PROFESSIONALIZATION OF GERMANY’S DAY CARE SYSTEM FOR YOUNG CHILDREN - ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRACTITIONERS, STRUCTURES AND CONTEXTS

. The present article examines the conditions for professional pedagogical practice, starting with the question of what professionalization in children’s day care means and how the term is discussed, especially in Germany. This enquiry into professionalization focuses on how it can improve pedagogical quality, and what factors this can be attributed to. The analysis begins with selected perspectives from the discourse on professionalization in early education research.