Drawing on principles of mixed methods design, this study reports on a new approach to ECCE quality measurement: the Brief Early Childhood Quality Inventory. Using data from the USA, Liberia, and Colombia, results indicate variation in the items perceived as highly relevant to each setting and in the characteristics of classrooms including the degree of child autonomy, the types of activities, and in child/educator interactions and dialogue.

ECD Measure has recently developed the Brief Early Quality Inventory (BEQI) tool, which is designed to capture key components of play-based learning and interactions between teachers and children. Building off of research from other ECE quality tools, including our team’s extensive experience with the Measuring Early Learning Environment (MELE) tool of the MELQO project, we recognized the need for simpler ways to gather context-specific evidence on quality environments.