The Quality of Center-Based Child Care: Examining the Nature of Structure and Process Quality in Two Urban, High-Poverty Centers

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: Issues in Early Education and Child Development

Abstract

Every day in the United States, millions of children are dropped off at a variety of early childcare settings and arrangements. Much of the research on early childhood education examines preschools in public school-based settings or Head Starts; very little research has examined the quality of childcare centers and self-directed pre-k settings (Landry et al., 2013), which are highly prevalent in many low-income communities. This study captures a rich portrait of the quality of center-based childcare programs in one high poverty, urban area. Using qualitative methods, including classroom observations and semi -structured interviews with educators, this study examines the structure and process quality of childcare in center-based programs, as well as the interplay between these two dimensions of quality.

Authors

• Kaitlin Kelly Moran, Temple University

• Annemarie H. Hindman, Temple University