Deconstructing quality: A conceptual framework for the new paradigm in day care provision for the under eights

The issue of quality in day care provision for children has received considerable attention in recent years. Researchers, practitioners, parents and other stakeholders all have a need to define what is meant by good quality care. However, because quality as a relative, values based concept that is wholly constructed and subjective, there can be no single, universal definition of quality in day care. This paper argues that the best alternative to a universally accepted definition of quality is a conceptual framework within which different definitions of quality can be deconstructed. Such a framework is described. Developed from work undertaken in the health care field, it builds on existing day care work to provide a practical tool that can be used by stakeholders to understand the values implicit in different definitions of quality and the processes that went into the production of those definitions.