Quality of center day care and attunement between parents and caregivers: Center day care in cross-national perspective

In a sample of 43 Dutch infants and toddlers (mean age = 1.7 years), the qu ality of care at day-care centers was assessed and compared with similar qu ality ratings in other European and North American countries. It was hypoth esized that formal characteristics of care settings and caregivers as well as attunement between caregivers and parents would be associated with quali ty of care. Quality of center care was assessed with the Early Childhood En vironment Rating Scale (T. Harms & R. M. Clifford, 1980), the Infant/Toddle r Environment Rating Scale (T. Harms, D. Cryer, & R. M. Clifford, 1990), an d the Caregiver Interaction Scale (J. Arnett, 1989). The children's interac tions with both their mothers and their fathers at home were rated with sev eral sensitivity scales. Caregivers and parents also completed questionnair es about childrearing attitudes and attunement. The results showed that the quality of center care in the Netherlands was rather good compared with th at of other European and North American countries. Better quality of center care was associated with older caregivers who had less professional educat ion, fewer years of experience, and who worked fewer hours per week. Commun ication and attunement between caregivers and parents did not appear to be important for quality of care.