Data- and research-informed improvement work in ECEC

The article describes an approach to data- and research-informed improvement work in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)which is used by the Laboratory for Research-based School Development (LSP) at Aalborg University, Denmark. The approach includes collaboration between research, policy and practice and it incorporates two current policy priorities in the field of Danish education: evidence-informed decision making and the continuous improvement of the learning environment. The approach is based on the core idea that it takes a collective effort and widely distributed leadership to ensure the well-being and learning of all children. Additionally, the approach rests on the hypothesis that the use of evidence can help ECEC-services to accomplish goals of high-quality learning environments – as well as the improvement work can drive efforts to use knowledge from data and research. Consequently, in the approach data and research-based knowledge is used as an essential indicator of quality and as a trigger for professional learning and development (PLD) of the teaching staff. Furthermore, leadership is seen as essential in relation to the PLD of the teaching staff and their use of evidence.