A Dyadic Analysis of Interprofessional Collaboration in ECEC

In child centers, professionals from childcare, education, and occasionally family support services participate in interprofessional collaboration (IPC) to facilitate smooth transitions from childcare to primary education, coordination between school and out-of-school care, provide care for children with special needs, and implement integrated services policies at center level. This study employed a multilevel model for dyadic networks to examine a national sample of professional networks of 788 professionals from 46 Dutch child centers. A newly developed instrument for assessing the degree of integration at center level (Index for Child Center Integration, ICCI) was associated with (inter)professional collaboration at dyadic level for childcare-to-school transitions, out-of-school care to school transition, care for children with special needs, and policy at center level. Higher levels of service integration at center level were associated with increased interprofessional collaboration.