Inclusive early childhood education and care: a longitudinal study into the growth of interprofessional collaboration

ABSTRACT

Inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) requires interprofessional collaboration between professionals with diverse professional backgrounds. Following developments in human services, there is a growing interest in the role of interprofessional teams in community-based settings for young children. In a three-year longitudinal study, we investigated interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between staff from childcare, education and youth care. At the individual level, a survey was used for the analysis of IPC competences. At the network level, we investigated professional relationships between individuals using social network analysis. Results of a multilevel mixed linear model showed an increase in interdependence and reflection on process of individual staff, followed by the progressive development of perceived team performance. Smaller networks with higher density and professionals’ centrality predicted more positive perceptions of inclusive ECEC. We discuss our findings in the context of growing interest in interprofessional teams in ECEC.

KEYWORDS:

• Quantitative method
• questionnaire designs
• interprofessional collaboration
• collaborative competence
• co-operation
• team-based practice

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the member of the PACT research team: Marielle Balledux, Jeannette Doornenbal, Jolanda Spoelstra, and Tom van Yperen. A special gratitude goes to the Kinderopvangfonds, the program coordinators Anki Duyn and Gerdi Meyknecht, and the members of the PACT pilots who collaborated with us during the project.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Het Kinderopvangfonds.

Notes on contributors

Ruben G. Fukkink

Ruben G. Fukkink is professor in childcare by special appointment at the University of Amsterdam and is also professor at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. His research interests include early childhood education and care and the professional development of ECEC staff. He is a member of the Dutch PACT team.

Marloes van Verseveld

Marloes van Verseveld is a PhD student at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She was a project member of the PACT team.