Childcare Providers on Childcare Issues in Childcare Centers Organization - Essay Example

The present paper proposes a training program for the care-givers of XYZ day-care centre. The training program based in Wisconsin is targeted at training the existing staff to provide better quality daycare for the children who enroll. This would ensure that, without raising costs, the quality of the service provided at this daycare centre will improve manifolds. The basic need that was felt was that the middle class families were unable to afford high quality centers, and the centers that they did enroll with, were exhibiting low quality and hence were detrimental to the children. As, such, the proposal aims at enhancing the quality of the existing staff of XYZ center, through both cognitive and behavioral training. The staff at XYZ consists of 9 care-givers including a health professional, and 1 non-teaching Director. The proposed training program will however be aimed at both the care-givers and the Director of the centre – thus ensuring that the training is acceptable and welcomed by all. The need asse4ssment for the above training will be carried out by interviewing the parents that enroll the children with XYZ, and also by assessing the current skill levels and the understanding of their responsibilities by the care-givers. This method of involving all the stakeholders in the process will assist in easy implementation of the project. The end results of the training program will then be evaluated in terms of criteria that will be set for achieving targets and success. Introduction XYZ Childcare center is located in an urban area of Wisconsin, and has been providing its services for the past 15 years. The main clients of XYZ are working couples belonging to middle-income groups who require daycare for their children for at least 8 hours a day, 5-days a week. The children that are regulars of XYZ center come from diverse racial backgrounds, including Whites, African-Americans, and some with Asian parentage. The clients that favor the daycare center mostly belong to the middle-income group, and are people who prefer to maximize the quality benefits of the care with the given costs. XYZ has a capacity of enrolling around 40 children, between ages 1-3, and has been running to its full capacity. The staff includes a total of 10 persons, with a non-teaching director (who as an Associate Degree/undergraduate degree on Child Development), a health professional (trained from the National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants (NTI)), and the remaining 8 being high school diploma holders. The center operates in a 5 room premises, where the children are ascribed to different rooms as per their ages. These different sections are equipped with age-appropriate toys, educational aids and learning materials. The 8 care-givers are involved in ensuring that the kids’ developmental needs are met, that they are safe and healthy, and if required are toilet-trained. XYZ manages on the discounted fees that it charges per child, but it largely relies on federal and state grants as well as public donations. Problem Statement The childcare system is gaining enormous relevance in the present day scenario as more and more women are deciding to opt for a career. (Cattan, 1991). Siegel, Gary and Loman, in an Illinois study have elaborated upon the fact that over 80 percent of the low-income women find securing affordable child care as a stumbling block in both finding and keeping a job. (1991) This places great stress on the importance of the quality of the childcare that is available, so that the parents’ concern about the developmental issues of their children are eased. However, research has revealed that there are several challenges related to the availability and affordability of high-quality child care centers that parents have to face. It is observed that the affordability of a quality of a child-care center decreases with increasing quality, especially for the parents from middle and lower income groups. (Cattan, 1991). The annual cost for one child in full time child care can easily run over $5,000 annually. (Blau, 2001) The quality of the childcare centers hinges on several factors like availability of credentialed, well trained, experienced staff; adequate supplies and equipment; low staff/child ratios; nutritious food and a strong learning environment. (Fiene, 2002). Research supports that quality childcare results in the children’s emotional, social, cognitive development, fewer behavioral problems, better language development, and thus builds the foundation needed for early literacy and improved school readiness. (Fiene, 2002) Numerous studies have found that the quality of childcare is greatly dependent upon the educational qualification of the care-givers, their behavioral habits and attitudinal inclinations. The educational qualifications have been positively correlated with care givers sensitivity, positive interactions, less detachment, less punitive-ness, and hence with their ability to provide high quality (Fiene, 2002). Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald, (1994), have found that the caregivers who have more education are better able to instill more social compliance and social competence among the children. It is also observed that approximately 70 percent of child care centers’ budgets are tied to personnel costs, better-trained/educated staff and lower child-to-adult ratios. (Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes Study Team. 1995). This naturally gets translated into higher child care prices, thus making the availability of high quality child care beyond the reach of families with lower incomes. It is also established that the children from the families that have little resources, are typically in most need of high-quality child care to boost their development. (Marsh,1999) Taking into consideration the fact that highly educated caregivers come highly priced, and hence their services are beyond the reach of many, it is pertinent that ordinary care-givers are equipped with better training and skills to improve their quality. The problem that needs to be addressed is how to make the XYZ’s ordinary care-providers skill and learning sets to improve so that they are able to provide service at par with highly educated caregivers. Needs Assessment Results Data Collection It was observed that good quality was endorsed by the presence of facilities, equipment, and that the quality of the personnel involved as care-givers was of great importance. However, high quality care-givers who were highly educated were accompanied by high costs, and as such, XYZ, decided to train its existing staff to deliver high quality of service. The need for planning a training program to solve the above problem was largely assessed on the basis of a parental survey of the quality requirements of child-care centers. This primary data was gathered from the clients/parents that used the services of XYZ, and was guided by the literature survey on the quality attributes of the caregivers. Another survey required a gauging of the existing skills and knowledge of the existing caregivers at the center itself. A perusal of the literature presented a set of key indicators, especially related to the care-givers, that point to high quality. The care-givers are who are successfully deliver on quality are found to be knowledgable on the planned program of activities at the center and how it fits into the overall development of the child, the acceptable methods of discipline, emergency health and safety procedures, have familiarity with diaper-changing/toilet-training methods, child abuse, attention and separation issues, and with dealing with parents. (Fiene, 2002) A questionnaire was used to assess the parent’s expectations of good quality service provided by the caregivers. This included questions like if they felt that experienced workers were good, are the religious background or disciplining beliefs of the caregivers important, should the caregivers be flexible, responsive, and sensitive to the child needs, is the knowledge of the child’s mental and physical development important etc. In addition to the above a questionnaire was administered to the existing staff of XYZ, that judged the respondents on all of the above desired quality attributes. The two data-collection instruments that were used are attached in the Appendix. Data Analysis The data collected from the parents showed that the childcare providers should possess a greater knowledge of the developmental theories, and should be able to use them in the practical activities that are undertaken at the center. Parents also required that the caregivers were able to provide highly stimulating environment in which the child develops his creativity and intelligence. They should be prepared to offer a variety of experiences in the form of art, music, group-play etc. to the children. Another attribute of seen as an indicator of high quality was the technical skills of the care provider – including safety/emergency and health related training and knowledge of the nutritional needs. The parents also wanted the care-givers to be more communicative and responsive with the parents, and to closely work with the parents on an individual basis with respect to the child’s progress. The questionnaire that was administered to the caregivers to gauge their current learning revealed that all the caregivers working at XYZ have already had the basic training in the child care requirements. However, there was a slight discrepancy in the understanding of the developmental theory, and its translation into the daily activities of the center. There was also little initiative to formalize interaction with the parents, or to be communicative and responsive to the children. They were also following a set, repetitive routine, that was not really stimulating enough for the kids. This included activities like playing with toys, mid-day snack, learning rhymes, lunch, rest and outdoor play. Need Statement The above findings indicate towards a scope of improvement so that better quality can be built into the child care service. It is understood that developmental theories, as are taught by the educationists to the practitioners, are not always amenable to practical translation due to lack of relevance. (Christopher, 2004). Thus the need is to make a training program that teaches the childcare personnel the practical implications of the development theory in their work. Another need is to instill them with awareness of the importance of parental involvement, and train them in making fruitful interaction with them. For this, they need to develop more sensitivity, communication skill and responsiveness. Goals and Objectives Program Purpose The purpose of the program is to provide training to the caregivers so that their knowledge of development theory finds applicability in their daily work. This is expected to result in their realization of the importance of the use of diverse and stimulating activities, and in their attentiveness and disciplining practices. For the above, it is required that the care-givers get ten, 3-hr workshops that will familiarize them with various theories and their practical relevance in implementing child-care activities. Another purpose is to modify the behavior of the caregivers to make them more communicative and responsive to the parents. Two 1-hour session are desirable for the above training. Program Objectives The objective of the above ten sessions will be broken down into 5. The first session will