Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/measuring-the-quality-of-early-childhood-programs-guidelines-for-effective-evaluation-tools/5013566/
Every dedicated early childhood practitioner cares about program quality. Decades of research have consistently shown that the better the quality of the program, the more it supports the development of young children (e.g., Cost, Quality, and Child Outcome Study Team, 1995). Research reviews and policy statements such as those issued by the Carnegie Corporation of New York (1994) emphasize that the cognitive and social development outcomes desired for children cannot be achieved without services of sufficient quality. Moreover, high quality programs encourage parent involvement and promote the retention of skilled staff. These findings are now commonly accepted - not only by professionals but also by the general public. Constituencies from all backgrounds now demand early childhood services that are not only available and accessible but high quality as well.But how do you define program quality? How do you take an honest look at your program so you can recognize what is good and know what to improve? How can you accurately communicate this information to parents, educators, administrators, researchers, and funders? Although we all have our own ideas about what constitutes a high quality program, it is not enough to say "I know a high quality program when I see one." ...