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Rethinking Child Care Research
By Douglas J Besharov, Jeffrey S Morrow
Evaluation Review, 30, 5; 2006, p.539-555

Summary: This paper summarizes articles in a collection that addresses one or more of the key elements of the child care research model. These key elements include: (1) selecting and measuring the independent variables to determine the characteristics (i.e., qualities) of the child care environment; (2) selecting and measuring the dependent variables to determine the child’s physical and developmental status after a period of time in a particular child care arrangement, compared with that of children in other arrangements (or the same child before spending time in the arrangement); (3) establishing causal links between the independent and dependent variables that are either assumed in randomized experiments or estimated through statistical controls in nonexperimental studies; and (4) assessing impacts across subgroups to see whether the program benefits one particular group more (or less) than others. The collection closes with a proposal to develop a systematic federal research program to pursue improvements in child care and early childhood education programs.

Index Terms: Child Care Arrangements, Impact, Outcomes Of Child Care, Quality Of Child Care, Research Reports, Studies, Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS), Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS), Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS), NICHD Study Of Early Child Care

Publisher: Sage Publications

Publication Type: Journal Articles

Pages: 17 pages
Language: English

 
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