This study focused on two factors, auspice and job satisfaction, which have been shown to impact on the quality of child care programs. However, while research has indicated that auspice, job satisfaction, and program quality are intertwined, there is a lack of research which explores these factors qualitatively. There is also a dearth of research which has considered auspice from the caregivers' perspectives. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the meaning that caregivers give to auspice in their work in nonprofit and for-profit child care centers. As well, this study sought to examine the relationship between auspice and job satisfaction from the caregiver's point of view, paying close attention to differences in job satisfaction that existed between staff employed in nonprofit centers and staff who worked in private or for-profit centers. A series of qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight child care workers from the Vancouver Metropolitan area. Four of the participants were employed in or owned private centers and four of the participants worked in nonprofit centers. Positive and negative perceptions of both nonprofit and private auspice emerged. In particular, the nonprofit participants believed that child care should be operated as a service and not a business. They perceived that the motive to make a profit in child care lead for-profit centers to sacrifice quality in order to cut costs and maximize profits. On the other hand, the for- profit participants perceived that their centers provided high quality care and were dedicated to putting the needs of children and staff first. In general, the participants'' perceptions of factors that influenced their job satisfaction were similar across auspices. The nature of child care work and supportive relationships with co-workers were factors which positively influenced job satisfaction while the perceived lack of status in the eyes of society negatively affected satisfaction. Differences in job satisfaction according to auspice were found on several factors, such as government policies and a perceived lack of enough time to accomplish job duties.

This study focused on two factors, auspice and job satisfaction, which have been shown to impact on the quality of child care programs. However, while research has indicated that auspice, job satisfaction, and program quality are intertwined, there is a lack of research which explores these factors qualitatively. There is also a dearth of research which has considered auspice from the caregivers' perspectives. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the meaning that caregivers give to auspice in their work in nonprofit and for-profit child care centers. As well, this study sought to examine the relationship between auspice and job satisfaction from the caregiver's point of view, paying close attention to differences in job satisfaction that existed between staff employed in nonprofit centers and staff who worked in private or for-profit centers. A series of qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight child care workers from the Vancouver Metropolitan area. Four of the participants were employed in or owned private centers and four of the participants worked in nonprofit centers. Positive and negative perceptions of both nonprofit and private auspice emerged. In particular, the nonprofit participants believed that child care should be operated as a service and not a business. They perceived that the motive to make a profit in child care lead for-profit centers to sacrifice quality in order to cut costs and maximize profits. On the other hand, the for- profit participants perceived that their centers provided high quality care and were dedicated to putting the needs of children and staff first. In general, the participants'' perceptions of factors that influenced their job satisfaction were similar across auspices. The nature of child care work and supportive relationships with co-workers were factors which positively influenced job satisfaction while the perceived lack of status in the eyes of society negatively affected satisfaction. Differences in job satisfaction according to auspice were found on several factors, such as government policies and a perceived lack of enough time to accomplish job duties. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

This thesis is a qualitative study of six full day childcare centres. The purpose of this study was to identify the print literature resources that are present within a representative sample of urban childcare centres. Data were collected using field notes and manager interviews. A further analysis of the resources present allowed to the researcher to evaluate the quality of the resources and to discern whether the early childhood educators sampled have the resources to provide the foundation for a quality literature program. The books were analysed using five elements, including; literary merit, age and accuracy, physical condition, genre and developmental appropriateness, and quantity and accessibility. A total of 2774 resources were present in the six childcare centres. Overall the centres did not satisfy the elements for quality resources. Only 1% of the resources were found to have been judged worthy of recognition through nomination or award. The average age of the resources was 16 years, with an age span of 102 years, causing concern for accuracy, especially for information literature. The physical condition of the print literature resources did conform to quality guidelines, and it was discovered that physical condition was the only reason for discarding a book. There were a variety of genres present within the childcare centres, with the largest genre being information books. The second largest genre was surprising, as TV/Toy books represented 19.5% of the total collections. None of the centres met International Reading Association guidelines for quantity or accessibility for classroom libraries. It was clear that quantity and cost were the most important factors influencing the print literature collections in these childcare centres. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate