Some studies focus on structural quality, which concerns features of program infrastructure or design. Prior studies have typically conceptualized and assessed children’s experiences in early learning settings by exploring various aspects of structural and process quality ( Phillips & Howes, 1987). We also relate differences in daily classroom routine to structural program characteristics, measures of process quality, children’s engagement in activities of various academic contents, teachers’ instructional strategies, and children’s school readiness skills.Ĭonceptualizing Quality in Early Learning Programs
#Daily schedule for preschool classroom with pictures free
free choice, whole group, small group) into daily classroom routines.
Using a diverse sample of early learning programs serving low-income families, we identify patterns in the ways teachers organize time in different group sizes and settings (i.e. This study builds on the growing body of research exploring time use in preschool programs. The amount of time that children are expected to engage in activity settings of different group sizes, and the extent to which those activities are teacher-directed or child-initiated may also be important features of children’s learning experiences in early education programs. Less attention has been paid to the ways that children’s daily experiences in early education and care are structured. The recent focus on children’s school readiness has also led to research on the efficacy of specific academically-oriented preschool curricula for children’s learning. This prior body of research has focused on structural and process quality and other features of children’s experiences, such as the type of program they attend, the number of hours they spend in care, or the age at which they enter care.
Decades of research investigating children’s early learning settings have advanced our conceptualizations of quality, identifying the environments, interactions, and activities likely to support young children’s learning. Importantly, higher-quality programs produce greater gains ( Garces, Thomas, & Currie, 2002 Gormley, Gayer, Phillips, & Dawson, 2005 Howes et al., 2008). Past research has shown that participation in early learning programs can help to alleviate socioeconomic disparities in school achievement by increasing children’s academic and social readiness for formal schooling. As a result, early learning settings may vary greatly with respect to the services provided, the structure and size of the program, and the setting itself (home- or center-based). Many programs focus on both of these goals. Others are primarily concerned with meeting the child care needs of working parents.
Some programs are specifically designed to provide pre-kindergarten readiness development opportunities. Consideration of teachers’ structuring of daily routines represents a valuable way to understand nuances in the provision of learning experiences for young children in the context of current views about developmentally appropriate practice and school readiness.Ĭhildren from low-income families attend a variety of early learning programs prior to kindergarten. Being in a Structured-Balanced classroom was associated with children’s language scores but profiles were not associated with measures of children’s math reasoning or socio-emotional behavior. Children in Structured-Balanced classrooms had more opportunities to engage in language and literacy and math activities, whereas children in High Free-Choice classrooms had more opportunities for gross motor and fantasy play. Daily routine profiles were associated with program type and curriculum use but not with measures of process quality. Two daily routine profiles were identified using a time-sampling coding procedure: a High Free-Choice pattern in which children spent a majority of their day engaged in child-directed free-choice activity settings combined with relatively low amounts of teacher-directed activity, and a Structured-Balanced pattern in which children spent relatively equal proportions of their day engaged in child-directed free-choice activity settings and teacher-directed small- and whole-group activities. This paper examines activity settings and daily classroom routines experienced by 3- and 4-year-old low-income children in public center-based preschool programs, private center-based programs, and family child care homes.
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