Facts In Action. Associated Early Care & Education.In Brief. California Training Model Improves Family Child Care Providers’ Caregiving Skills

Although family child care accounted for nearly one-fifth of the child care arrangements for children from birth to five years old in 1997 (Child Care Arrangements for Children Under Five, Urban Institute, March 2000), research suggests that many family child care providers receive little or no formal training, and that training efforts have often been piecemeal, informal, and of questionable quality. In addition, there has been little research to examine the effects of training programs on family child care providers, the caregiving environment, or program quality.

A recent study presented at the 2000 Annual Conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) sought to examine the effects of a specific training program offered in California on participating licensed family child care providers. The 16-hour training series covered key concepts such as attachment, responsive caregiving, environments, health and safety, temperament, cognitive development, infancy, and principles of learning. The researchers surveyed a sample of providers, asking them to describe the impact the training had on their family child care program.

Providers responded that the training had increased their caregiving skills and knowledge and led to a positive impact on their sense of professionalism and pride in their work. The greatest change providers noted occurred in the nature of adult/child interactions and the overall quality of their caregiving. Providers felt that they had a heightened awareness of the developmental stages of children, and that they adapted the caregiving environments and curriculum to encompass more developmentally appropriate practices. In addition, providers stated that they felt an improvement in parent/provider communication and relationships as a result of the training.

Source:
The Effects of Training on Family Child Care Providers, J. Ishiura, University Extension, UC Davis and WestEd, PITC, and S. Gomez, California State University, Sacramento, paper presented at NAEYC Annual Conference, November 11, 2000.

For more information:
contact Ms. Judy Ishiura,Regional Training/Coordinator, 5400 E Street, Sacramento, CA, 95819, jlishiura@ucdavis.edu or jishiur@wested.org, or Dr. Susan Gomez, California State University, Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA, 95819-6079, gomezs@csus.edu.