This book includes two distinct environment rating scales designed to be used as extensions to the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale® (ECERS-3)—one for supporting young children’s play (PERS) and one for supporting their creative abilities (CERS). Both scales are based on Vygotsky’s cultural-historical approach. Additionally, they are each structured and scored in the same manner as the Environment Rating Scale®. PERS and CERS can be used in both preschool and kindergarten classrooms to take a deeper look at specific aspects of quality and to provide guidance for improving conditions to support children's development.


PERS is a research-based scale designed to analyze and evaluate conditions to support mature (or developed) play that nurtures young children's imagination and contributes to the development of self-regulation, emotions, communication, social skills, cooperation among peers, speech, storytelling, and literacy. Mature play is also very important for school readiness, children's self-esteem, learning motivation, and successful transition to school. Each item of the scale is focused on a specific and meaningful aspect of complex play support: space for play; program structure and free time for play; play materials; adult’s support of children's play; and peer interaction.


CERS is a research-based scale designed to analyze and evaluate conditions to support the development of creative thinking and imagination in young children so that they can come up with new ideas, make discoveries, and solve nonstandard tasks. While most early childhood professionals know that encouraging creativity is important, many do not have the tools to do so on a day-to-day basis. CERS can be used as a formal assessment, and it can also serve as a tool for practitioner reflection on how to better support the development of creative abilities in preschool and kindergarten students. It measures both environmental provisions and teacher–child interactions that affect several areas: understanding the development processes; asking and supporting questions; being inventive and transforming contradictions; and using imagination.


Environment Rating Scale® and Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale® are registered trademarks of Teachers College, Columbia University

Foreword by: Richard M. Clifford, Debby Cryer