The quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) depends fundamentally on the people who deliver it. The professionals working in ECEC settings shape children’s daily experiences and play a key role in achieving the broad policy goals set for this sector. The OECD Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS Starting Strong) gathers insights directly from the ECEC workforce, exploring their daily work with children, their background, opportunities for professional development, and working conditions. The results from TALIS Starting Strong 2024 reflect the voices of ECEC staff and leaders in 17 countries and subnational entities for two levels of ECEC: pre-primary and settings for children under age 3. These findings offer valuable evidence to inform strategies for strengthening ECEC systems for the future.
Results from TALIS Starting Strong 2024
Staff activities support child development, with a particular emphasis on social and emotional growth. Practices like encouraging children to help each other and express their feelings are used daily by a majority of ECEC staff in all countries and subnational entities. In contrast, literacy and especially numeracy activities tend to be less frequent. For example, less than 50% of staff in pre-primary settings in Denmark, Finland, Germany and Morocco read books to children on a daily basis compared to over 80% of staff in settings for children under age 3 in New Brunswick (Canada) and New Zealand** and at both levels of ECEC in Ireland.
ECEC staff spend most of their time in direct contact with children, though this varies widely between survey participants - from 68% in Colombia to 90% in Denmark. Notably, if staff work longer hours this does not necessarily mean they spend more time with children.
Engaging in other tasks while in contact with children is common in all systems, but some staff lack dedicated time for tasks not involving children. Planning or preparing activities alone is the work‑related task consistently associated with staff reporting they work longer hours.
Job satisfaction among ECEC staff and leaders is high, with over 90% of staff in most countries and subnational entities reporting they are satisfied and feel valued by parents and children. In all systems, more than 80% of staff enjoy working at their ECEC setting and a large majority of them would still choose to work in the sector if they could decide again.
Perceived social recognition is often higher amongst ECEC staff compared to staff working in other levels of education. The share of staff who feel valued by society varies across systems, ranging between 24% of pre-primary staff in Norway to 88% in Colombia.
The percentage of staff reporting they experience work-related stress ranges from under 20% in pre-primary education in Colombia and Israel to over 75% in Germany, in both levels of ECEC. In many countries and subnational entities, having too many tasks to do at the same time and performing extra duties are top sources of stress.
Stress may contribute to the critical staff shortages reported in ECEC settings. Staff experiencing higher stress are more likely to consider leaving their roles due to mental or physical health issues, or to pursue a career in another sector. Leaders identify staff absences and shortages as the main barrier to providing quality environments for children. Staff also report a lack of substitutes is a major barrier to participation in professional development activities.
Most ECEC staff are trained to work with children, with rates ranging from 87% in settings for children under age 3 in Israel to 99% in pre-primary settings in Spain and Türkiye. However, this is not universal and in some countries and subnational entities, assistants have lower qualifications than teachers. Those with post-secondary education tend to have covered a greater breadth of topics relevant for working with children. This exposure is associated with higher levels of self-efficacy which, in turn, is associated with lower work-related stress levels.
Ongoing professional development also supports staff self-efficacy but is often limited to courses and seminars - used by over 60% of staff across all countries and subnational entities. More effective formats, such as job-embedded training and collaborative learning approaches (for example coaching or induction) are less common. About half of staff or less in settings for children under age 3 in Quebec (Canada) and at both levels of ECEC in Ireland participate in these formats. In contrast, around 80% of staff in pre-primary settings in the Flemish Community of Belgium and at both levels of ECEC in New Zealand** report job-embedded professional development.
Staff report a strong need for additional budget and training resources to support children with special education needs. For example, in pre-primary settings in Japan, 76% of staff report a need for ongoing training in this area despite 64% having recently participated in related professional development. In most other systems, this topic is rarely covered in recent training activities. For instance, only 22% of staff in settings for children under age 3 in Germany received training on special education needs in the year prior to the survey.
ECEC leaders play a vital role in supporting staff, helping to lower work-related stress and enhancing practices with children. Yet, a high share of leaders report significant stress from too much administrative work and the challenge of keeping up with changing requirements from authorities. In most systems, a majority of leaders report a need for greater support from local, regional or national authorities, with the share reaching 85% or more in pre-primary settings in Colombia, Japan and Morocco.
Public and private ECEC settings are unevenly distributed, with public settings more common in rural areas and in neighbourhoods perceived as less favourable by leaders in several countries and subnational entities. In many systems, leaders in public settings report facing more challenges than their counterparts in private settings, including a higher proportion of vulnerable children (e.g. from socio-economically disadvantaged homes), less adequate physical space (e.g. poor ventilation, high background noise), and less communication with families. Notably, even private, for-profit ECEC settings tend to receive government funding, highlighting the importance of policies that support equity in access and quality across both public and private sectors.
Overall, the TALIS Starting Strong results underscore the central role of ECEC staff in shaping high quality environments for young children, while also revealing systemic challenges. Despite high levels of job satisfaction and strong engagement with children, many staff face persistent stress. Workforce shortages hinder the delivery of quality ECEC and participation in professional development, even though there is a clear need – especially for supporting children with diverse needs. The findings provide an evidence base for policymakers to strengthen the ECEC workforce, through better working conditions and training, to ensure all children benefit from high quality ECEC experiences.
