Promoting quality in programs for infants and toddlers: Comparing the family child care and center-based teaching workforce
Section snippets
Introduction and background
Although publicly-funded pre-kindergarten has expanded in recent decades, high-quality public programs for infants and toddlers have been in short supply, even as demand for these services has increased (Banghart et al., 2020, Bromer and Korfmacher, 2017, NCECQA, 2020). Fortunately, federal, state, and local governments are turning greater attention to expanding access to infant and toddler programs, and to increasing their quality (Banghart et al., 2020, Bromer and Porter, 2017, Del Grosso et
Conceptual framework and research questions
We conducted the analysis within a bio-ecological framework that locates positive teacher-child relationships at the core of high-quality learning environments for all children, regardless of their care setting. Using attachment theory (Ainsworth et al., 1978, Bowlby, 1973), Howes (2016) posits that the formation of secure and trusting relationships between teachers and children, manifest in positive interactions that have been linked to a variety of teacher characteristics, are a critical
Data and method
We conducted a descriptive analysis using data collected from 65 EarlyLearn sites that were serving infants and toddlers in New York City (NYC), composed of 30 FCCs and 35 centers. Data were collected via three surveys, one for FCC teachers, one for center directors, and one for center teachers. For purposes of the present analysis, we drew program data from the FCC and center director surveys, and then used data from the FCC and center teacher surveys to compare the characteristics and views
Results
The sample was demographically similar across the two groups of respondents. Both FCC and center teachers were in their early to mid-40 s and almost entirely female. Most identified as Hispanic/Latinx (63% and 47%) or Black (33% and 44%). A small number were Asian (4% and 6%); none identified as White. More than half were bilingual (72% and 53%).
We first describe the work environment in each setting, as reported by FCC teachers and center directors. We then use data from FCC and center teachers
Discussion and policy implications
The results indicate some striking similarities and differences in the characteristics and views of FCC and center teachers. These comparisons can be variously labeled as strengths or weaknesses to the extent that they correlate with program quality. We discuss four themes that emerge from the results and offer some implications for quality-promotion initiatives.
Conclusion
Overall, the results render positive indicators of the pedagogical, child-rearing, and school readiness beliefs of FCC and center teachers, their common pursuit of training and education, and the value they place on professional development. These findings represent encouraging levels of professional engagement in a workforce that has generally been under-valued and under-studied as resources have been directed to pre-k programs. However, important challenges remain for the infant and toddler
Limitations
Given the fairly small sample size, this data should be interpreted with a recognition that this is an exploratory analysis. Many sites in the recruitment sample did not participate because they were over-burdened or simply too busy to do so. As a result, it is likely that our results reflect self-selection among sites that had the time and bandwidth to participate, producing a sample that is likely to be biased away from sites that were more stressed and disengaged from EarlyLearn efforts to
Future research
Future research could examine the correlates of quality that are specific to infant and toddler settings and the teachers who work there. Are predictors of quality in infant and toddler settings, and among infant and toddler teachers, the same as those in preschool settings and among preschool teachers? Are they the same across different infant and toddler settings? Does quality itself look different in infant and toddler programs than in preschool settings? In this under-studied and yet
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The study was generously supported by the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute at the City University of New York and the Heising-Simons Foundation. Neither played a role in the design and conduct of the research, or in the interpretation of the results. We are also grateful to the New York City Early Childhood Research Network for its critical support and our field research team, Valentina Chegwin and Carolina Snaider. Finally, we are most grateful to the study
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