Page - 69 - in ElFo - Elementarpädagogische Forschungsbeiträge, Volume Jahrgang 3 / Heft 1 / 2021

Indicators of educator-child-interaction quality in early childhood education ElFo – Elementarpädagogische Forschungsbeiträge (2021), 3 (1), S. 61-76 69 children and that the room/areas were open when needed. In just as many facilities, the chil- dren find their way effortlessly through everyday life (independent orientation, MED = 5.00, SD = 1.39). Regarding the aspect accessibility and diversity of materials (MED = 5.00, SD = 1.78), 18 nurseries achieved good or excellent quality, i.e., a variety of materials was available, and in sufficient quantity, from at least five areas of education. Further, in 21 nurseries, the data show that exploration space is regularly changed in order to adapt to the interests of the children (Changing the rooms for exploration, MED = 5, SD = 1.80). The majority of nurseries (18 out of 29) also achieved good or excellent quality with respect to emotional availability (MED = 7.00, SD = 2.14). This shows that the educator is clearly pre- sent and emotionally available for children, thus providing a secure base. Concerning the as- pect appreciation (MED = 5.00, SD = 1.80), the nurseries are mostly ranked at the good or excellent quality level. In these facilities, the children are usually treated with respect and ap- preciation. The lowest quality of interaction Looking at other characteristics illustrates that there is still a lot of room for improvement. The proportion of educators exhibiting insufficient quality is noticeably high in two aspects of Enabling participation. For the aspect choices (MED = 3.00, SD = 1.41), 12 nurseries were found in which children were restrained or restricted without justification. This may pertain to things such as bib-fixing, pushing on a seat, or forcing children to participate in educational activities by holding them down or bringing them back when the child moves away. Low quality was also found with respect to participation in daily routine and bodily care (MED = 3.00, SD = 1.91). In 14 of the nurseries observed, early childhood educators failed to create situa- tions in which the children can voluntarily participate in everyday life in a way appropriate to their age, e.g., setting and clearing the table, spooning up food or pouring water, dressing or undressing, washing hands, or performing everyday tasks such as cleaning or taking away laundry. Likewise, insufficient quality was recorded in a high proportion of nurseries with respect to supporting the regulation of emotions, more specifically, concerning the aspect verbalizing emotions (MED = 3.00, SD = 1.93) in which it is determined whether the early childhood edu- cator verbalizes the children's emotions and whether she/he names various emotions. 10 nurseries do not make it beyond the first quality level. The characteristic communicating in a stimulating way shows a similar picture: 8 nurseries demonstrated an insufficient quality level with respect to using terms (MED = 3.00, SD = 2.19). Thus, these educators rarely name objects, categories and materials adequately. They fail to use a variety of terms and describe object properties, usage, shape, and colour etc. Another characteristic exhibiting a relatively high number of nurseries at a lower level is providing stimuli (verbal/non-verbal). The aspect stimuli for activities (MED = 3.00, SD = 1.71) was found to be of insufficient quality in 8 nurseries. The children here do not receive