Parents' perceptions of their children's child care: a cross-national comparison

This study compares how parents in Germany and the USA perceive the quality of ECE services their preschoolers receive in the two different cultures and ECE systems existing in the countries. The sample included 2,407 parents in the USA and 392 in Germany. Classroom quality was assessed by trained observers using the USA and German versions of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS). Parents' perceptions of ECE programs were measured with a parent questionnaire (ECERSPQ), which is an adaptation of the ECERS. Findings show that in both countries, parents indicate high importance for the aspects of quality required in the ECERS[ECERSPQ, that parents assign substantially higher quality scores to their children's classrooms than do trained observers, and parent quality assessments are influenced by the relative importance they attribute to aspects of quality. Findings are discussed in terms of assisting parents to become more discriminating in their child care choices. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Inc.