Abstract
Parents were surveyed regarding their satisfaction with early childhood services. Participants were 65 families who had at least 1 child younger than 5 years of age enrolled in a child care center or an early education program in a rural county; a majority of respondents were single, African American females with annual incomes below $20,000. Parents responded to the 20 items of the questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The average score for overall level of satisfaction was 4.64 for the child care group and 4.37 for the early education group; the average for individual items ranged from a low of 3.85 to a high of 4.64. Differences between child care centers and early education programs were not statistically significant. Applications, implications, and recommendations for early childhood services are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Blasik, K. A., & Knight, K. (1994). Head Start program. Fort Lauderdale, FL: Broward County Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 388 401)
Bridge, C., Townley, K. F., Hemmeter, M. L., & Mesquita, P. B. (1995). Third party evaluation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act preschool programs. Lexington: Kentucky University, College of Education & College of Human Environmental Sciences. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 394 628)
Britner, P. A., & Phillips, D. A. (1995). Predictors of parent and provider satisfaction with child day care dimensions: A comparison of center-based and family child day care. Child Welfare, 74, 1135–1168.
Erdwins, C. J., & Buffardi, L. C. (1994). Different types of day care and their relationship to maternal satisfaction, perceived support, and role conflict. Child & Youth Care Forum, 23, 41–54.
Kisker, E. E. (1992). School readiness: The contribution of formal early education and care programs. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 350 083)
Lawler-Prince, D., Grymes, J., Boals, B., & Bonds, C. (1994, November). Parent responses to public school programs for three-and four-year-old children. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Nashville, TN. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 382 361)
Long, P., Wilson, P., Kutnick., P., & Telford, L. (1996). Choice and childcare: A survey of parental perceptions and views. Early Child Development and Care, 119, 51–63.
Lucas, J. A., & Thomas, J. A. (1996). Evaluation studies of child learning centers on the main campus and at Northeast Center. Palatine, IL: William Rainey Harper College, Office of Planning and Research. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 397 914)
McWilliam, R. A., Lang, L., Vandiviere, P., Angell, R., Collins, L., & Underdown, G. (1995). Satisfaction and struggles: Family perceptions of early intervention services. Journal of Early Intervention, 19, 43–60.
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1991). Accreditation criteria and procedures of the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs. Washington, DC: Author.
Onibokun, Y. (1991). IEA pre-primary study: Phase 1, national research report, 1991. Nigeria. Ibadan, Nigeria: University of Ibadan, Institute of Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 342 461)
Porter, T. (1991). Just like any parent: The child care choices of welfare mothers in New Jersey. New York: Bank Street College of Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 343 664)
Rafanello, D. (1993). An analysis of the child care system in Evanston, Illinois: Parents, directors, and community leaders speak out. Unpublished master's field research report, National-Louis University, Evanston, IL. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 362 302)
Sonenstein, F. L., & Wolf, D. A. (1991). Satisfaction with child care: Perspectives of welfare mothers. Journal of Social Issues, 47, 15–31.
United States Bureau of the Census. (1996). Regular child care arrangements for children under 6 years old, by type of arrangement: 1995 (Statistical Abstracts of the United States: 116th Edition No. 607). Washington, DC: Author.
Willer, B., Hofferth, S. L., Kisker, E. E., Divine-Hawkins, P., Farquhar, E., & Glantz, F. B. (1991). The demand and supply of child care in 1990: Joint findings from the National Child Care Survey 1990 and a profile of child care settings. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 339 522)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Teleki, J.K., Buck-Gomez, S. Child Care and Early Education: Satisfaction with Services Among Rural Families. Early Childhood Education Journal 29, 161–166 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014532524941
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014532524941