Results from the recent Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers Study (CQ&O) help us gauge the quality of child care around the country. Such national child care studies, however, often use one overall score to rate the overall quality of a program or center. Early childhood professionals may need more information to identify what is really working in the center, and which individual details need improvement.

A recent article in Young Children, "Quality Details: A Close-Up Look at Child Care Programs Strengths and Weaknesses" by Debby Cryer and Leslie Phillipsen, examines the details of quality as they were measured by researchers in the CQ&O Study. Which categories did researchers score highly in the average center or program -- and which categories did researchers identify as needing more attention to achieve the standards of high-quality?

What's working

In general, those preschool classrooms observed in the study offered children safe and adequate space for active play, appropriately scheduled both during the morning and afternoon. The majority of classrooms also demonstrated sufficient space for eating, napping, and storage. Programs also ranked high in "provisions for parents," demonstrating regular exchange of information. Doors were open for parents to visit and learn about the center's approach.

What needs improvement

Cultural awareness -- Many classrooms fail to provide ethnic variety in the dolls, books, and pictures. They make little use of the many comprehensive curriculum approaches available to encourage children to appreciate the vast array of cultures we experience in today's world.

Educational interactions -- The average program comes close, but does not provide the ideal environment with a calm but busy atmosphere in which both children and adults are happy and relaxed, and adults intervene to prevent problems and encourage positive social interaction. In many cases, observers saw children waiting too long with little or nothing to do during transitions, or confusion among children during changes from one activity to another.

Space to be alone and furniture for relaxation -- These items help create a comfortable, homelike atmosphere. There should be space for children to play alone or with a friend, protected in some way from other children.

Encouraging children's creativity -- The study found little variety in art materials that children may choose freely. Also, many times, children were instructed to copy an adult model rather than encouraged to create their own variations.

Child displays -- According to the researchers, commercial or teacher-made items are more often displayed than children's own creations. Also, displays are often too high for children to enjoy.

Mealtime atmospheres -- Although snacks are generally nutritious, the atmosphere in an average program at mealtime does not particularly encourage social or self-help skills. The best scores resulted from teachers sitting with children, guiding them in pleasant interactions and helping them serve themselves.

Space to meet adults' personal needs -- Separate bathrooms, a comfortable lounge, and adequate storage space for adults' possessions contributes to retention of qualified staff.

Want to know how infant and toddler care rated in the study? Watch for the next Early Years are Learning Years!

Additional Resources

Cryer, D. and L. Phillipsen. 1997. Quality Details: A Close-Up Look at Child Care Program Strengths and Weaknesses. Young Children 52 (5): 51-61.

Helburn, S. (Ed.) 1995. Cost, quality, and child outcomes in child care centers, technical report. Denver: Department of Economics, Center for Research in Economics and Social Policy, University of Colorado-Denver.