A Multi-Instrument Examination of Observed Family Child Care Program Quality

• In Event: Understanding and Supporting Family Childcare Educators Beyond a Center-Based Lens

Abstract

Introduction
This study examines the relationship between a new observational measure of early childhood education (ECE) program quality, the Early Childhood Quality Improvement Pathway System (EQuIPS), with existing measures of global and domain-specific quality in family child care (FCC) settings.

Within QRIS, FCC quality has often been measured with a global approach using measures adapted from a center-based classroom context. This approach is problematic because it can obscure positive, unique features of FCC (Blasberg et al., 2019; Bromer et al., 2021), and it relies on measures that were not designed for high-stakes contexts to rate programs (e.g., Gordon, 2021). The EQuIPS was designed to address these concerns. EQuIPS is a program-level measure for FCC and center-based programs that includes observation and document review, with a focus on capturing children’s daily experiences. It was designed specifically for QRIS context and includes time sampling items of teacher behaviors and instructional activities, global ratings of interactions and curricular practices, an environmental checklist, a checklist of observation red flags, and a rubric to score administrative documents. This study includes only the observational components of EQuIPS.

Research Question and Hypothesis
The current study addressed this question: What is the relationship between the EQuIPS and other global and domain-specific measures of FCC quality? We hypothesized that the EQuIPS would show moderate and positive correlations with both global and domain-specific quality measures.

Methods
We drew a stratified random sample from a list of licensed FCC homes in Delaware. Stratification criteria included participation and rating in QRIS and county to ensure a diverse group of participants. The final sample consisted of 50 FCC programs: 9 not in QRIS, 17 at Star Level 1 or 2, and 24 at Level 3, 4, or 5.
Observers conducted two separate visits to each provider within one week. During one visit, an observer conducted the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale-Revised (FCCERS-R; Harms & Clifford, 2007), a widely used global measure of FCC quality, and the Child/Home Environmental Language and Literacy Observation (CHELLO; Neuman et al. 2007), a domain-specific measure of FCC language and literacy environment. During the second visit, one observer conducted the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta et al., 2008) Pre-K or Toddler, depending on the ages of most of the children present, while another observer used the EQuIPS.

Results
Descriptive statistics for the observational measures are presented in Table 1. Table 2 shows correlations between the EQuIPS components and the comparison measures. All aspects of the EQuIPS were moderately to highly correlated with the CHELLO and FCCERS-R. The domains of the CLASS-Toddler showed higher correlations with the EQuIPS components than the CLASS Pre-K.

Significance
The EQuIPS pilot provided an opportunity to assess multiple aspects of FCC program quality. A primary goal was to assess the extent to which the EQuIPS represents a reliable and valid measure of key practices that contribute to and reflect FCC quality. Together, results document the unique contributions of different measures of FCC quality and provide initial construct validity for the EQuIPS in FCC.

Authors

• Alison Hooper, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
  Presenting Author

• Rena Hallam, University of Delaware