Discussion session
Chairs: Kimberley Boller and Thelma O. Harms
Researchers and early childhood education professionals in manycountries have used the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) andthe Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) to assess the globalquality of care provided for young children in out-of-home settings. Thescales have been translated into a number of languages--including German,Icelandic, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish--and the ECERS was usedin an international study. Across cultures and countries, researchersreport that there is a positive relationship between the observed quality ofcare assessed by the scales and children's developmental outcomes.Recently, however, questions have been raised about whether the scalesassess the unique characteristics of quality that are valued by specificcultures and early childhood approaches. In this discussion session, two of the authors of the scales willreview how they developed the scales and how their definition of 'quality'has changed over time. We will review the features of the child care studythat is part of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, andwill share our experiences in collaborating with a Montessori Early HeadStart program to clarify how quality is assessed using the ITERS. From ourwork together, we have identified key discontinuities between the'developmentally appropriate practice' definition of quality and theMontessori definition. We will also discuss how the scales are being usedto study the quality of care in programs with a 'culturally competent'approach. Researchers from England and Germany will discuss how the scaleshave been used in Europe and Asia and in international studies. Our goal isto identify the key issues in assessing the quality of care across culturesand approaches. Organizers: Kimberly Boller and Thelma HarmsDiscussion Participants:Thelma Harms and Debby Cryer - Overview of the scales and how the authorsdefine 'quality'Helen Raikes, John Love, and Kimberly Boller - Overview of the child carestudy embedded in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project,and using the scales in Montessori settingsSharon Ritchie - Using the scales in culturally competent settingsKathy Sylva - Approaches to assessing the quality of care and education inEurope and Asia Wolfgang Tietze and Debby Cryer - Perspectives from the International ChildCare and Education Project
Details of individual items:
Discussion session