I do not want to forget the two studies conducted by the ministry as part of its Grandir en qualité inquiry. During our research in the longitudinal study of child development in Quebec, for which I was was responsible for the child care quality component, the only reason we chose the ECERS scales was that they had been translated into French and validated, which allowed for comparison with a variety of countries. Those scales are used in Europe, the United States and no doubt somewhere in western Canada. They are updated regularly to make them more specific, and lend themselves very well to customized training. I have used the scales as part of quality improvement initiatives, because there are some things that should definitely not be observed while others must be observed. As a result, progress can readily be made by changing one element in the sequence.
These scales are similar to the Maslow pyramid, and there are a number of them for each age groups. I really liked the definition of quality suggested by Thelma Harms, one of the three authors of all of these scales, because she said the starting point must be the child's needs. All children in all countries have the same needs: to grow up in a safe and secure environment, in which they can develop meaningful relationships with others and be surrounded by adults who are sensitive to their needs and respond to them appropriately. Children must also be able to develop an interest in learning, language skills and all their skills through activities suited to their abilities. That is a simplified summary.