LAUSR

Abstract Research has shown that in Germany, language skills differ greatly already at the preschool age. There is, therefore, a strong need for high-quality language education in institutional early childhood education and care. The fact that Early childhood education and care quality has been shown to be rather low calls for implementing evidence-based strategies for effectively improving language-related process quality, the burden of which falls heavily on early childhood professionals. Identifying supporting conditions for their work is therefore a major concern. The present study explores the extent to which professional exchange is related to the development of language-related process quality while controlling for variables of structural quality. Data from 335 childcare centres from the evaluation study of the federal programme ‘Core Daycare Centres for Language & Integration’ was used. Structural background variables and the index of professional exchange were included in regression models to predict the development of language-related process quality. Professional exchange was positively associated with the development of language-related process quality. The conclusion of this study is that regular professional exchange within the team on the topic of language education contributes significantly to developing quality in childcare centres.