Ratio and group size in day care programs

Quality of Social and Physical Environments in Preschools and Children's Development of Academic, Language, and Literacy Skills

“…There is an extensive literature that has examined associations between process quality and children's outcomes and that provides general support that higher quality experiences within preschool programs are associated positively with children's development (Byrant, Burchinal, Lau, & Sparling, 1994;Dunn, 1993;Henderson & Wilson, 1988;Hestenes, Kontos, & Bryant, 1993;Howes & Smith, 1995;Lamb & Ahnert, 2006;NICHD-ECCRN, 1999;NICHD-ECCRN, 2002;Peisner-Feinberg et al, 2001;Peisner-Feinberg & Burchinal, 1997;Vandell, Schliecker, White, & Jacobs, 1991). However, relations between preschool quality and development tend to be small (NICHD-ECCRN & Duncan, 2003), and significant associations are not evident across all studies (e.g., Chin-Quee & Scarr, 1994;Deater-Deckard, Pinkerton, & Scarr, 1996;Goelman & Pence, 1987;Kontos, 1991;Kontos & Feine, 1987).…”

“…Two broad types of preschool program quality that have been identified are structural quality and process quality (Lamb, 1998;Phillips & Howes, 1987;Vandell & Wolfe, 2000). Structural features are those aspects of programs that have typically been targeted by regulation or financing and include teachers' levels of education and type of training, class size and ratio, the type of curriculum, and program services for parents and families, and many of these structural features are associated empirically with children's developmental outcomes (Burchinal, Roberts, Nabors, & Bryant, 1996;Dunn, 1993;Howes, 1997;NICHD ECCRN, 2002. Process quality refers to the features of preschool programs that children experience directly while they are enrolled in programs, such as the ways teachers implement activities and lessons, the nature and quality of interactions between adults and children and between children and their peers, the quality of space and furnishings, and the abundance of learning materials, and most studies of the associations between quality and outcomes have included measures of classroom processes.…”

Measures of Classroom Quality in Prekindergarten and Children’s Development of Academic, Language, and Social Skills

“…Preschool quality is a multifaceted, multilevel construct that includes a variety of program and classroom features, and a large body of literature exists in which correlates and consequences of these features have been evaluated, often separately in different studies that may focus on one or a few aspects of quality (e.g., Baydar & Brooks-Gunn, 1991;Bryant, Peisner-Feinberg, & Clifford, 1993;Bryant et al, 1994;Burchinal, Peisner-Feinberg, Bryant, & Clifford, 2000;Burchinal, Roberts, Nabors, & Bryant, 1996;Caughy, DiPietro, & Strobino, 1994;Dunn, 1993;Early et al, 2007;Gormley et al, 2005;Hagekull & Bohlin, 1995;Howes, 1997;Howes et al, 2008;NICHD ECCRN, 2002a, 2002bPeisner-Feinberg & Burchinal, 1997;Phillips, Howes, & Whitebook, 1992). As a result of the different methods of conceptualizing and measuring quality across studies, there is a mixture of evidence, particularly concerning the magnitude of associations between specific features of quality and children's development (NICHD ECCRN & Duncan, 2003).…”

Child‐Caregiver Ratios in Day Care Center Groups: Impact on Verbal Interactions

“…A high ratio could facilitate a type of caregiver-child interaction which facilitates the developmental outcome of the child. Caregivers are assumed to have more positive, nurturant interactions with children and to give more individualized attention to children in small groups with higher caregiver-child ratios (Dunn, 1993). The addition of even one child to a day care setting can have a significant impact on the day care environment (Howes, Phillips & Whitebook, 1992).…”

“…The addition of even one child to a day care setting can have a significant impact on the day care environment (Howes, Phillips & Whitebook, 1992). Therefore, variations in caregiver-child interaction as a function of variation in ratio are worthy of attention (Dunn, 1993).…”