Collaboration With Teachers to Adapt and Validate Assessments to Support Intentional Teaching Practice in Early Childhood Education

Quality early childhood education establishes foundational learning and successful transitions to engagement in learning throughout life. Intentional teaching – when teachers thoughtfully and purposefully interact with children in play-based environments to advance their learning and development – underpins delivery of quality early childhood education. Assessment for learning can support teachers’ intentional teaching practices. Current assessment tools measuring foundational competencies in early childhood are generally targeted for diagnostic purposes rather than centered on teacher professional judgement and practice. The Early Years Assessment and Learning Tool (EYALT) was developed with teachers to support early childhood teachers’ observations of and planning for children. The paper describes the development and validation of EYALT in collaboration with early childhood teachers that included a large-scale field trial and analysis using a Rasch modelling approach. This resulted in assessments described through the lens of teachers to support implementation of intentional teaching practice in play-based environments.