Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has the potential to address a range of goals, yet delivering on the potential of ECEC requires a workforce that is equipped and motivated to meet the unique demands of facilitating young children’s development, learning and well-being. The OECD Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS Starting Strong) is a large-scale survey of staff and leaders in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. It was first introduced in 2018 and administered again in 2024. TALIS Starting Strong builds on the OECD’s 25 years of experience in conducting ECEC policy reviews in the context of the Starting Strong series and the broader TALIS programme that collects data from school principals and teachers. By collecting internationally comparable information from ECEC staff and leaders, TALIS Starting Strong ensures that their voices are represented in policymaking.
This report presents the results of the survey, looking at the activities and supports for children and their families through ECEC, as well as the aspects of working in ECEC that staff appreciate, their opportunities for career progression and sources of work-related stress. The governance, oversight and structure of job opportunities in the sector are also considered. Taking a forward-looking approach, the TALIS Starting Strong 2024 data are used to inform strategies for strengthening ECEC systems in the face of shifting demands on the sector and short-term crises, better equipping these systems to realise the benefits of ECEC for the future.
The development of this report was possible thanks to all of the early childhood education and care staff and leaders who gave their time to participate in TALIS Starting Strong 2024.
Andreas Schleicher and Yuri Belfali guided the development of the report, which was led by Stéphanie Jamet and Elizabeth Shuey. Chapters were authored by Gemma Coleman (Chapters 4 and 5), Carlos González-Sancho (Chapter 9), Stéphanie Jamet (Chapters 1, 3 and 8), Pinar Kolancali (Chapter 7), Andreea Minea-Pic (Chapter 6), Judit Pál (Chapter 3), Miguel Angel Quintero Lopez (Chapter 2) and Elizabeth Shuey (Chapters 1, 4 and 5). Statistical analyses and outputs were led by Judit Pál and Miguel Angel Quintero Lopez with assistance from Gemma Coleman and Sarah Grant, support from Gabor Fülöp, Rodolfo Ilizaliturri and François Keslair and co-ordination by Elizabeth Shuey. Andreea Minea-Pic and Mauricio Salazar-Lozada led the development of the participant notes. The team is grateful to Esther Ferreira Dos Santos for her valuable feedback.
Anna Machnio supported report preparation, production and project co-ordination. The main editor of the report was Jennifer Allain (external). Duncan Crawford and Rachel Linden provided editorial and communications support. Graphic design support was provided by Della Shin and additional communications support was provided by Kevin Gillespie.
TALIS Starting Strong 2024 is the outcome of a collaboration among the participating countries and subnational entities, the OECD Secretariat and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) with its international consortium partners cApStAn and RAND Europe AISBL. The development of the report was steered by the Informal Group on TALIS Starting Strong of the TALIS Governing Board, chaired by Bernhard Kalicki (Germany). The authors wish to thank this group as well as National Project Managers and their teams in participating countries and subnational entities, the Questionnaire Expert Group and the Technical Advisory Group who all provided valuable feedback and input at various stages of the data and report production. In addition, the technical implementation of TALIS Starting Strong was contracted out to an international consortium of institutions and experts co‑directed by Steffen Knoll and Anja Waschk with Ralph Carstens providing senior counsel. Annex E of this volume lists the members of various TALIS Starting Strong bodies, as well as the experts who contributed to TALIS Starting Strong.