James Elicker

Parental Decision Making About Child Care

In an effort to address how to best assess the importance of various characteristics of child care to parents, 355 employed mothers of children under 6 years of age completed a questionnaire exploring the importance of child care characteristics to their choice of arrangement, through ratings, rankings, and conjoint analysis. Results indicate that when rated, warmth of caregivers, educational level of caregivers, and utilization of a play-based curriculum emerge as the most important factors for mothers in this sample. When rank ordered, warmth, a play-based curriculum, and the educational level of caregivers emerge as the first-, second-, and third-most important factors. When examined using conjoint analysis of child care scenarios, warmth, flexibility of hours of operation, and education level of caregivers emerge as the most influential variables in the child care decision. Demographic differences in parental child care preferences and potential future uses for conjoint analysis are identified.

Chinese and American preschool teachers’ beliefs about early childhood curriculum

This study examined the consistency of Chinese preschool teachers’ curriculum beliefs and self‐reported practices, similarities and differences between American and Chinese teachers’ beliefs, and associations between teachers’ personal, professional and socio‐cultural characteristics and curriculum beliefs. A total of 296 Chinese teachers and 146 American teachers completed the Teacher Beliefs Scale and the Teachers’ Background Information Questionnaire. Chinese teachers also completed the Instructional Activities Scale. Also, 10 teachers in each country were interviewed in depth. Principal components analyses revealed three reliable factors with similar structures for both Chinese and American teacher beliefs. However, a discriminant analysis indicated significant cross‐national differences in teachers’ level of endorsement of specific beliefs. Moderate associations were found between Chinese teachers’ curriculum beliefs and self‐reported practices. Chinese teachers’ general education, professional training, location of school, and class sizes were all significantly associated with their beliefs. For American teachers, only the general education level was related to curriculum beliefs.

Teacher–child interaction in Chinese kindergartens: an observational analysis

The goals of this research were to describe the daily life of children and teachers in Chinese kindergarten programmes, to better understand how teacher–child interactions affect both teachers and children. The main assumption guiding this research was that teacher–child interaction is one of the most important processes in early childhood education. A clear understanding of typical teacher–child interactions may help to improve teachers’ support of children’s learning and development. In‐depth field observations of 12 Chinese teachers in six classrooms were conducted using a participant‐observer approach. Five hundred and eighty‐nine teacher–child interaction cases were observed and described. An inductive content analysis of the cases resulted in the creation of nine functional categories for teacher‐initiated interactive behaviours and nine functional categories for child‐initiated interactive behaviours. In this paper, we describe these functional interaction categories and report on their relative frequency in the Chinese kindergarten classrooms involved in this study. Teacher and child interactive behaviours are complementary, depending on the shared meaning of the interaction. Some differences were found in the interactive behaviours of older and younger children with their teachers. We discuss the results in the cultural context of China and conclude that careful and systematic observation and analysis of early childhood classroom interaction is essential for better understanding and improvement of teaching practices.

Maternal child care preferences for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers: the disconnect between policy and preference in the USA

While much research exists looking at parental preferences for child care, much of that research uses child care choice as a proxy for preference. In an effort to examine the types of care mothers prefer if no constraints were placed on their decision, this quantitative study investigated how family demographic factors and family role ideology relate to the types of child care (parental and non-parental forms) mothers prefer ‘in an ideal world’ using a sample of 345 employed mothers of children under 6 years of age in a suburb of a large metropolitan area in the southern USA. Participants completed a questionnaire examining the types of care they viewed as ideal for infants (0–12 months old), toddlers (13–30 months old), and preschoolers (31–72 months old) if no constraints were placed on the decision. Results indicated that the preferences for type of care for mothers in this sample varied according to the childs age, with a large majority of mothers preferring parental care for their children. Ideological and demographic factors predicting preferences for first and second choice of child care were also explored through binary and multinomial logistic regression, revealing the influence of ethnicity, education, and family role ideology to preferences for infant care. These results add to the existing literature by confirming previous findings about the influence of child age to child care preferences, as well as highlighting the disconnect between these preferences and the way family policies are structured in the USA.

