Feasibility and initial psychometric properties of the Observe, Reflect, Improve Children’s Learning Tool (ORICL) for Early Childhood Services: A tool for building capacity in infant and toddler educators

Abstract

Child observation is a critical component of quality pedagogical practice in early childhood education and care (ECEC). Yet there are very few tools that support educators to systematically undertake observations to better understand the individual experiences of very young children within ECEC services. The ORICL (Observe, Reflect, Improve Children’s Learning) tool was co-designed by ECEC experts, service providers and educators to be used for this purpose by educators working with children aged under three years. It is a unique 117-item educator report across five domains of learning and well-being that rates the experiences of individual children, and the responses of educators and peers to the child’s initiatives, actions and communications. This paper describes the first feasibility study of ORICL in 12 ECEC services across Australia with a focus on the quantitative child data collected, and early psychometric properties of the tool. ORICL records were provided by 21 educators for a total of 66 children. Findings suggest that the ORICL items can be readily observed and rated by educators for children aged under three years, the rating scale is appropriate, and there is early evidence to support the domain structure of the tool. Further research on the ways such a tool can provide useful data for both educators and researchers, and stimulate enhanced practice in infant-toddler ECEC, is warranted.