Features of Quality Child Care (continued)

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Ideally, those who care for young children will consider themselves professionals and have an educational background in child development and curriculum. Continuing professional education by attending conferences, participating in workshops, reading professional literature, and sharing ideas and information with colleagues are all indications of professional behavior. Partaking in activities like these builds commitment to the field, satisfaction with the work, and a greater sensitivity to the needs of children.

Unfortunately, the low wages associated with working with children in child-care settings has had a very negative effect on the quality of teachers (Harrington, 2000). Nonprofessional entry-level salaries are rarely higher than minimum wage, particularly at national for-profit chains. Starting salaries for child-care center teachers with college degrees was approximately $15,000 to $16,000 in the late 1990s, less than half of what many entry-level public-school teachers receive. Low wages have kept the educational level of caregivers from rising and has spawned an annual turnover rate of about 30%. Programs that manage to retain their caregivers are generally of higher quality than those that have a high turnover.

Curriculum

Given the importance of the early years for children’s physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development, another mark of a quality program is the curriculum. Curriculum in child care is generally understood as an approach toward learning that includes both planned and spontaneous educational experiences that occur within a predictable daily routine. Time is designated for outdoor and indoor play. Large group gatherings are used for stories, music, movement, and more, and for routines like eating, toileting, and resting. A well-planned curriculum will meet the needs of the children enrolled by considering their age, developmental levels, interests, special needs, and cultural backgrounds.

A quality curriculum in a program serving infants and toddlers requires that teachers be especially responsive to the rapid growth and change that is occurring during these years. Wortham (2006) summarized characteristics of effective teachers for this age group; they must be able to

• Understand and appreciate children’s unique temperaments and developmental stages.
• Meet children’s needs for care while encouraging increasing independence.
• Frequently initiate physical, social, and verbal interactions.
• Be responsive to children’s physical, social, and verbal behavior as much as possible.
• Be consistent and predictable.
• Plan experiences and interactions appropriate to the children’s level of functioning.

Play and routine caregiving activities are the fundamentals of the curriculum with this age group. A quality caregiver follows the lead of the children in determining when they sleep, eat, and need to be changed. Between these times, they interact with the infants and toddlers in an environment that has been set up to enhance their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Children’s cultures and families are represented in various ways, highlighting child care as an extension of the home.

As children reach age two and move into the preschool years, the curriculum changes to meet their developing needs. The daily schedule includes opportunities for children to work individually and in small groups most of the time, with some short periods of whole-group gatherings for stories and music. The room is arranged in activity areas, such as blocks, dramatic play, art, science, math, computer, language, and others. Each area is well stocked with interesting materials, which allows the children to make choices about what to do when they are there. Indoor and outdoor play is respected as the best way for children to learn, and teachers facilitate their play to enhance the social, physical, and cognitive benefits for development (Wortham, 2006).