Conceptualizing and Measuring Collaboration in the Context of Early Childhood Care and Education

There is increasing emphasis on coordination and collaboration across early care and education sectors to provide consistent, high-quality services to meet the needs of families with young children. This brief presents work on the conceptualization and measurement of collaboration in the field of early childhood.  The brief identifies key components of collaboration and encourages the development and use of measures of collaboration in the early childhood field.  The brief presents a state-level collaboration logic model, depicting the key components of collaboration, and identifies and considers existing measures of collaboration.  The authors provide recommendations for future research designed to explore the nature of collaborations within the early care and education setting, as well as for the development of measures that could facilitate this research. Child Trends produced the brief as part of the Child Care and Early Education Policy and Research Analysis and Technical Expertise Project.