Childcare Quality and Early Learning Gail E. Joseph, Ph.D. Early Childhood and Family Studies, and Educational Psycholog

1. Childcare Quality and Early LearningGail E. Joseph, Ph.D.Early Childhood and Family Studies, andEducational Psychologygjoseph@u.washington.edu

2. *Review common assessments used to measure the quality of early care and education programs*Highlight a few professional development resources focused on improving quality and early learning Today’s Objectives

3. Environmental Assessments • Environmental assessments help to assess the quality or climate of the classroom/program • Look for the presence of indicators that are predictive of positive child outcomes

4. A few to consider • CLASS: Classroom Assessment Scoring System • ELLCO: Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation • ECERS-R: Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale – Revised

5. ECERS - R • Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale – Revised (Harms, Clifford & Cryer, 2005) • Assesses “process quality” (inadequate, minimal, good, excellent) • Process quality • assessed primarily through observation • more predictive of child outcomes than structural indicators such as staff to child ratio, group size, cost of care, and even type of care, for example child care center or family child care home (Whitebook, Howes & Phillips, 1995).

6. ECERS - R • 43 Items organized into 7 Subscales • Space and Furnishings • Personal Care Routines • Language-reasoning • Activities • Interaction • Program Structure • Parents and Staff……………………pg 1

7. Other ERS • Also available for infants/toddlers, family home childcare, and school age care

8. Administration of the ECERS-R • Scale is designed to be used with one room or one group at a time, for children 2.5 through 5 years • A block of at least 3 hours is set aside for observation and rating

9. ECERS-RScoring System • Read the entire scale carefully • The scale should be kept readily available and consulted frequently during the entire observation • Examples that differ from those given in the indicators but seem comparable may be used as a basis for giving credit for an indicator • Scores should be based on the current situation that is observed or reported by staff, not on future plans

10. ECERS-RScoring System • 5. When scoring an item, always start reading from 1 (inadequate) and progress upward till the correct score is reached • …………….pg. 2

11. ECERS-RScoring System • Ratings are to be assigned in the following way: • A rating of 1 must be given if any indicator under 1 is scored Yes • A rating of 2 is given when all indicators under 1 are scored No and at least half of the indicators under 3 are scored Yes • A rating of 3 is given when all indicators under 1 are scored No and all indicators under 3 are scored Yes • ………………pg. 3

12. A rating of 4 is given when all indicators under 3 are met and at least half of the indicators under 5 are scored Yes • A rating of 5 is given when all indicators under 5 are scored Yes • A rating of 6 is given when all indicators under 5 are met and at least half of the indicators under 7 are scored Yes • A rating of 7 is given when all indicators under 7 are scored Yes • A score of NA may only be given for indicators or for entire items when NA permitted is shown on the scale and on the score sheet

13. ECERS-RScoring System • To calculate average subscale scores, sum the scores for each item in the subscale and divide by the number of items scored. • The total mean scale score is the sum of all item scores for the entire scale divided by the number of items scored

14. Average subscale score (2009) n=42

15. Percentage of classrooms meeting min., good or excellent quality (2009) n=42

16. What’s missing?

17. CLASS (Pianta, LaParo & Hamre, 2008)The CLASS dimensions are based on developmental theory suggesting that interactions between children and adults are the primary mechanism of student development and learningIt does not evaluate the presence of materials, the physical environment or safety, or the adoption of a specific curriculum.

18. Classroom Quality Emotional support Classroom Organization Instructional support • Positive climate • Negative climate • Teacher Sensitivity • Regard for Student Perspectives • Behavior management • Productivity • Instructional learning formats • Concept development • Quality of feedback • Language modeling

19. Emotional Support: Social and emotional functioning in the classroom is an indicator of school readiness. CLASS evaluates the dimensions of positive climate, negative climate, teacher sensitivity, and regard for student perspectives. • Classroom Organization: Classrooms provide the most opportunities for learning when students are well behaved, active and engaged. • Instructional Support: Are teachers making the most of opportunities to effectively support cognitive and language development through the curriculum? CLASS focuses on the roles of concept development, quality of feedback, and language modeling.

20. CLASS • Involves observing the interactions of teachers and children for cycles of up to 20 minutes and then rating (10 minutes) what was observed on a number of dimensions codified in seven-point rating scales.

21. Scoring: Low range 1-2Middle range 3-4-5High range 6-7 ……..pg 4

22. CLASS • Evidence from several studies indicates that higher ratings on the dimensions assessed by the CLASS predict higher performance by children on standardized assessments of academic achievement and better social adjustment in the early grades of school.

23. Average preschooler score PPVT-4 Standard Score Distribution (2009) n=714

24. Research on Early Language and Literacy Development • Language and literacy development begin at birth and develop through interaction • Oral language skills are related to literacy skills • Opportunities to use higher-level language skills are especially critical to subsequent school success • Vocabulary development is strongly and consistently related to school performance and long-term literacy development

25. Implications of Research for classroom quality • Classroom structure matters • Physical layout, contents, time use, staffing • Curriculum matters • Content, choice, integration of language and literacy • Language matters • Frequency, content, vocabulary, integration with curriculum

26. Implications of Research for classroom quality • Books and reading matter • Presence, access, content, use • Print and writing matter • Presence, access, content, use

27. ELLCO PreK(Smith, Brady & Anastasopoulos, 2008)

28. Structure of the ELLCO Pre-K • General Classroom Environment • Section I: Classroom Structure • Section II: Curriculum • Language and Literacy • Section III: The Language Environment • Section IV: Books and Book Reading • Section V: Print and Early Writing

29. 19 items organized into sections • 5 point rating scale • (5) Exemplary • (4) Strong • (3) Basic • (2) Inadequate • Deficient • ……..Pg. 5

30. Rating Level & Anchor Statement Key Word • (5) Exemplary Compelling • (4) Strong Sufficient • (3) Basic Some • (2) Inadequate Limited • Deficient Minimal • …….pg 6-7

31. The complete assessment takes 1-1.5 hours and uses these three tools in sequential steps. • The Literacy Environment Checklist 15–20 minutes, trained observers examine the classroom’s layout and contents through 25 items that measure availability, content, and diversity of reading, writing, and listening materials. • The Classroom Observation and Teacher Interview 20–45 minutes, observe teachers interacting with children and the classroom environment, have a brief conversation with the teacher, and rate the quality of classroom supports for literacy through 14 age-specific observation elements. • The Literacy Activities Rating Scale records how many times and for how long nine literacy behaviors occurred in two categories, Book Reading and Writing. ELLCO

32. Complete OversimplificationWhat does it look like? ECERS-RWhat does it sound like? ELLCOHow does it feel? CLASS

33. What’s missing?

34. Program-wide Positive Behavior Support Individualized Interventions Social emotional curricula and teaching strategies Creating Supportive Environments Positive Relationships with/between children, families and colleagues Adapted from Fox, Dunlap, Hemmeter, Joseph, & Strain, 2003

35. Center for Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning Inventory of Practices for Promoting Social and Emotional Competencewww.vanderbilt.edu/csefel …..pg 8-10

36. Looking at quality…Childcare quality & early learning center….contact me: gjoseph@u.washington.eduLooking at inclusion…www.headstartinclusion.org