A sociological examination of the child care auspice debate

To the extent that the board is truly representative of the users and the community, there is a formal mechanism by which the program is held accountable to the community and to its users. [...] This chapter discusses the findings of research studies that have examined the impact of auspices using global measures of quality or by comparing the number of children per caregiver, the level of caregiver education, caregiver stability, or the type of interaction between the caregivers and children. [...] Studies comparing the interaction between the caregiver and the child across auspices In an Ontario study involving 40 programs for school-aged children, the quality of the interaction between the adults and the children was assessed using an observation scale that measured, for example, the extent to which the adults encouraged independence and used positive approaches to help children to behave. [...] This checklist was developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children to assess the nature of interaction between caregivers and children and the level of competency of the caregivers (Kagan & Newton, 1987). [...] Purposes The purposes of the Calgary Day Care Study were to: examine the impact of auspices on quality in child care centres; examine the impact of different auspices on centres' organizational characteristics; determine the relationship between organizational characteristics and quality of care; and explore whether differences in quality found between centres under different auspices are the prod.