The Impact Of Childcare On Children s Social And...

The Impact of Childcare on Children’s Social and Cognitive Development Kaitlyn Fillmore The Pennsylvania State University The Impact of Childcare on Children’s Social and Cognitive Development Introduction Over the years the long-term effects of preschool childcare has been a topic of growing interest. The use of these programs have grown dramatically over the years, and more than half of all three to five year olds in the United States attend childcare centers prior to kindergarten (Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001). Many questions have risen overtime on the quality of childcare centers, and the research on these issues has been extremely inadequate. Do these early childcare centers have a long-term impact on a child’s social†¦show more content†¦What seemed to have sparked interest in this topic were the inconsistent findings on the issue of social outcomes. Although it has been found that children who attended childcare programs appeared to be more socially competent than home-reared peers, displays of aggression and resistance to adult requests were also described among childcare children (Haskins et al., 1985, as cited in Phillips et al., 1987). Phillips, McCartney a nd Scarr (1987) believed that these contradictory findings differed due to the quality of the childcare programs. Because a high percentage of children were spending majority of their time in a childcare setting, and with those programs ranging in quality, Bermuda was chosen as the site to further this research (Phillips, McCartney, Scarr, 1987). Nine childcare centers that accepted children from infancy through preschool agreed to participate in the study. These centers were chosen in respect to the diversity of the children’s family backgrounds and director’s experiences in childcare (Phillips, McCartney, Scarr, 1987). A total of 166 families participated in the study, with criteria being that the child must be three years or older, and attending one of the target centers for six months or longer. Of the 166 children, 130 were African American and 36 were Caucasian. Nineteen months was the