How Do Caregivers Select Preschools? A Study of Children With and Without Disabilities
| Autor: | Laura M. Justice, Joan N. Kaderavek, Katherine Glenn-Applegate |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Předmět: |
media_common.quotation_subject
Educational quality education 05 social sciences Applied psychology 050301 education Special needs Interpersonal communication Special education School choice Developmental psychology Preschool quality 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Quality (business) Early childhood Life-span and Life-course Studies Psychology 0503 education Social Sciences (miscellaneous) 050104 developmental & child psychology media_common |
| Zdroj: | Child & Youth Care Forum. 45:123-153 |
| ISSN: | 1573-3319 1053-1890 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10566-015-9322-1 |
| Popis: | Little is known about how parents and other caregivers conceptualize preschool quality, or what factors they prioritize when selecting a preschool. Caregivers of children with disabilities have the additional challenge of finding a preschool that can address their children’s special needs. We explored the factors caregivers valued when selecting a preschool for their children, how these factors categorized into structural, process, and familial quality, and how caregiver characteristics related to preschool selection factors. We also compared caregivers’ preschool selection factors with the observed quality of their children’s preschool classroom. In this study, 407 caregivers with children in 54 early childhood special education classrooms completed surveys regarding how they selected their children’s preschool. Classroom quality was assessed for each classroom, and compared to caregivers’ preschool selection factors. Findings showed that caregivers prioritized interpersonal teacher characteristics and safety when selecting preschools. Caregivers’ felt that process elements of quality were more important than structural or familial elements of quality. Caregivers whose child had a disability were more likely to prioritize structural elements of quality than caregivers whose child did not have a disability. No relationship was found between caregivers’ preschool selection factors and the quality of the classrooms in which their children were enrolled. These findings provide insight for those wishing to make preschool programs more amenable to the needs of caregivers, particularly those of children with disabilities. Understanding caregivers’ preschool selection factors also deepens the theoretical understanding of preschool quality. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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