening, problematising,