Due to the lack of Brazilian instruments that assess the quality of childhood settings, studies that examined the reliability of two American scales (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-ECERS and Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-ITERS) were conducted in Brazilian institutions. Each item of each scale (ECERS-37; ITERS-35) is rated from 1 to 7 according to specific instructions observed during group activities. Groupings from custodial, public, private and university institutions were assessed and obtained: (1) satisfactory inter-rater reliability (over 85%); (2) low quality level of care in both public and custodial networks (public better than custodial care); (3) satisfactory quality level in private pre-schools and high level in the university institution. The scales discriminated among different institutional models, differentiated playrooms between each other, and pointed out deficient and satisfactory aspects in each playroom. These aspects are very important for planning improvements of the quality of education provided.
quality assessment; early childhood education; day care centers; pre-schools
