The quality of the physical environment in private and public infant/toddler and preschool Greek day-care programmes

The physical environment of the preschool programmes has been proven to affect both children's overall development and the quality of the programme. However, both nationally and internationally the contribution of the physical environment in the effectiveness of a programme and in the achievement of educational goals is often overlooked. The aim of the present study was to assess the quality of the indoor physical environment of infant/toddler and preschool classrooms and to examine differences between private and public classrooms. Research results indicate that the quality of the physical environment in both infant/toddler and preschool classrooms was of minimum quality. Moreover, limited differences have been revealed controlling for inspection body. The findings are discussed and the need to bring the scientific field of the physical environment to the forefront is highlighted.