Search

Onsite, individualized support for early care and education providers has emerged as an effective strategy for supporting quality improvement. We explored how Technical Assistants (TAs) working with family child care (FCC) educators in a voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System perceive FCC quality and the challenges they face in supporting quality improvement. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with 11 TAs providing support to FCC educators. Transcripts were analyzed using open coding to identify categories related to quality and quality improvement. TAs identified numerous components of FCC program quality that inform their work and two main challenges they face related to supporting quality improvement. Results suggest TAs may benefit from additional training and ongoing support to help them meet FCC educators' specific quality improvement needs and view FCC quality through a strength-based lens. These results can inform how TAs and other specialists are prepared and supported to work with FCC educators and how quality improvement supports can be tailored to the unique context of FCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of early care and education affects a wide range of children's experiences and developmental outcomes. Family Child Care (FCC) is no exception, and attention to increasing the quality of Family Child Care is needed. The purpose of the current study was to examine an experimental case of intensive Professional Development (PD) in FCC programmes focusing on domain-specific quality (language and literacy) and global quality. Forty-nine FCC providers in two states participated in the study. Thirty-eight FCC providers received intensive PD support, including five three-hour training workshops on early language and literacy, weekly onsite technical assistance, and monthly Community of Practice meetings. Eleven FCC providers served as a comparison group. The Child/Home Environmental Language and Literacy Observation (CHELLO) and Family Child Care Environmental Rating Scale (FCCERS-R) were used to measure the quality of FCC. Results showed significant improvement in the high-intensity PD group on both measures. The study presents a promising model of PD that may be an appropriate approach to embed within Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) in early child care and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Findings: Parents make child care decisions based on their existing perceptions of early care and education (ECE) arrangements. Through secondary analysis of the National Survey of Early Care and Education data on parents of preschooler (n = 1674), an exploratory latent profile analysis was conducted to identify distinct profiles of parents based on their ratings of three regular ECE arrangements: center-based child care, family child care (FCC), and family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care. The findings did not indicate a clear preference for a specific type of arrangements among preschool parents. Rather, two distinct profiles emerged: "favorable across all settings" and "less favorable, prefer FFN care". For both profiles, FCC was rated lower than FFN care across almost all dimensions. A set of family demographics predicted the profile membership, such as family income, parental employment, and subsidy receipt. Practice or Policy: The reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 requires states to develop consumer education programs to support families in their ECE search. Given that parents have to make tradeoffs when making ECE decisions, state government agencies need to provide credible, updated, and culturally-responsive information to help parents make informed choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kindergarten has become increasingly academically oriented, and U.S. kindergarten teachers are increasingly called upon to implement policies that require assessment and promote accountability. However, little recent research has focused on kindergarten teachers’ beliefs about kindergarten readiness. The authors examined teachers’ beliefs related to what entering kindergartners should be able to do, and beliefs about using assessment data, based on results from statewide surveys of Delaware kindergarten teachers conducted in 2000 (N = 171), in 2011 (N = 185), and again in 2013 (N = 257). Chi-squared tests were employed to investigate potential changes in teacher beliefs over time. Results show that kindergarten teachers increasingly prioritize assessment information across all broad domains of development at kindergarten entry. However, when ranking specific readiness skills, they continue to believe that nonacademic skills are most important. These findings suggest that though policies promote an academic emphasis in kindergarten, teachers, as policy enactors, take a more nuanced view and continue to recognize nonacademic skills as a key component of kindergarten readiness. This has potential implications for early care and education programming, teacher preparation programs, and teachers’ practices in kindergarten classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research Findings. The current study is a mixed-methods investigation of family child care provider participation in voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) in 2 states. Study 1 is an analysis of matched QRIS and child care licensing administrative data extracted from both states in May, 2014. Poverty and population density variables were added to the dataset by aligning U.S. Census data and Rural Urban Commuting Area codes (RUCA) to the matched state child care data. Participation patterns differed in the 2 states relative to provider characteristics (subsidy receipt, years licensed, and location). Study 2 consists of focus groups with participating (n= 22) and non-participating (n= 19) providers. Professionalism and financial incentives emerged as significant in attracting family child care providers to QRIS. Although family child care providers identified several clear benefits to QRIS, many more challenges emerged that negatively impact their participation.Practice or Policy. As most states are employing a QRIS framework to integrate quality improvement efforts, perspectives from this sector of early care and education are often overlooked. Study findings suggest that QRIS can be more responsive and effective with family child care providers if more consideration of their unique features are considered in systems design and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toddlers’ engagement with their social and physical environment is an important aspect of their experience in early care and education programs. The purpose of this research study was to examine how global quality relates to children’s engagement in toddler child care classrooms. Additionally, this study explored how toddlers’ group engagement levels vary across classroom contexts, including free play, group activities, meals, transitions, and personal care routines. Thirty toddler child care classrooms participating in a statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) were observed using two observational measures. Results indicate that a strong positive relationship exists between engagement and global quality. Group engagement varied significantly by classroom context, with the highest levels of engagement documented during mealtime and free play and the lowest levels of engagement documented during transitions. The findings point to the importance of using multiple measures to understand toddler experiences in group care settings. Further, the variation of children’s engagement across classroom contexts suggests that more attention is needed in understanding and supporting teachers in increasing child engagement, especially during classroom transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research Findings: A statewide study of preschool classroom quality was conducted using 3 distinct classroom observation measures in order to inform a statewide quality rating system. Findings suggested that Tennessee preschool classrooms were approaching “good” quality on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale–Revised (ECERS-R) and provided a mid-to-high emotional and engaging climate as indicated by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) domains of Emotional Support and Student Engagement. However, classrooms were only minimal on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale–Extension and the CLASS Instructional Support domain. Past performance on a state quality rating assessment consistently predicted the current quality of preschool classrooms as assessed by all 3 measures. Lead teachers' education in early childhood and experience were also predictors across quality measures. Practice or Policy: Tennessee preschool classrooms scored higher on the ECERS-R, which is the measure utilized in the statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System. However, classrooms generally performed poorly on measures of instructional support and curriculum. This finding illuminates the importance of the tool selected to measure quality in state quality rating and improvement systems and has implications for policy as states work to build systems that enhance quality in early care and education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents an analysis of the needs of low-income families which receive early intervention services to the Individualized family service plans (IFSPs) which were created for them. The IFSPs should mirror the priorities of the families which they were written for. Qualitative methods were used to identify the anxieties of families of young children with disabilities and then comparing these results to the essence of the IFSP plan. Parenting a child with a disability, the child's health issues and family issues were some of the concerns they identified. The IFSP plans addressed mainly the families of children with disabilities and neglected the problems of others.

