Despite extensive research on early childhood education (ECE) quality at the preschool level, toddler settings remain comparatively understudied, particularly in Chile and Latin America. Research suggests that quality ECE strengthens child development, while low-quality services can be harmful. ECE quality comprises structural features like ratios and classroom resources, and process features related to interactions within classrooms. This study examines how process and structural quality indicators are related in nurseries serving disadvantaged backgrounds. Data were collected from 51 Chilean urban classrooms serving children aged 12–24 months. Classrooms were evaluated using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) for toddlers, questionnaires, and checklists. Latent Profile Analysis identified process quality patterns, while multinomial regression examined associations with structural quality indicators. The results revealed low-to-moderate process quality across classrooms (M = 4.78 for Emotional and Behavioral Support; M = 2.35 for Engaged Support for Learning), with three distinct quality clusters emerging. Marginally significant differences were found between high- and low-performing clusters regarding classroom space (p = 0.06), number of toys (p = 0.08), and staff educational credentials (p = 0.01–0.07). No significant differences emerged for group sizes or adult-to-child ratios, which are heavily regulated in Chile. These findings underscore the need to strengthen quality assurance mechanisms ensuring all children access quality ECE.

Despite their crucial global importance in the daily work within classrooms, teacher assistants are barely addressed in early childhood education (ECE) teaching policy and research. In this context, little is known about features of their role – more commonly studied in the case of lead teachers – such as their professional dispositions. This paper analyses the discourses of a group of Chilean ECE teacher assistants about their dispositions, exploring possible intersections and dissonances of an ethics of care and mainstream technical practice approaches in ECE. Sixteen assistants from two ECE centres located in an urban suburb of Santiago de Chile took part in focus groups and interviews, and their discourses were analysed through a Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Findings show that teacher assistants address their role by producing a discourse informed by an ethics of care, but also drawing marginally on a mainstream technical perspective. The findings may help inform future ECE teaching policy in Chile, embracing new approaches to ECE professionalism that foreground caring practices and acknowledge the diversity of the workforce.

Despite the critical role that teaching assistants play in early childhood education (ECE), their contributions have been largely overlooked by policymakers and academia (Jacoby 2021; Urban et al. ...

This study draws on data from the Chilean Longitudinal First Thousand Days Study to examine early caregiving arrangements and their associations with developmental outcomes among 14‐month‐old children ( n = 1161) in Santiago, Chile. We describe the types of care arrangements—parental, grandparental, relatives, center‐based, and non‐relatives—by main sociodemographic characteristics and explore their relation to infants' daily routines and early development. Results reveal that while most children receive parental care, a notable proportion are cared for by grandparents or attend center‐based programs. Controlling for child characteristics, mother and family background, and home environment, children in center‐based care exhibited slightly higher cognitive scores ( β = 0.69, SE = 0.35, p = 0.047) than those in exclusive parental care. On the other hand, children in non‐relatives’ care show lower cognitive scores ( β = −1.48, SE = 0.70, p = 0.036) than those in parental care. These findings suggest that in contexts like Chile, decisions and possibilities regarding care arrangements are relevant to children, fostering or inhibiting their early development. Implications for policy and practice in early childhood care are discussed.