Child care environments have received extensive research attention by
those interested in understanding how participating in nonparental child
care might influence the children's development and learning. Throughout
the United States (US Census Bureau, 2011) and Europe (Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development, 2006) a large number of young
children are cared for outside of the home by non-parental adults. Young
children's nonparental care is commonly referred to as "child care," and
is provided to children whose ages range from birth to 12 years of age.
The provision of child care services has become an increasingly
important part of early childhood education. In fact, the United Nations
Children's Fund (2019) states that a large majority of children
worldwide spend at least some of their week in child care, such
arrangements include center care, family child care, in-home child care,
relative child care, and supplemental child care. Child care researchers
have been conducting studies to understand how participating in
nonparental child care might influence the children's development and
learning outcomes. There are more than enough child care studies to make
numerous major inferences. For example, research outcomes show that
child care quality seems to be more influential than either the kind of
child care or age of admission in determining the children's development
and learning. The adults' child care affects the quality in child care.
In the environment adults who are caring for the children have the
opportunity to effectively assume both nurturing and instructional roles
to help young children cultivate their social and cognitive abilities.
The teachers' effectiveness is related to their individual
characteristics, such as formal education, specialized training, and the
classroom environment. However, the majority of the studies show that
both family and quality of child care have the most significant effects
on the children's development and learning.
Therefore, the concept of child care has heavily influenced modern
views. Researchers, scholars, and educators are beginning to understand
the current foundations based on theoretical frameworks that contribute
to the purposes of the child care in the United States and Europe. The
contents of the child care volume reflect the major shifts in the views
of these early childhood researchers, scholars, and educators in
relation to research outcomes on child care, its historical roots, the
role of child care in early childhood education, and its relationship to
theory, research, and practice.
