Cross-cohort differences in self-assessed quality of inclusive practicum systematization in an online early childhood education program: a mixed-methods study

Introduction This study compared the self-assessed quality of inclusive pre-service practicum systematization across four independent cohorts in an online Early Childhood Education program in Ecuador during 2024–2025. Methods A quantitatively driven descriptive-comparative mixed-methods design was applied to 1,478 students. The Index of Quality of Inclusive Practicum Systematization (IQSIP) was defined a priori as the unweighted descriptive mean of six conceptually distinct ordinal criteria, rather than as a validated psychometric scale or direct measure of teaching competence. The Jonckheere–Terpstra test assessed the ordered cross-cohort trend, complemented by Kruskal–Wallis tests, Dunn–Holm comparisons, and epsilon-squared effect sizes. A documentary synthesis of 148 final reports, consolidating 3,552 open-ended responses, contextualized the quantitative findings. Results IQSIP medians increased across successive cohorts (1.17, 2.17, 3.17, and 4.83). Significant ordered trends were identified for the global index and all three descriptive groupings ( p < 0.001). Omnibus and pairwise comparisons were also significant ( p < 0.001), with epsilon-squared values ranging from 0.914 to 0.933. Documentary findings described initial barriers, pedagogical adjustments, Universal Design for Learning, theory-practice reflection, and perceived changes in stakeholder participation. Discussion The findings reveal a strong cross-cohort temporal pattern in self-assessed systematization quality. However, academic term was completely confounded with cohort, and score distributions were highly restricted and nearly non-overlapping. Consequently, the results cannot establish within-person development, teaching competence, or causal effects of the practicum. Further research should incorporate independent assessment, external validation, and longitudinal designs.