Assessing the quality in different U.S. early childhood education programs (original) (raw)

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of different types of early childhood education programs in a Midwestern university town in the US. This study reveals the structural and process characteristics observed in the classrooms, according to the results from the application of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale Revised Edition (ECERS-R). Additional evidences such as sketches of classrooms, photographs of classrooms, daily classroom schedules, overall program philosophy and descriptions, and copies of children's work samples, were also collected from the classrooms observed to evaluate the quality in these programs. Results of this study indicated that early childhood programs observed in this study exhibited an acceptable minimum level of quality, even though there were differences among types of programs. University affiliated programs showed a higher quality than the Head Start programs did. Compared to the children in Head Start programs, for children who attended universityaffiliated early childhood programs, there were a greater quantity and variety of materials, more space to explore and experiment, better personal care conditions, higher favorable conditions for early learning experiences, better interaction among the children as well as between children and adults in the classroom, and better working conditions for teachers.