Risks of Social Exclusion Among Children in ECEC Settings: Assessments by Parents and ECEC Teachers

Recognizing children at risk of social exclusion (RSE) is one of the key prerequisites for providing direct and appropriate support to children and their families. Timely and proper identification of children at RSE requires collaborative and team-based assessments that include standardized procedures outlined in protocols to accommodate child personality, family factors, and other needs. The objective of the research is to analyze the capacities of early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers to assess the RSE of children by comparing their assessment with the assessment of parents. We used the data about 443 children between 5 and 7 years of age who were attending 10 ECEC institutions in Croatia. Children were assessed with two versions of the questionnaire. Data were analyzed on a descriptive level, and Cohen's kappa coefficient was used to determine the agreement between parents' assessments and ECEC teachers' assessments. It was found that at least 30% of children in Croatian ECEC institutions had one or more RSE. The results indicate a low proportion of children at RSE recognized both by parents and by ECEC teachers. The Croatian ECEC teachers are not familiar with information that is important for a child's development, such as poverty, quality of family relationships, and involvement in specialized treatments. These data highlight the need to improve the capacity of Croatian ECEC teachers to participate in the process of assessing the RSE of children.