Family Child Care: Characteristics, Relationships and Educator Outcomes

• In Event: Reconceptualizing a More Culturally and Contextually Responsive QRIS for Family Childcare Professionals

Abstract

Background/Purpose:
Researchers have shown that in comparison to center-based care, the global quality of FCC homes is often low, particularly for children from low-income families (Bassok et al., 2016). However, qualitative studies consistently emphasize the close relationship between parents and educators as a unique feature of family childcare (FCC) arrangements that is often missed in quality improvement initiatives (Ang et al., 2017; Hooper et al., 2019). Strong parent-educator relationships may be a critical conduit to support positive educator, parent, and child outcomes (Blasberg et al., 2019; Forry et al., 2012). Yet, little is known about how these constructs operate in FCC settings. This study examines the association between FCC educators’ characteristics and the quality of the educator-parent relationship, as well as how these connections relate to quality indicators and educators’ professional well-being.

Methods:
Data were collected from 120 FCC educators who owned and operated their FCC homes and participated in their local quality rating and improvement system (QRIS). Demographic information for educators can be found in Table 1. Virtual interviews with educators included questions about their professional satisfaction and fatigue using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL; Stamm, 2010). Educators’ perceptions of their relationships with the families in their programs were also assessed using the constructs and subscales of the Family and Educator/Teacher Relationship Quality (FPTRQ; Kim et al., 2015) measure. The Knowledge, Practices, and Attitudes constructs were used to measure educators’ knowledge about the families they serve, the practices and engagement with parents, and their attitudes working with families in their programs. Additionally, the Commitment, Openness to Change, and Respect subscales of the Attitudes construct were used to further examine specific feelings and behaviors educators have when working with families in their programs.

Results:
A series of regression analyses revealed that when controlling for educators’ demographics and fatigue, higher levels of professional satisfaction were significantly associated with better practices (β= 0.34, p< .01) and attitudes (β= 0.33, p< .01) towards families. Further, when examining how the quality of the educator-parent relationship influenced educators’ well-being, regression analyses showed that those who had higher levels of sensitivity towards the needs of families and more commitment to their profession reported significantly greater satisfaction in their ability to be an effective caregiver (β= 0.39, p< .001) and lower levels of burnout (β= -0.36, p< .001). The educator-parent relationship, however, was not associated with any quality indicators of the QRIS.

Conclusions/Implications:
Findings of this study highlight the need to understand the distinct aspects of quality in FCC settings. Results suggest that FCC educators’ well-being, especially their job satisfaction, is particularly important to building better relationships with families of children in their programs. Yet, these relationships can also affect educators’ professional satisfaction and feelings of burnout. FCC offers unique features, such as closer parent-educator relationships, that need to be examined to successfully promote high-quality care in FCC homes, and to inform the early childhood field about mechanisms that support positive outcomes in FCC educators, and the children and families they serve.

Author

• Laura Jimenez Parra, University of Maryland - College Park
  Presenting Author