Cites the results of a survey of undergraduate early childhood programs in National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education-accredited institutions in the U.S. regarding their inclusion of content on serving young children and their families living in poverty. Requirements of personnel preparation programs; Skills and content needed to engage families in poverty; Courses taught by respondents.

Home visiting is an essential part of early childhood education and early childhood special education services. Recent changes and expansion of program services in the areas of Early Head Start and Early Intervention have resulted in the provision of more home‐based services for young children and their families. The current study is a national survey of undergraduate early childhood programs in NCATE accredited institutions regarding their inclusion of key skills necessary for home visiting practice. Results of this study suggest that approximately half of programs include home visiting as part of field‐experiences. Moreover, differences between program type (early childhood versus early childhood special education/blended) demonstrate that programs with a special education component are more likely to include home visiting skills within their curriculum. Programs that include home visiting field‐experiences were more likely to address home visiting content within their undergraduate curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Focuses on Project CREATE (Caregiver Recruitment, Education, and Training Enhancement) for community-based child care programs in the state of Delaware. Increase in the quality of child care providers' caregiving practices and settings; Offer of user-friendly, applicable information in a program to maximize provider success.

To improve educational services to students with disabilities, the United States government has mandated that each state develop a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development. The following article highlights the results of a state-wide needs assessment conducted by one state's Department of Education in order to tailor their system of personnel development. Four percent of the state's general educators, and 6% of the state's special education teachers completed the surveys for a total of 289 surveys. Perceptions of ability to positively affect students, understanding of inclusion, self-efficacy in serving students in inclusive settings, the need for inservice training in various areas, and the availability of supports to promote inclusion were examined for both special and general education teachers. In every area assessed, special education teachers rated their efficacy, ability, understanding, and resources higher than general education teachers. These results are discussed in terms of meeting professional development needs for both groups of teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]