Child care program and teacher practices: associations with quality and children's experiences

In this research, we identified teacher and program practices in child care programs designed to serve low-income children and families of color and examined. associations among these articulated practices, quality, and observed child behaviors. Two hundred and sixty children (50% girls) and 80 teachers from 22 programs in Los Angeles and rural North Carolina participated in this research. There were positive associations between teacher articulated and program practices and these practices could be reduced through principle component analysis into four meaningful groups of practices: (1) Positive Relations; (2) Family Services and Schooling in English; (3) Basic Education and Good Care with a Community Focus; and (4) School Preparation. There were modest associations between articulated practices and classroom quality. As well, ethnic differences were found in practices articulated by the teachers and programs, suggesting that practices are both related to quality yet rooted within ethnic communities. I When used together to represent the child's social surrounding, both ethnicity and quality were significant contributors to our model predicting children's experiences in child care. Teacher and child ethnicity, teacher and program practices, and classroom quality made modest significant contributions to the prediction of children's experiences in child care classrooms. Children's competent peer behaviors as well as their participation in learning activities could be significantly predicted by at least one of the following constructs: teacher and child ethnicity, articulated practices, and classroom quality. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.