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Educators and others have argued for decades about whether the quality of
child care the youngest children receive before starting school really makes a
difference in how they fare once they start. At stake is not only the
children's potential academic and social success, but also the extra money it
costs to offer superior programs.
A first-of-its-kind study by University researchers offers strong new
support for the view that quality indeed makes a difference and is worth the
investment.
Investigators at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center found
that even infants and toddlers in superior child care were more likely to show
better intellectual and language skills and learn language faster than others
in poor quality care. Such findings have not been previously published.
Using a variety of well-established tests and procedures, researchers
carefully followed and annually evaluated 89 black children in 27 U.S. care
centers of varying quality between ages 6 months and 4 years. They also
observed and evaluated the children's families and classrooms each year.
Two-thirds of the youngsters were from low-income families.
"We found that, on average, children in high-quality care scored about 12
points higher in IQ and were about two- to two-and-a-half months ahead in
language development," said Margaret R. Burchinal, an investigator at the FPG
center. "Although those differences likely will diminish over time because IQ
tests are more reliable at older ages in children, they are bigger than what
are typically found in child-care research.
"In addition, children showed better language skills if they were in
classrooms that met professional recommendations regarding ratios of children
to adults," Burchinal said. "Girls showed better thinking and language skills
if they were in rooms that met recommendations regarding teacher education,
which meant having a degree after high school. We didn't find a difference in
boys."
The negative effect of poor quality child care would be somewhat less in
infants and toddlers from middle-income families, she said.
A report on the research was being published in the March-April issue of
Child Development. Besides Burchinal, authors are Joanne E. Roberts, Susan A.
Zeisel, Eloise Neebe and Donna Bryant, all Carolina faculty members. Roberts,
Zeisel and Burchinal also have appointments in pediatrics, nursing and
psychology, respectively.
"These findings provide further evidence that parents and policy-makers
should ensure that infants, toddlers and preschool age children have access to
quality child care," Burchinal said. "Children are increasingly likely to be in
out-of-home care when very young because their mothers have been forced to go
back to work due to welfare reform. Our work shows we can make a difference in
their lives by helping them acquire skills they need to enter school ready to
learn.
The Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration supported the
continuing study.
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