Exploring the Educational Practices of Home-Based Childcare Providers

• In Event: 69.057 - Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: 69.057-17 - Young Children's Care and Learning in Different Early Childhood Settings

Abstract

This paper explores the educational practices of a nationally representative sample of home-based child care providers. Home-based providers are a diverse group that serve approximately seven million children. Despite the prevalence of home-based child care, there is little research about the quality of the educational experiences children receive in home-based care. Using data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education, differences between educational practices, professional engagement, and caregiving beliefs are examined by provider type, as well as variables that predict how frequently providers plan and implement learning activities. Results suggest that increasing providers’ professional engagement may be one strategy for increasing the frequency of learning activities for children attending home-based child care.

Author

• Alison Hooper, University of Alabama