What is Early Childhood Care and Education

Children's learning and development is shaped by their early experiences and environments. Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is a set of programs and services provided to children from birth to school years that supports their learning and development. Availability of quality ECCE programs is vital for the development of not only children and families but also communities and countries. High quality ECCE programs have certain structural and process characteristics. One of the most important determinants of quality in ECCE programs is the quality of professional workforce serving children and families. In order to increase quality, there should be systems and supports for the training and development of high quality ECCE professionals. This chapter takes a look into Turkey, outlines its preservice education for ECCE teachers, presents a national in-service training project, and offers implications for practice. There need to be effective policies and strategies to cultivate a high-quality workforce in early childhood education and development across the world.