Adult-child relationships in early childhood programs
A discussion of research on the impact of the caregiver-child relationship on healthy child development during the preschool and early elementary school years.
Other
Child care for working poor families: Child development and parent employment outcome [Executive Summary]
The summary of a research report on the types and quality of child care used by low income working families in four Indiana cities and their relation to child development and parent employment outcomes
Executive Summary
Child care for working poor families: Child development and parent employment outcomes
Findings from a study of the types and quality of child care used by low income working families in four Indiana communities, and their relation to child development and parent employment outcomes
Reports & Papers
Child development laboratory schools as generators of knowledge in early childhood education: New models and approaches
An overview of a conceptual model that describes the potential for child development laboratory schools to be places that generate and disseminate new knowledge and understandings of children, families, teachers, curriculum, and classroom processes, with an exploration of their potential and challenges to that potential to accumulate and disseminate knowledge, and a discussion of a proposal for a laboratory schools consortium to support knowledge generation
Other
Chinese and American preschool teachers’ beliefs about early childhood curriculum
A comparison of Chinese and American preschool teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding their respective curricula
Reports & Papers
Church-sponsored child care: Association of regulatory level with quality for young children
The specific aims of this dissertation research are to on explore the quality of church-sponsored center-based child care as observed in three levels of state child care regulation. The first objective is to determine if and how global child care quality and teacher-child interactions vary in infant classrooms and preschool classrooms across three groups of differently-regulated church-sponsored centers. The second objective is to determine if the structural characteristics of group size, adult-child ratio, caregiver education level, and caregiver age mediate the relationship between level of state regulation and child care quality. The results will support the CCDF goals of understanding variations in child care quality provided to children from low income families, and the effects of government regulation on quality, and will inform policy makers as they consider future support and regulation of child care quality. Research questions include: (1) Does overall child care quality and teacher-child interaction differ in infant classrooms and preschool classrooms across the three groups of differently regulated centers?; (2) Do group size, adult-child ratio, caregiver education level, and caregiver age mediate the relationship between level of regulation and global quality scores?; and (3) Do group size, adult-child ratio, caregiver education level, and caregiver age mediate the relationship between level of regulation and teacher-child interaction?
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
Clinton County child care needs assessment: Final report
An assessment of the supply of and demand for child care services, types of preferred services, and child care problems facing families in Clinton County, Indiana, based on available primary data sources, a survey of parents, and parent and child care provider focus groups
Reports & Papers
Community Variations in Child Care for Working Poor Families: Contributions to Child Development and Parental Employment Opportunities
A description and comparison of the "child care landscapes" in four communities with diverse subsidy policies, employing an integrated design and using existing data, qualitative data, and quantitative data to identify the community-level variables that are most strongly associated with quality of care and child and family outcomes, and to determine the linkages between child care characteristics and parental work outcomes. The first phase includes 500 parent surveys, 30 community informant interviews, 15 parent focus groups and an analysis of existing community data. The second phase includes assessments of 300 children (30 infants/toddlers and 30 preschoolers in each of 5 communities), their parents, and their child care providers, using measures of child care structural quality, process quality, child development, and parent employment.
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
Comparing beliefs about appropriate practice among early childhood education and care professionals from the U.S., China, Taiwan, Korea and Turkey
A cross-national comparison of the beliefs and practices of caregivers and early childhood educators towards early childhood education and care, based on a survey of 1,066 caregivers in the United States, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Turkey
Reports & Papers
The context of infant attachment in family child care
A study of family child care provider-infant attachment security and interactive involvement
Reports & Papers
Does Paths to QUALITY benefit Indiana's child care providers?
Findings related to provider experiences from an evaluation of Indiana's Paths to QUALITY quality rating and improvement system, based on interviews with 270 child care providers
Fact Sheets & Briefs
Does Paths to QUALITY help Indiana parents find quality child care?
Findings related to parent awareness and child care decision-making from an evaluation of Indiana's Paths to QUALITY quality rating and improvement system, based on interviews with more than 1,800 parents
Fact Sheets & Briefs
Does Paths to QUALITY produce quality care and education for Indiana's young children?
