Inclusive early childhood education and care: a longitudinal study into the growth of interprofessional collaboration

Inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) requires interprofessional collaboration between professionals with diverse professional backgrounds. Following developments in human services, there is a growing interest in the role of interprofessional teams in community-based settings for young children. In a three-year longitudinal study, we investigated interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between staff from childcare, education and youth care. At the individual level, a survey was used for the analysis of IPC competences. At the network level, we investigated professional relationships between individuals using social network analysis. Results of a multilevel mixed linear model showed an increase in interdependence and reflection on process of individual staff, followed by the progressive development of perceived team performance. Smaller networks with higher density and professionals' centrality predicted more positive perceptions of inclusive ECEC. We discuss our findings in the context of growing interest in interprofessional teams in ECEC.