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INCOME AND EARNINGS
NATIONAL CHILD CARE STAFFING STUDY
Measure: Income and earnings items from the National Child Care Staffing Study teaching staff interview
Note: The National Child Care Staffing Study (NCCSS) is a longitudinal study of child care centers conducted in 1988, 1992, and 1997. This description of income and earnings items comes from the staff interviews completed for the original (1988) study.
Source
The 1988 NCCSS was coordinated by the Child Care Employee Project staff and funded by a consortium of foundations including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, the Foundation for Child Development, the A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, and the Spunk Fund, Inc. (Whitebook, Howes, & Phillips, 1990, p. ii). Marcy Whitebook, Carollee Howes, and Deborah Phillips, the principal investigators of the NCCSS, worked (at the time of the 1988 study) at the Child Care Employee Project, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Virginia, respectively. The sponsor of the study, the Child Care Employee Project, changed its name to the Center for the Child Care Workforce (CCW) in 1997. (CCW was known as the National Center for the Early Childhood Work Force between 1994 and 1997.) In November 2002, CCW became a program within the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation.
Population Assessed
The original study sample consisted of 227 child care centers in five metropolitan areas; within these 227 centers, researchers observed 643 classrooms and interviewed 1,309 teaching staff (including both teachers and assistant teachers). The NCCSS focused on only center-based programs that served children up through 5 years old, operated at least 11 months a year for a minimum of 6 hours a day, served a minimum of 15 children, and employed no less than six staff members. “In summary, there is some potential for bias in the sample given the higher participation rates for non-profit than for-profit centers, centers serving low-income families, and centers that may offer somewhat higher quality care than is typical in the Study sites [metropolitan areas]. However, as a result of the stratified, replacement sampling strategy, the final sample of centers closely matches the distribution of centers across Census tracts and urban and suburban residential areas” (Whitebook et al., 1990, p. 19).
Because of the decision to focus on five metropolitan areas, the NCCSS did not provide a nationally representative sample of all child care centers, but instead “sought to capture the diversity of the nation’s centers in numbers approximating their distribution in the five Study sites…The participating sites [metropolitan areas], as planned, are highly diverse with respect to their economic contexts, demographics, and regulatory climates” (Whitebook et al., 1990, pp.13, 14).
The five metropolitan areas were ethnically diverse, with a variety of racial/ethnic groups represented. Blacks were the largest minority group in Atlanta and Detroit; Hispanics, in Phoenix; and Asians and Native Americans, in Seattle. The NCCSS selected centers that served children through 5 years old, and “across all participating centers, the research team observed 643 classrooms [in 1988]: 85 (13%) infant, 151 (23%) toddler, 313 (49%) preschool, and 94 (15%) mixed-age classrooms” (Whitebook et al., 1990, p. 19). In Atlanta, the sample of 255 children consisted of 36 percent infants, 22 percent toddlers, and 42 percent preschoolers.
“The proportion of child care teachers who were women, their age distribution, and their ethnic backgrounds changed little between 1977 when an earlier study was conducted and 1988. Interview responses indicate that 97 percent of the teaching staff in our study were female and 81 percent were 40 years old or younger. Approximately one-third of the teaching staff in 1977 and 1988 were members of minorities. Although the percentage of minority teachers was higher in all cities than the percentage of minorities in the community at large, the percentage in some cities was three times as high” (Whitebook et al., 1990, p. 32).
Periodicity
Data were collected between February and August 1988 for the original study. The 1992 and 1997 follow-ups did not include staff interviews.
Components
The vast majority of income and earnings questions in the teaching staff interview of the 1988 NCCSS come from Section C: Wages and Benefits. The questions cover only wages and benefits obtained from their job as teaching staff in the sampled child care center; respondents are given the choice of providing their hourly wages or their wages per paycheck. A couple of questions indirectly look at household income (e.g., by asking respondents how the household income compares to the income of the parents of children at the center and by asking what percentage of their household income consists of their child care salary), and the questions related to job benefits are extensive. Section A: Personal Background inquires about the amount teaching staff pay for child care each week. Section D: Other Work asks teaching staff if they do any other work for pay, but does not ask how much teachers earn at that work.
Procedures for Administration
Trained and experienced research assistants interviewed sampled teaching staff while on a site visit to each child care center. These one-on-one interviews were completed after classroom observations. Interviews lasted between 1 and 2 hours. For more information, see pages 21–23 of Whitebook et al., 1990.
Psychometrics/Data Quality
Nearly all of the sampled teachers within the participating sites agreed to be interviewed and observed (Whitebook et al., 1990, p. 20). Missing income and earnings data were not imputed.
