A Trial Study On Iters-R In Evaluating The Infant And Toddler Learning Environment Of Time And Parent-Childbased Early Child Care Programs

Background and Purposes: Internationally,the early education practice is still far more than research even though the early education of infants and young children aged 0-3 has received universal attention from all walks of life.Nationally,the "universal two-child" policy facilitates the development of early education while having a great impact on the quality of early education.In China,early child care programs serving for 0-3 are mixed up by good and evil,and their quality lacks assessment criteria.ITERS-R is widely used in many national cultural contexts,especially in the United States.However,its suitability to the time and parent-childbased early child care programs in China is unknown yet.Therefore,this study aims to use ITERS-R to preliminarily explore the quality evaluation of infant and child learning environment in Chinese time and parent-childbased early child care programs serving for 0-3.First,examine the psychometric properties and suitability of ITERS-R for the quality evaluation of time and parentchild-based early child care programs serving for 0-3.Then,find the problems of this scale on theoretical design and practical application and explain the possible reasons.Finally,provide suggestions for our China to develop the quality evaluation tools of time and parent-child-based early child care programs serving for 0-3.Methods: This study mainly used the research methods of observation,measurement,semi-structured interview and quantitative analysis.Combining target sampling and stratified random sampling,4 time and parent-child-based early child care programs were selected from the main and remote area of S city and H city(select one from each area of each city)in China,and 36 classrooms were selected from these institutions(select one from each level of each core courses).After that,4 systematically trained assessors,cooperated with another research team,using ITERSR,collective teaching subscale from CECERS and CLASS Toddler,simultaneously observed and evaluated these classrooms to obtain the evaluation data of their education quality.Finally,the suitability of ITERS-R for the quality evaluation of time and parentchild-based early child care programs serving for 0-3 years old infants and children were tested and explored by the descriptive statistics of each scale score,reliability and validity analysis of ITERS-R.Results: The inter-rater reliability of ITERS-R reached a high level,the internal consistency of the scale reached an acceptable level,and there was a significant positive correlation between the scores of the total scale and its several subscales.The total scale,5 subscales(except subscales IV)and half items(included in the statistics)had a satisfactory discrimination.The total scale together with half(or more)of its subscales scores were significantly and positively related to CLASS Toddler and the collective teaching subscale of CECERS.However,the internal consistency at the subscale level was not ideal.Except for subscale V,there were some defects in the subscales and big differences between them on the internal consistency.In addition,the reliability and validity of subscale IV(activity materials and use)and subscale 6(parents and staff)were both poor.Discussion: the main reasons for the inadequacy of the scale were as follows:(1)The effective sample size of some items was reduced as the low applicability of some items in the actual evaluation situation;(2)The theoretical and practical evaluation situations of some items did not match with each other,and the actual measured objects and attributes were deviated from the original ones after the preliminary adjustment;(3)The representativeness of the samples was insufficient,giving rise to the higher degree of homogeneity of sample classes on some items;(4)The evaluation basis of several items was so unstable that the scores of related items varies greatly;(5)The number of valid items of several subscales was too small,what's worse,the measured attribute of one particular item was much different from the other items of the subscales;(6)Variation of scoring trend of scales,subscales and items caused by the combination of above reasons.Advice: To sum up,the researcher put forward the following reference suggestions on the development of the quality evaluation tools of time and parent-child-based early child care programs serving for 0-3 years old infants and children in China:(1)Taking the essence and discard the dregs,optimize the overall framework of the scale based on the empirical evidence;(2)Enhance the property of correspondence and progression between indicators of different levels;(3)Respect cultural and individual differences and adjust related items;(4)Consider a variety of situations and explain for special situations;(5)Quantify abstract concepts and make a clear and unified definition.Finally,the researcher reviewed this study and make a prospect for future correlational researches.