Further Information on TALIS Starting Strong

International study of early learning and care (ELC) staff

TALIS Starting Strong is an international large-scale survey focusing on early learning and care staff, their professional development, their work with young children, the early learning and care environment, and the impact that staff can have on the children in their care.

This survey is led internationally by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is managed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement (IEA). The TALIS Starting Strong survey is carried out on a six-year cycle. In Ireland TALIS Starting Strong is being undertaken by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) as the sponsoring Department.

Key topics to be examined in the Starting Strong Survey

This survey focuses on the following policy issues:

• The play and learning practices used by staff in their work with young children
• The amount and type of professional development available to early learning and care staff and their needs and barriers for accessing training
• The ways that early learning and care setting climate and practices, including leadership, shape the learning and well-being environment for children and impact the work of staff
• The characteristics of the early learning and care workforce and of early learning and care settings.

How is TALIS Starting Strong managed?

TALIS is a comparative survey managed at international level by the IEA on behalf of OECD.

The OECD TALIS Starting Strong Survey consortium consists of three partners: IEA; RAND Europe in Cambridge, United Kingdom; and Statistics Canada in Ottawa, Canada.

At national level, the National Project Manager (NPM) is responsible for ensuring the implementation of TALIS Starting Strong in their country. In Ireland, the National Project Manager is based at the CSO. 

A DCEDIY and CSO Joint Liaison Group (JLG) will be convened, in accordance with the CSO’s standard Data Governance Framework. The JLG will monitor the operation of the survey and support the promotion of the survey with the ELC sector in Ireland. 

What is the timetable for the implementation of TALIS Starting Strong?

• Field Trial: February/March 2023
• Main Survey: February - April 2024
• Publication of main reports: 2025 – 2026

What countries are participating in TALIS Starting Strong?

Data protection

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the following rights:

• The right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission. Contact details: Data Protection Commission, 21 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2, D02 RD28, Ireland.
• The right to request access, rectification, erasure, restriction or to object to the processing of your personal data.

However, because your data is processed for statistical purposes these rights may be limited. This is due to the fact that the exercise of any of these rights may render impossible, or seriously impair, the achievement of the statistical processing and such restriction maybe necessary for the fulfilment of those purposes.

Further data protection information regarding TALIS Starting Strong is available on the CSO website at this link:  

TALIS Starting Strong Data Transparency Note