This study describes the differences of parents’, teachers’, and the researcher’s assessment of quality of five different child care programs. This study focuses on infant and toddler classrooms or care settings. Parents, and teachers/providers completed the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale and the Definition of Quality Questionnaire in order to rate the quality of infant and toddler child care programs. The findings from the questionnaires supported existing research that indicates a majority of child care programs in the United Stated range from poor to mediocre; and parents utilizing all types of cares, licensed/certified or otherwise, tended to overrate the quality of child care programs. In this study, the only exception to this tendency was the ratings of quality in the licensed and accredited center, where parents’, teachers’, and the researcher’s ratings were similar. This study provides a new contribution to the field of child care research in its finding that some of the teachers in all the different types of care settings investigated (with the exception of the licensed and accredited center) also tended to overrate the quality of infant and toddler child care programs. Follow up interviews were conducted with some of the parents and teachers, in order to explore the reasons behind their ratings of quality. The consensus was that parents and teachers identified characteristics of quality that were dissimilar to those identified by child care experts. There are many possible reasons for this result, including lack of adequate information to help them identify determinant characteristics of quality programs, that there was difficulty in assessing quality, and that there was a lack of demand for quality programs. / Master of Science

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Contexte: Depuis 1985, l’Association des services de garde en milieu scolaire du Québec (ASGEMSQ) a pour principale mission de veiller à l’amélioration de la qualité des services de garde des écoles québécoises afin que chaque enfant puisse évoluer dans un milieu de qualité, respectueux de son bien-être et de son développement. En partenariat avec Québec en forme, l’ASGEMSQ joint sa voix au vaste mouvement d’initiatives favorisant l’adoption de saines habitudes de vie et a amorcé des actions menant au développement d'un environnement favorable à une saine alimentation et à l'activité physique dans les services de garde en milieu scolaire. À cette fin, les responsables des services de garde en milieu scolaire y exercent un rôle déterminant. Objectif: Les objectifs principaux de ce mémoire sont d’étudier des perceptions des responsables des services de garde en milieu scolaire du Québec à l’égard du contexte des repas et des facteurs liés à son déroulement ainsi que d'identifier leurs besoins de formation en nutrition. Méthodologie: À l’automne 2014, un sondage électronique fut envoyé aux 1 655 responsables des services de garde en milieu scolaire du Québec. Des statistiques descriptives et des tests de chi-carré furent menés (SPSS, version 17.01). Résultats: Un total de 624 réponses fut analysé, donnant un taux de réponse de 38%. Le contexte du repas semble être un moment relativement agréable pour la majorité des enfants et du personnel éducateur. Différents obstacles ont une relation statistiquement significative avec la perception générale du contexte du repas comme étant agréable pour la majorité des enfants tels que le non-respect des consignes de la part des parents à l’égard du contenu de la boîte à lunch, le rythme personnel selon lequel les enfants s’alimentent, la nécessité d’encadrer adéquatement des enfants ayant des besoins spéciaux, le non-respect du code de vie de l’école par les enfants, et l’attitude générale du personnel. Les résultats démontrent un intérêt considérable de la part du personnel éducateur pour différentes formations en nutrition. De plus, l'intérêt pour certains thèmes de formation a une relation statistiquement significative avec certains obstacles liés au bon déroulement du repas et certaines caractéristiques du milieu. Conclusion: Les données confirment le besoin d’outiller la main d’œuvre et de maintenir des partenariats avec l’école et les parents pour que le repas en milieu scolaire soit agréable. Le service de garde en milieu scolaire primaire est un milieu à documenter. Il constitue un milieu de vie fréquenté quotidiennement par la majorité des enfants. Avec la collaboration des responsables des services, des directions d’école et des parents, des interventions peuvent être planifiées pour en faire un milieu propice à l’adoption de saines habitudes de vie. Ce portrait des contextes de repas dans les écoles primaires du Québec s’inscrit dans la volonté de comprendre les environnements alimentaires pour en faire des milieux favorables à l’adoption de saines habitudes de vie. / Context: Since 1985, the main objective of the Association des services de garde en milieu scolaire du Québec (ASGEMSQ) has been to improve the quality of child care services in schools so that each child could develop in an environment that contributes to its well-being and growth. In partnership with Québec en forme, ASGEMSQ joined a national movement searching to promote healthy lifestyles and initiated actions leading to the development of environment conductive to healthy eating and physical activities in school child care services. To this end, child care providers definitively play a decisive role. Objective: The main objectives of this research are to study the perceptions of school-age child care providers in Quebec with regards to the meal period and the factors that may impair its development, as well as to identify their training needs in nutrition. Methodology: During fall 2014, an electronic survey was sent to 1655 child care providers from Quebec schools. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were conducted (SPSS, version 17.01). Results: In total, 624 responses were obtained, a 38% response rate. The meal context appears to be a relatively pleasant moment for the majority of children and educators. Different obstacles had statistically significant relationship with the perception of the meal context as being enjoyable for the majority of children, namely failure from parents to comply with instructions regarding lunch box content, children personal eating pace, the need to appropriately support children with special needs, non-compliance to the school code of conduct and the general attitude of the school's staff. The results show considerable interest from child care providers in various nutrition training activities. Moreover, specific training themes have a statistically significant relationship with obstacles related to a favorable meal context and to certain characteristics of the environment likely to impact them. Conclusion: The data confirm training needs and the importance to support partnerships with school and parents so that the meal context represents enjoyable moments. Elementary school day care is an environment to be documented. It constitutes a living environment that a majority of children experiment on a daily base. In collaboration with child-care center managers, school principals and parents, actions can be planned to create environments that support the adoption of healthy lifestyles. This transversal study conducted in Quebec's elementary schools contributed to the study on the importance of the environments on overall healthy lifestyles.