Child Care Changes, Child Care Quality, and the Social Adjustment of African American Children in Prekindergarten

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  • March 21, 2019
Creator
  • Bratsch, Mary E.
    • Affiliation: School of Education
Abstract
  • Recent work has demonstrated that the changes that young children experience in their child care settings before age five may be related to their subsequent development, especially their ability to develop positive social skills. Yet, the majority of these studies have examined the child care experiences of middle-class children, both in the United States and in other countries. Virtually no emphasis has been placed on the particular experiences of low-income and/or African American children. Data from this study was drawn from the Family Life Project, a longitudinal study representative of families living in rural, low-wealth areas. With a sample of 194 African American children who were followed from birth to prekindergarten, this study explored the associations between child care changes and children's social adjustment in prekindergarten. Experiencing higher quality child care in prior and/or concurrent child care arrangements was expected to serve as a buffer between child care changes and children's subsequent social adjustment. Results suggested that more changes in child care up to four years of age were not directly associated with prekindergarten teacher ratings of children's prosocial or aggressive/oppositional behaviors. Rather, this link appeared only when children experienced differential quality in their prekindergarten programs. For children in higher quality prekindergarten, their teachers were less likely to rate them as displaying aggressive/oppositional behaviors when they had experienced more changes in child care, while the opposite was true for children in lower quality prekindergarten programs. Research considerations and recommendations for the study of African American children's experiences with child care changes are discussed.
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  • ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education.
Advisor
  • Vernon-Feagans, Lynne
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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