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from the
Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute
CHAPEL HILL, NC
- North Carolina preschoolers participating in high quality child care
programs are ahead of their peers who attend low quality programs, finds a
new study of Smart Start by researchers at the FPG Child Development
Institute (FPG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The study has three main findings, said Dr. Donna Bryant, head of the
Smart Start Evaluation Team at FPG. "Child care quality has increased in
the study sample during the Smart Start years; Smart Start-funded
activities were positively related to classroom quality; and quality was
positively related to children's outcomes" said Bryant.
"This study conclusively shows that Smart Start is reaching its goal to
ensure North Carolina's children are ready when they enter school," said
Karen Ponder, executive director of the N.C. Partnership for Children,
Smart Start's statewide oversight agency.
This independent, two-year study included 512 preschool children at 110
child care programs in 20 Tar Heel counties. Observers measured the
quality of classroom practices. Center directors reported on participation
in Smart Start improvement activities.
"The study shows that a center's participation in Smart Start-funded
activities was significantly related to preschool classroom quality," said
Dr. Kelly Maxwell, co-director of the study team.
Children in the study were assessed on their language, early literacy,
math and social-emotional skills--abilities deemed important for success
in kindergarten. Children participating in high quality child care
programs scored significantly better on language, book awareness and
knowledge, math and counting skills, than did children from low quality
centers.
Researchers expected children's abilities to be related to poverty, as
many studies have shown, but this study showed that the quality of the
children's child care experience made a difference over and above the
effects of income, gender, and ethnicity.
"The influence of child care quality was equal for children from poor and
non-poor families," Bryant said, "indicating that quality improvement
programs can work for all kinds of children, not just targeted to those
who are poor."
"Children from poor families are more likely to have lower kindergarten
readiness skills and, thus, be in greater need of positive early childhood
experiences; however, all children benefit from high quality programs,"
said Maxwell.
In addition, the study replicated an earlier finding that a center's level
of current participation in Smart Start-funded activities was related to
classroom quality, but previous participation was not, Bryant said. "This
means that continuous quality enhancement efforts seem necessary to
sustain levels of classroom quality that will improve children's
development," she said.
"Clearly, the Smart Start partnerships are making a difference in the
future of our state by improving the school readiness of North Carolina's
children," said Peggy Ball, director of the N.C. Division of Child
Development, the agency funding the study. "Smart Start us helping child
care centers become learning environments through higher quality."
The study--actually a series of studies conducted between 1994 and
2002--showed that child care quality in the sample steadily and
significantly increased, according to Bryant. Still, she said, a large
proportion of preschool child care is of "low to average quality and
continuous efforts are still needed."
"Perhaps someday North Carolina's early child care and education system
will be adequate to ensure that every child in North Carolina has access
to high quality care, but that day is not here yet," Maxwell said.
Smart Start funds a variety of technical assistance activities to improve
child care, including on-site technical assistance, teacher education
scholarships, teacher salary supplements, and quality improvement grants.
The complete report is at
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/smartstart/reports/Chilld_Care_Quality_2003.pdf
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