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Walker, S. (2001). Family child care providers’ interest in professional development. Department of Family Studies, University of Maryland. Available online. College Park, MD: University of Maryland.
The author conducted a study on how professional training and education initiatives are received by the family child care provider community.
The Study
- Many families choose family child care settings because there are fewer children, the atmosphere is more home-like, it is more convenient, and often less expensive than child care centers.
- The number of family child care providers is decreasing and the field experiences high turnover.
- Turnover is due to work conditions such as long hours, low pay, and conflicts with parents. It is also due to job stress.
- Furthermore, many providers only go into this field when their own children are very young.
- Several states and localities have developed trainings and accreditations in an attempt to professionalize the family care workforce.
- This study examined enhanced training and education initiatives to determine:
- Likelihood of participation,
- Factors that influence professional development, and
- Job commitment’s influence on professional development aspirations.
The Methods
- In the fall of 2000, surveys were mailed to 500 registered family providers in Maryland. The author received a 31% response rate (n=134).
The Findings
- Demographic data showed the average years experience to be 9.11 with 33.8% having achieved a high school diploma and 42.4% having some college.
- Providers who had significantly higher professional development aspiration scores were more likely to be satisfied with their jobs (p<.001), worked longer hours (p<.05), had lower levels of stress (p<.001), and had lower degrees of role overload (p<.001) compared to providers with lower aspirations.
- Those with more years of experience were less likely to pursue more professional development compared to those with fewer years of experience.
- Professional development aspirations were significantly higher for those who were in their chosen profession (p<.001) and planned to stay indefinitely (p<.10).
- Overall, few providers aspired to achieve a child development degree, other higher education, or accreditation.
R2P Evaluation
This article was helpful in highlighting factors associated with professional development aspirations among family child care providers.
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