Improving quality of the child care environment through a consultancy programme for centre directors |
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| Authors: | Katrien O W Helmerhorst Ruben G Fukkink J Marianne A Riksen-Walraven Mirjam J J M Gevers Deynoot-Schaub Louis W C Tavecchio |
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| Institution: | 1. Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands;2. Department of Developmental Psychology, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands;3. Kohnstamm Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | This study examined the effects of a newly developed on-site consultancy programme to improve global quality of the child care environment in non-parental child care centres for 0- to 4-year-old children as measured with the ITERS-R/ECERS-R. Using a randomised controlled trial with a pretest, posttest, and follow-up test, we compared 35 experimental group with 33 control group. The consultancy programme comprised three consultations in total. Analysis on the items that were specifically targeted during the consultancy showed a significant improvement on these targeted items between pretest and posttest and between posttest and follow-up. The effect of the consultancy programme on the total scores (including the non-targeted items) was not significant. |
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| Keywords: | Centre-based child care consultancy randomised controlled trial global quality of the child care environment ITERS-R ECERS-R |
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