ASSESSING QUALITY DAY-CARE - THE CHILD-CARE FACILITY SCHEDULE

The Child Care Facility Schedule (CCFS) represents an effort to develo p a measure to assess quality child care, Initially 80 criteria, cover ing 8 areas considered important for attaining quality, were defined. These were subsequently tested in three different cultural contexts: A thens (Greece), Manila (Philippines), and Ibadan (Nigeria). Reliabilit y studies were conducted in Athens and Ibadan, and a validity study wa s carried out in Athens, Concurrent validity was established by compar ing the CCFS scores with those obtained from an unstructured observati on by an observer unfamiliar with the content of the Schedule. Criteri on validity was examined by comparing the CCFS scores with those deriv ed from another well-established measure. Factor and cluster analyses were used as a means for establishing construct validity, A general qu ality factor that tapped the contribution of the caretakers to quality was revealed, and a shorter 43-item version was recommended. The CCFS appears to identify differences among the various types of day care c entres, and can be used for self-evaluation by the personnel of day ca re centres.