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Defining and measuring quality in group care settings has become a central issue in the field of early care and education in the United States, particularly as states develop systems to improve child care quality. Most research and policy definitions of quality rely on a top-down perspective focusing on structural and environmental features of the child care context. This pilot study, based on Lilian Katz's multidimensional framework of child care quality (Phi Delta Kappan, 76(3), 200-206, 1994), documents the social ecology of individual toddlers' experiences in one classroom, in relation to a global quality measure of the same classroom. Research questions were (1) What is the frequency of teacher-child interaction in the target child care classroom for each of the four focus children? (2) Does teacher-child interaction vary by classroom context? (3) How does focal child interaction data compare with a global measure of classroom quality? Findings included low levels of interaction between the individual toddlers and the caregivers throughout the classroom day. This multi-method approach illuminates the complexity of measuring quality and the potential value of considering children's daily experiences as an important element of quality assessment. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.)

As the call to improve early care and education environments heightens across the United States, individual states have developed an array of approaches to enhance out-of-home care experiences for young children. As a part of the larger evaluation study of Kentucky's early childhood initiative, KIDS NOW , the current study gains perspectives from child care providers regarding their experiences with a comprehensive statewide early care and education initiative. Through a series of focus groups, child care providers highlighted their need for adequate information regarding the initiative as well as their varying perceptions of different types of initiative components. These findings highlight the need for continual stakeholder involvement as policy changes unfold within a state. Additionally, providers' perspectives on the implementation of the initiative underscore the complexity inherent to affecting change in early care and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.

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]