Quality of education and care in kindergartens and their readiness for inclusive education in Bulgaria

A high-quality pre-school education will improve the well-being of all children, especially those with special needs for support, will enhance their development, with respect of diversity and dignity. The article presents the results of an exploratory study on those aspects of the quality of pre-school education that are important for implementing of inclusive education. The significant effect of three structure characteristics: group’s composition, location, teachers’ experience on overall quality and on two groups of process characteristics measured with ECERS-3 were found through the multiple regression analysis on the data of a moderately representative sample (40 kindergartens). The longer professional experience and the smaller group size have been confirmed as factors for the improvement of the educational quality, especially for the effectiveness of the instructional approach. Our study revealed positive teacher–child interactions, but certain flaws such as insufficient individualisation, neglect of free choice activities, lack of practices stimulating learning and language acquisition of children from marginal social groups and ethnic minorities. Evidence-based measures for improvement of teachers’ in-service qualification andfor provision of better facilities specific to the rural and urban areas should be initiated. They will guarantee the successful implementation of inclusive education in line with current legislative reforms.