This exploratory study focused on identifying the stuctural indicators of high quality
childcare that are associated with high levels of caregiver sensitivity. The participants in the
study were 318 caregivers employed in 234 Canadian childcare centres. Caregivers were
observed in their centres and their sensitivity was rated using the Caregiver Interaction Scale
(Arnett, 1989). Structural indicators of quality were identified through a Centre Questionnaire
and a Staff Questionnaire developed for the You Bet I Care! study (Goelman et al. 2000) sent
to centres prior to the observations. Using a median split, the caregivers' scores were divided
into high and low scores and the structural indicators of the two groups were compared. The
results were analysed first considering the scores of all observed caregivers together and then
as two separate groups: caregivers of infants and toddlers and caregivers of children aged 3 to
6 years. The analysis revealed that certain features of the centre and characteristics of the
caregiver were associated with higher levels of caregiver sensitivity. The features of the centre
that were associated with caregiver sensitivity included financial issues (eg. wages), staff
development, centre administration, and characteristics of the children in the centre.
Characteristics of the caregivers that were associated with sensitivity were caregiver attitudes
and beliefs, caregiver feelings about their work, and level of education. The results of this
study suggest that caregiver sensitivity which is related to positive developmental outcomes for
children may be enhanced through the active support of the larger community.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/11896 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Thompson, Deborah |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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