“Test-retest reliability (two interviews per staff) for [the teaching staff] interview was computed for 10 child care teaching personnel not participating in the NCCSS. Test-retest reliability across all items was r = .79 (range = .71 to .92)” (Whitebook et al., 1990, p. 22).
Similar questions on wages, benefits, and working conditions were asked in both the teaching staff and director interviews. Directors consistently gave higher responses to these questions than did teachers. Where answers from both directors and teaching staff were available, analyses done for the NCCSS typically used the responses given by teaching staff for reasons including larger sample size and higher expected reliability (Whitebook et al., 1990, p. 22).
Languages Available
Other than English, information about the languages in which this measure is available is not readily available.
Items Included
Whitebook, M., Howes, C., & Phillips, D. (1988b). National Child Care Staffing Study staff interview. Oakland, CA: Child Care Employee Project.
Included here is the entire Section C: Wages and Benefits, as well as those items from Section A: Personal Background and Section D: Other Work that are relevant to the income and earnings construct.
Section A: Personal Background
A8. In total, about how much do you pay for child care for all of your children combined each week? (circle one)
Nothing
Under $50
$50-$99
$100-$149
$150-$199
$200-$249
$250 or more
Section C: Wages and Benefits
The questions in this section ask about your wages, income, work conditions, and benefits. We ask about income because how much people make can affect their satisfaction with their jobs and other issues in this questionnaire.
C1. How much are you paid? Base this on the amount in your paycheck, excluding extra payments for overtime work or give your hourly wage.
$_________per paycheck or $__________ per hour
If you answered per hour skip to question C3.
C2. (a) If you answered “per paycheck”, what time period does this paycheck cover? (circle one)
One week
Two weeks
One month
Other (specify) ________________________
(b) Approximately how many total hours does this paycheck cover?
C3. Approximately what % of your annual household income is your child care salary? An estimate is fine.
C4. Compared with most of the parents in your center, is your household income? (Please check one, based on your best impressions)
Much higher
Somewhat higher
About the same
Somewhat lower
Much lower
C5. Which of the following do you receive (or have been offered, but declined)?
| Paid breaks | [ ] yes | [] no |
|---|---|---|
| Paid lunch time | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Paid preparation/planning time | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Payment for attendance at staff meetings | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Payment for attendance at on-site service training | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Paid release time off for site training and workshops | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Written job description | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Formal grievance procedure | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Written contract | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Yearly cost of living increase in wages | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Periodic merit increases in wages | [ ] yes | [] no |
| Compensation (either financial or time off) for overtime | [ ] yes | [] no |
C6. Which of the following benefits do you receive or have been offered?
| Reduced child care fee for parent employees | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
|---|---|---|
| Educational stipend to cover workshops, conferences, etc. | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
| Retirement/pension plan | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
| Life Insurance | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
| Paid maternity/paternity leave If YES, how many weeks: | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
| Unpaid, but job protected maternity/paternity leave If YES, how many weeks: | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
C7. Do you receive health coverage?
[ ] yes [ ] no
If no, skip to question C9.
C8. If yes,
| Is it fully paid by the program? | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
|---|---|---|
| Is it partially paid by the program? | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
| Is it not paid by the program? | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
| Does the health coverage include dependents? | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
C9. Do you receive dental coverage?
[ ] yes [] no
If no, skip to question C11.
C10. If yes,
| Is it fully paid by the program? | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
|---|---|---|
| Is it partially paid by the program? | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
| Is it not paid by the program? | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
| Does the dental coverage include dependents? | [ ] yes | [ ] no |
C11. Do you receive paid sick leave?
[ ] yes [ ] no
If no, skip to question C13.
C12. If yes, how many days?
C13. Do you receive paid holidays (when the center is closed)? [ ] yes [ ] no
If no, skip to question C15.
C14. If yes, please specify total number per year.
C15. Do you receive annual paid vacations?
[ ] yes [ ] no
If no, skip to question C17.
C16. If yes, please specify total days per year.
C17. Do you receive personal leave days?
[ ] yes [ ] no
If no, skip to question C19.
C18. If yes, how many days of personal leave do you get per year?
C19. Please describe any other benefits or working conditions that you receive.
Section D: Other Work
The questions in this section ask about whether you have any jobs in addition to your child care position in this center.
D1. Do you currently do any other work for pay:
[ ] yes [ ] no
References and Source Documents
Whitebook, M., Howes, C., & Phillips, D. (1990). Who cares? Child care teachers and the quality of care in America. Final report: National Child Care Staffing Study. Oakland, CA: Child Care Employee Project.
Whitebook, M., Howes, C., & Phillips, D. (1988b). National Child Care Staffing Study staff interview. Oakland, CA: Child Care Employee Project.
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