Thesis that presents a study of three and four year-old children attending preschool at a time of rapid expansion of this phase of education. There is strong evidence that the quality of the experience is the determining factor in the long term effectiveness of early years provision. However, quality is a contested concept with a range of viewpoints, defined by different stakeholders including children.
The study builds on previous research and aims to clarify children's perspectives on the quality of their preschool experiences and to consider how their viewpoint might influence policy and practice.