Observing Infants’ and Toddlers’ Relationships and Interactions in Group Care

Caregiving relationships, and the daily interactions that build relationships, are central to the care and education of children under 3 years. From many perspectives, most importantly, the very young child’s, relationships create a vitally important context for daily experiences and opportunities for development. Perhaps more than any other time in life, for the infant or toddler, who I am with is every bit as important as where I am and what I am doing. Robert Hinde (Towards understanding relationships. Academic, New York, 1979) described the caregiver-infant relationship as a “funnel” for the child’s experience, in which the physical surroundings, people, objects, and events are filtered through the mediating care and protection of the adult. Another influential theorist of early relationships, Alan Sroufe (Emotional development: The organisation of emotional life in the early years. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996), has suggested that children’s primary caregiving relationships create lasting impressions, including expectations for the self and the self in relation to others. This chapter is about relationships between adults and children in infant-toddler group child care and the quality of the daily interactions that build those relationships. While close relationships in adulthood can be studied by interviewing people about their significant others, for infants and toddlers it is through direct observations of interactions that insights are gained. The chapter focuses on what is currently known about specific kinds of caregiver-child interactions that are thought to contribute to supportive relationships in child care, and thus to favorable experiences and outcomes for children.

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 associates 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.

Continuity of Care, Caregiver–Child Interactions, and Toddler Social Competence and Problem Behaviors

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Continuity of care is a recommended practice in child care intended to promote secure and supportive relationships between infants and toddlers and their caregivers. Toddlers (N = 115) between 12 and 24 months were observed in 30 continuity and 29 noncontinuity classrooms. The average duration of care for toddlers with caregivers was 14 months in the continuity rooms and 5 months in noncontinuity rooms. Toddlers observed in continuity rooms experienced higher levels of interactive involvement with their caregivers and were rated by their caregivers as having fewer problem behaviors compared with the toddlers in noncontinuity rooms. Toddlers in rooms with higher staff–child ratios also experienced more involved caregiving. We did not find evidence that the level of involved caregiving mediated the association between continuity of care and toddlers’ social competence or problem behaviors. Practice or Policy: Continuity of care may be a promising practice for programs that strive to provide high-quality care for infants and toddlers.

Child Development Laboratory Schools as Generators of Knowledge in Early Childhood Education: New Models and Approaches

Research Findings: University-based child development laboratory programs have a long and rich history of supporting teaching, research, and outreach activities in the child development/early childhood education fields. Although these programs were originally developed in order to conduct research on children and families to inform policy and practice, this mission has yet to be fully achieved. Practice or Policy: This paper provides an overview of the potential for 21st-century child development laboratory schools to be places that generate and disseminate new knowledge and understanding of children, families, teachers, curriculum, and classroom processes. An overview of the current context for laboratory schools is presented, outlining the challenges that limit schools’ ability to actively support comprehensive teaching, research, and outreach/engagement activities. An overview of applied developmental science is presented as a framework that can play a critical role in the future as laboratory schools strive to continue and enhance their important roles in the generation of new knowledge into the 21st century. A laboratory schools consortium is proposed as a mechanism to support knowledge generation.

Indiana Paths to QUALITY™: Collaborative Evaluation of a New Child Care Quality Rating and Improvement System

Research Findings: Developmental evaluation is a process in which researchers and program implementers communicate collaboratively to produce an evaluation that is attuned to critical program issues, provides useful data during program implementation, and results in rigorous methodology and findings informed by program conditions (M. Q. Patton, 1997). The implementation evaluation of Indianas Paths to QUALITY™, a statewide quality rating and improvement system (QRIS), provides examples of this developmental evaluation process. Researchers and program leaders engaged in collaborative evaluation planning, QRIS standards validation, and review of formative data about the experiences of child care providers, parents, and children in the system. Frequent communication between evaluators and program implementers during the 4-year evaluation project resulted in (a) QRIS leaders having timely data that they used to fine-tune the program and (b) evaluators making needed adjustments in the research design and making more plausible interpretations of results. Examples of the collaborative evaluation process are given, with reflective comments provided by the state QRIS administrator. Practice or Policy: The collaborative strategies used in the implementation and evaluation of this state-level child care QRIS may be useful for other states or localities as they plan large-scale early care and education systems.

Links among coparenting quality, parental gentle guidance, and toddlers’ social emotional competencies: Testing direct, mediational, and moderational models

Abstract The present study examined three hypothesized models that describe associations among coparenting quality (as perceived by both parents), parents’ gentle guidance, and toddlers’ social emotional competencies: (a) direct associations; (b) mediational associations (coparenting quality is associated with toddlers’ social emotional competencies through individual parents’ gentle guidance); and (c) moderational associations (co-parenting quality moderates the relations between parents’ gentle guidance and toddlers’ social emotional competencies). Sixty-seven mostly middle-class, two-parent families with toddlers were observed in a laboratory setting. Parents completed a questionnaire describing their perceived coparenting quality and their children’s social emotional competencies. As hypothesized, there was evidence for a mediational association of coparenting quality with toddlers’ social emotional competencies through mothers’ gentle guidance but not fathers’ gentle guidance. The direct and moderational models of associations between coparenting quality and children’s social emotional competencies were not supported by the data.