Counterstorying Quality in Family Childcare: A Critical-Institutional Early Childhood Policy Analysis

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Twelve
  In Roundtable Session: Decolonizing and (Re)Imagining Our Field Through Critical Theories, Research, and Practices (Table 7)

Abstract

Using a critical-institutional theory framework and a QuantCrit-driven mixed-method approach, data from 169 family child care educators (FCCEs) in four states were analyzed to explore how FCCEs conceptualize quality, (mis)alignment with state quality standards, and to elevate counterstories of quality from Black, Latina, and Chinese FCCEs. A latent class analysis revealed two quality profiles, with the majority of FCCEs—including more FCCEs of color—sharing elements of quality that centered familial, communal, culturally and linguistically sustaining practices alongside a focus on traditionally conceptualized developmentally appropriate practices. Findings suggest that many FCCEs of color resist racialized, institutionalized pressures in their work, with implications for the equitable revision of state quality standards and the inclusion of FCCEs in early childhood policy systems.

Author

• Samantha Melvin, Erikson Institute
  Presenting Author