recall the training that the childcare workers had already gone through, while the next 2 sessions will deal with the summarizing the developmental theories, and extolling the importance of translating them into their daily routine. The remaining 7 sessions will be based on enumerating the developmental stages of the child and the rational for various play activities, of the reasons and applicability of the disciplining techniques, of the methods of stimulating the child’s creativity and intelligence. The two 1-hour session involving changing the behavior and attitude towards the parents will require the care-givers to role-play and enact interaction with parents. Instructional Objectives The above program will include intermittent self-assessment in the way of presentations, and quizzes after each level. After the completion of the first three sessions of the theory and application program, the trainees will undergo a questionnaire to evaluate their understanding. At the end of the 10 sessions, they will be required to make a presentation on how they can make the child-care more stimulating and relevant for the children. Once the behavioral sessions are concluded, the care providers will be required to present a report of their first interaction with the parents. Methods and Activities Of the ten sessions of teaching, the first one can be conducted in traditional pedagogy, because it has the advantage of presenting factual material in a sequenced, direct manner to large groups. This method requires a teacher who is well-versed with the subject on hand. The teacher must also ensure that students are active participants despite the one-way communication. The preparation includes a study of the subject along with appropriate examples and a clear introduction to the subject to help create an outline of the matter of study. The subsequent two sessions, where an emphasis is laid on with summarizing the developmental theories, the lecture with discussion method can be used because it involves the students in the knowledge impartation process, and they can ask question/clarify doubts. Since time is a constraining factor, the success of discussion hours would be gauged by the quality of questions and discussion. Therefore, the teacher must be ready with some quality questions in case the students are not stimulated enough to think, and irrespective of where the questions originate from, the teacher must provide valuable insights to the discussions that emerge. The remaining 7 sessions are aimed at enumerating the developmental stages, and hence, will require a pragmatic approach to training. Hence a combination of various methods can be used here. Videotapes are an entertaining way of teaching and hold the group’s attention. To ensure its effectiveness, the discussion that follows screening must be fine-tuned. Also, set-up equipment must be arranged in advance, and the facilitator must prepare a host of questions in advance. Case studies will be used to develop analytical and problem solving skills, and allows for exploration of many solutions for complex issues. This method also allows the students to apply their knowledge to specific cases. For the case-studies method to be successful, the teacher must clearly define the case, and should be prepared to spend time with those who are unable to relate to the relevance of the case. Finally, the two 1-hour session involving changing the behavior and attitude towards the parents will require the care-givers to role-play and enact interaction with parents. This technique introduces the subject dramatically, and therefore has the possibility of engraving concepts deeper. It develops practice skills, besides appreciation for various points of view. The learning gained in the above sessions will need to be effectively transferred in the real child-care settings. Therefore, it has to be kept in mind that the leadership of XYZ is fully involved in the above program, and that the care-givers are given ample opportunities to act out their roles. The participants can be asked to make notes throughout the sessions, and also to keep an ideas notebook handy so that they are able to store their own thoughts. Further, the care-givers will be given charts and materials that explain the utility of various teaching and disciplining techniques, and of exploring newer ways of making the care-giving process more lively and fruitful. It is also planned that the care-givers will get a monthly refresher training for the next 2 months, to reinforce their learnings. Here, they can be made to role-play to develop an understanding of their interactions with the parents. The participants will also require to keep a record of such interactions on a daily basis for the month proceeding the one when they got the training in. Staffing and Course Logistics Since there are ten participants, including the Director, the care-givers, and the health professional, it is advisable to have three faculty members conducting the training. Two members can handle the 10 cognitive and knowledge development sessions, while a third faculty can handle the role-playing sessions. Since an important part of the first ten sessions involves pedagogy or other forms of knowledge impartation, the trainers must possess a minimum qualification of BEd. This is also a standard followed by many trainers who handle the training sessions of care-givers. Also, prior experience in ‘change management’ and similar training will be big plus. The final two sessions require the trainers to understand the psychological and behavioral aspects of the care-givers. Hence, someone who possesses an industry-recognized degree in psychology, and with a previous experience in psycho-analysis should be preferred. This way, they can understand and fine-tune the mental approach