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Lilian Katz, writing in the book, Cultivating an Early Childhood Curriculum, (part of the Art of Leadership series), explains that “there are many ways to assess the quality of a program for young children. One is to look at it from the top down; another is from the bottom up. Both views are important.”

Here are a few of the examples she gives of both types of assessment:

"A top-down view should include an examination of staff relationships. We could ask:

• are they supportive rather than contentious?
• are they cooperative rather than competitive?
• are they accepting rather than antagonistic or even hostile?
• are they trusting rather than suspicious?
• are they respectful rather than bossy?...

A bottom up view…can proceed by asking about the environment on behalf of the child:

• am I taken seriously rather than just precious or cute?
• am I usually accepted by some peers rather than isolated, neglected, or rejected?
• is this environment usually involving rather than entertaining?
• are the activities meaningful rather than mindless?
• are the activities engaging rather than amusing?
• are the activities interesting rather than boring?"

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