A review of international and national surveys relevant to early childhood care and education provision and the teaching workforce

This literature review of national and international surveys of early childhood care and education (ECCE) provision and the teaching workforce was commissioned by UNESCO to inform the development of survey instrument and methodology for the Survey of Teachers in Pre-Primary Education (STEPP) project (May 2015–December 2017). The key tasks set by UNESCO were to: 1. Provide an analysis of the purpose, scope, content, target population/institution, sampling procedure and sample size of relevant international and national surveys, including the kinds of constructs and indicators/variables included; 2. Identify lessons from the implementation of relevant international and national surveys, from which the project can learn; 3. Provide recommendations to the Project. The methods to accomplish the tasks were a review of recent major international surveys of primary/secondary school and pre-primary education personnel in developed and developing countries; correspondence with Ursula Itzlinger-Bruneforth, Federal Institute for Educational Research, Innovation & Development of the Austrian School System; and attendance at the International Advisory Group of STEPP, 15–17 July 2015, which provided valuable presentations and discussion.