The main overarching objectives of the CARE project are to:

Develop an evidence-based, culture-sensitive European framework for defining and assessing quality of ECEC at the level of practice, curriculum, and quality monitoring and assurance, taking into account the concerns of parents, professionals, and the wider society.

Examine curriculum, pedagogy, and quality characteristics that contribute most to child development, learning, and wellbeing.

Determine which professional competences are needed for implementing high-quality ECEC and identify effective strategies of professional development.

Assess the impact of ECEC in Europe at the short-, middle- and long-term, in particular for disadvantaged children, and identify factors that moderate impact.

Identify factors that determine inclusiveness of ECEC, in particular for disadvantaged children.

Identify strategies of funding that can increase the long-term social and economic benefits and perform a cost-benefits analysis.

Develop a set of indicators of wellbeing based on a framework that is sensitive to cultural variation in ECEC and to differences in the priorities of countries, for monitoring child wellbeing and governing ECEC.