ABSTRACT
The types of early years provision in Greece are still limited compared to other European countries. Depending on their age, young children can either attend a kindergarten or a childcare centre. Like in other countries with a split system, the two settings are funded, governed and regulated differently. The current economic and social crisis has brought to the surface the need for a closer monitoring of the quality of education provided to young children and for strengthening educators to handle a constantly changing population of children and families. University departments of early childhood education are replacing state support in various ways and have created a culture of university-early education settings collaboration with the aim of empowering professionals to improve their practice through action research.