of the trainees. Marketing and Promotional Plans The above program needs to be marketed to the stakeholders for its successful implementation. For this, an all around awareness environment needs to be created. The Director’s support can be enlisted for delivering a short lecture on the need of improving the child-giver’s practical skills, and the importance of quality childcare for children’s development, to the parents and the staff alike. This lecture can be followed by display of charts extolling best practices in childcare centres in and around the centre itself. Further, the parents can be sought to submit quality suggestions in boxes – thus, instilling in them an interest and hope. The staff can be asked to have a brainstorming session to debate on ways of improving their quality. Evaluation Plan To evaluate how well the training program worked, a test can be conducted at the end of the training. This test can be conducted in three phases: in the first phase, a written test is conducted and the various concepts, on which knowledge has been imparted, can be tested. In the second phase, a case study can be given to the care-givers and they can be asked to discuss the case. The trainers can then observe how well the theory has been put to practical implementation. Finally, a role-play test can be conducted, and some students can enact a given theme, while others can decipher the point they are trying to emphasize. Besides this test at the end of the training, several presentations and discussions can be held throughout the course to ensure a proper understanding of the training material. Budget Statement The following are the items involved in the training, and the various associated costs: Salaries & Wages 2500 Component 1400 Class Rooms rent 350 Projector hire for discussions/presentations 50 Equipment for video-screening 75 Stationary (pens, notebooks, board marker and felt pens) 70 White board for hire 30 Total Cost $ 4475 Appendix A Parent Survey 1. What impact, if any, does the education of the care-giver has on your child’s cognitive development? 2. Do you feel that care-givers who have greater knowledge of the Developmental theories are better? 3. Is it important to plan the activities taking into the consideration the developmental theories and age groups of the children? 4. How do you think the environment can be made more stimulating for enhancing the children’s creativity and intelligence? 5. Do you want different activities like dance, music, arts etc. to be included into the curricula? 6. How important is the technical skills, in terms of health, safety, nutrition, emergency etc, for a care-giver to posses? 7. Do you want the care-givers to interact more with you so that you can play a greater part in the child’s growth? APPENDIX B Administrator and Instructor Survey 1. Do you recall the various theories of development that you studies? 2. How important do you think those theories are for your work? 3. Are you able to see how the theory is being used in the planning and implementation of the curricula? 4. Do you think that more stimulating environment should be provided to the children? 5. Can you understand that for the development of such an environment, you need to understand the theories and their practical use in a newer light? 6. Do you think that parents should have a say in the activities of the care center? 7. How much time do you spend, on an average, with any given parent? 8. Do you prefer talking to the parents, or do you think that your duties are confined to the child care activities of the center alone? Reference 1. Apps, J. W. (1979). A Perspective on Problems (Chapter 2). Problems in Continuing Education, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 7-24 2. Boyle, P. G. (1981). Planning better programs. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. 3. Caffarella, R. S. (2002). Planning programs for adult learners: A practical guide for educators, trainers, and staff developers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 4. Cattan P. 1991. “Child-care problems: an obstacle to work” . Monthly Labor Review Online. Available online at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1991/10/art1exc.htm, accessed on 8 Dec 2006 5. Clarke-Stewart, Gruber, & Fitzgerald (1994). Children at home and in day care. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.. 6. Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes Study Team. 1995. Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers, Public Report, University of Colorado at Denver 7. Christopher A. 2004. "This Issue" Theory Into Practice - Volume 43, Number 4, Autumn 2004, pp. 251-252 8. Blau, D., 2001, “Rethinking U.S. Child Care Policy”, Issues In Science And Technology, Available online at: http://www.issues.org/18.2/blau.html. accessed on 29 Dec 2006. 9. Fiene, 2002, “13 Indicators of Quality Child Care: Research Update”. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and Health Resources and Services Administration/Maternal and Child Health Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available online at http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/ccquality-ind02/#Overview, accessed on 8 Dec 2006 10. Marsh, J. 1999. “Child Care in South Carolina: Quality, Affordability, and Availability”. South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Available online at http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/ifnl/PDFs/qualityaffordabiity.pdf. Accessed on 7 Dec 2006. 11. . Siegel, Gary L. and Loman A. 1991. Child Care and AFDC Recipients in Illinois: Patterns, Problems and Needs. Institute for Applied Research, St. Louis, MO. 12. Schön, D. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York, NY: Basic Books. (as cited in Dr. Martin’s Session 3 class notes). Read More