This cross-national study intended to explore the Structural Quality of Early Childhood rnCare and Education (ECCE) in Ethiopian and Kenyan initial teacher education. Initial rnteacher education quality assurance arrangement policies were fundamental issues to be rninvestigated. The study was mainly assisted by neo-institutional theory. The study rnemployed a comparative cross-national case study design while sequential exploratory rnmixed strategy (QUAL + quant) was a methodological approach. Bereday's comparative rnanalysis model was used as the analytical framework of the study. Given Ethiopia and rnKenya are the cases, the respective education ministries and their line agencies were rnmajor research sites. Two teacher education institutions were also taken as subsidiary rnsites. Policy documents and different levels of education officials such as rndirectorate/department heads, deputy directors, coordinators, senior experts, and teacher rneducators were major sources of data complemented by selected teacher trainees. rnTwenty-five major and supportive policy documents and 16 key informants were rnpurposively selected for the qualitative part of the study. A total of 131 randomized rnsamples was also drawn for the quantitative inquiry. Document analysis, semi-structured rninterview guidelines, and questionnaires were data collecting instruments used. The rnfindings of this study have shown significant convergence and divergence. As a result, rnECCE in both nations has gained still inadequate concern compared to subsequent rneducation subsectors. Despite policy indications of how ECCE quality and teacher rnquality are milestones for all levels of education quality, the subsector looks in need of rnconsiderable attention. The concept of 'decoupling' from institutional theory was rnapparent but to a varied extent and characteristics. The Ethiopian ECCE, for instance, rnhas shown significant 'decoupling' between the planned policy reform activities in initial rnteacher training and the practice. The Kenyan teachers' career arrangement policy was rnconsiderably decoupled in ECCE, for example. A clear similar pattern revealed on the rnleast entry academic requirements for initial training that compromised the making of rnteacher quality. Such similarities have also shown a sort of 'policy isomorphism'. rnDivergence in governance structure and power has brought significant influence on all rnstages of quality assurance arrangement policy formation and practice. Privatization of rnteacher education was one of the major deviations affecting the respective nations rndifferently. The Kenyan private ECCE teacher training institutions have been rnmushrooming while the current Ethiopian policy is closed for private teacher education. rnUnemployment was one distinctive characteristic of Kenyan ECCE trained teachers rnwhereas Ethiopian ECCE is suffering from a critical shortage of teachers. There was a rnplain difference toward the professionalization of teacher educators. In Kenya, rnprofessional ECCE teacher educators are ranging from first degree to PhD levels. rnConversely, in Ethiopia, there are no ECCE professional teacher educators in any of the rntraining institutions. The findings of this research were also compared to the wider rnregional and global contexts. Accordingly, for instance, the driving forces of rnglobalization in teacher education reform demonstrated unbalanced trend between the rnsouthern and northern practices. Findings have revealed disconnection between Africa's rncompassion on multiple importance of investment in ECCE and practice. Couples of rnpolicy implications were also suggested.