Chapter 8: Quality Counts

Introduction

The need for high-quality childcare continues to be a topic of interest as more and more families enter the workforce and more and more children need care. Every week, families from all socioeconomic backgrounds drop their children off at some type of childcare. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, “In the United States, 76% of children ages three to four, receive education and care from someone other than a parent.” (NIEER, 2002). With so many children needing childcare, researchers and policymakers are tasked with figuring out how to best support the next generation of preschoolers. In this chapter, we will address the need for high-quality in early care and education as means to reduce the achievement gap between children from low to high socioeconomic families. We will also compare standard industry practices to what the field of early care and education recognizes as high-quality practices. Lastly, we will review some of the current observation methods, tools and techniques that can be used to ensure programs are implementing quality practices.