Findings related to child care quality and select child development indicators from an evaluation of Indiana's Paths to QUALITY quality rating and improvement system, based on quality assessments of 312 child care providers, interviews with more than 1,800 parents and 270 child care providers, and developmental assessments of more than 550 children
Fact Sheets & Briefs
Early Childhood Teacher Behavior Observations Scale
Instruments
Early childhood teachers' curriculum beliefs: Are they consistent with observed classroom practices?
A study of the relationship between early childhood teachers' curriculum beliefs and their actual interactions with children in classrooms, and of the influence of teacher education, professional training and support, work experience, and teacher-child ratio on that relationship, based on a survey of 58 preschool teachers and classroom observations in two counties in a Midwestern state
Reports & Papers
Early Head Start relationships: Association with program outcomes
Research Findings: Interpersonal relationships among staff caregivers, parents, and children have been recommended as essential aspects of early childhood intervention. This study explored the associations of these relationships with program outcomes for children and parents in 3 Early Head Start programs. A total of 71 children (8-35 months, M=20), their parents, and 33 program caregivers participated. The results showed that caregiver-child relationships were moderately positive, secure, and interactive and improved in quality over 6 months, whereas caregiver-parent relationships were generally positive and temporally stable. Caregiver-child relationships were more positive for girls, younger children, and those in home-visiting programs. Caregiver-parent relationships were more positive when parents had higher education levels and when staff had more years of experience, had more positive work environments, or had attained a Child Development Associate credential or associate's level of education rather than a 4-year academic degree. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis suggested that the quality of the caregiver-parent relationship was a stronger predictor of both child and parent outcomes than was the quality of the caregiver-child relationship. There were also moderation effects: Stronger associations of caregiver-parent relationships with observed positive parenting were seen in parents with lower education levels and when program caregivers had higher levels of education. Practice or Policy: The results support the importance of caregiver-family relationships in early intervention programs and suggest that staff need to be prepared to build relationships with children and families in individualized ways. Limitations of this study and implications for program improvements and future research are discussed. (author abstract)
Reports & Papers
Evaluation of "Paths to QUALITY," Indiana's child care quality rating and improvement system: Final report
An evaluation of the influence of Indiana's Paths to QUALITY (PTQ) quality improvement system on the quality of child care offerings, the awareness of child care quality issues, the child care choices of parents, and select child development indicators, based on data collected at hundreds of child care sites throughout the state
Reports & Papers
Evaluation of quality rating and improvement systems for early childhood programs and school-age care: Measuring children's development
A discussion of considerations for the use of child development measures as part of the evaluation of quality rating and improvement systems
Fact Sheets & Briefs
Head Start: It works for Indiana children and families!
An examination of Head Start in Indiana, including the characteristics and outcomes of participating children, families, and communities
Other
Indiana Paths to QUALITY: Collaborative evaluation of a new child care quality rating and improvement system
An exploration of the development of the evaluation of Paths to QUALITY, Indiana's statewide child care quality rating and improvement system
Other
Introduction to the special issue: Developing a relationship perspective in early childhood research
A description of the research presented in the special issue Relationships in Early Childhood Programs, focusing on the development of adult-child, child-child, and adult-adult relationships
Other
Introduction to the special issue on university laboratory preschools in the 21st century
An introduction to a special issue of the journal Early Education and Development, focusing on the changing roles of the laboratory preschools in institutes of higher education
Other
Key findings
Key findings from an evaluation of the relationship of Indiana's Paths to QUALITY (PTQ) quality rating and improvement system to the quality of child care offerings, the child care choices of parents, provider participation, and select child development indicators, based on quality assessments of 312 child care providers, interviews with more than 1,800 parents and 270 child care providers, and developmental assessments of more than 550 children
Fact Sheets & Briefs
Parental decision making about child care
A study of the relative influence of various features of child care arrangements on maternal choice of arrangements, and a study of the association between these features and the characteristics of mothers, based on the questionnaire responses of 355 mothers
Reports & Papers
Parent-Caregiver Relationship Scale
Instruments
