What Research Tells Us About NAEYC Accreditation

Click here for some great mommmy and baby freebies from BabiesOnline.com

Click here for some great mommy and baby freebies from BabiesOnline.com

Main Page
Site Index
Getting Pregnant
Pregnancy
Parenting
Pregnancy and Parenting Journals

Fertility
Nutrition
Pregnant Moms
Morning Sickness
Women's Health
Child Health

What Research Tells Us
About NAEYC Accreditation
To early childhood professionals, NAEYC accreditation means a commitment to providing high quality services: developmentally appropriate curriculum for children; quality interactions among children and staff; a healthy, safe environment for children; a sufficient number of adults per children in group sizes appropriate for children's age; and strong communication between parents and staff. Early childhood professionals in NAEYC-accredited centers can also count on more involvement in decision-making and a commitment to the continual development of their teaching skills.
But what does NAEYC accreditation mean for children and families? How do we know that children in NAEYC-accredited programs really benefit from a high-quality educational experience? While research on the quality of accredited programs is limited, evidence suggests that accredited programs are often among the better centers within their communities. Many provide better ratios and group sizes, better compensation, better rates of staff turnover, and an enriched multi-cultural focus (7).
This comes as good news, particularly because recent studies show that while child care varies widely between states and within different sectors of the industry, most child care especially for infants and toddlers is mediocre in quality and sufficiently poor to interfere with children's development (5,6,7). We do know, however, thanks to research such as the Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes Study, that certain characteristics do predict positive outcomes for children. Children fare better emotionally, socially, and cognitively when centers demonstrate:

a sufficient number of adults for each child, that is, higher staff-to-child ratios;

smaller group sizes;

higher levels of staff education and specialized training;

low staff turnover and administrative stability; and

higher levels of staff compensation.

NAEYC-accredited centers provide better quality services for children and families, as predicted by:

a staff with more formal education and specialized early childhood training (1,2,5,6);

a more developmentally appropriate environment with age-appropriate and child-initiated activities (1,2,3,4,5,6);

a child-centered physical environment to promote learning (1,3,4);

teaching staff who interacted more sensitively and less harshly with children (1,2,3,4,5,6);

stronger staff communication (1,3,4);

better health and safety provisions, including nutrition and food service (1,3);

better relations with parents (1,3).
NAEYC's accreditation system is proud of its record to date. We continue working to strengthen accreditation criteria and procedures to make a positive difference in the lives of young children and families.
References

Š1996 National Association for the Education of Young Children
This is Early Years Release # 16
Updated November 8, 1996