Culture of Child Care

As societies are experiencing increasing levels of immigration from contexts outside of the Western, industrialized world, child care programs are experiencing, simultaneously, increasing diversity in enrollment. A question that has been raised by early childhood advocates and practitioners is whether the former articulations regarding definitions of quality, models of relationships, and peer relations in the child care context are accurate and relevant within theincreasing racial, linguistic, and ethnic diversity of the United States.The Culture of Child Care provides a much-needed integration of research pertaining to crucial aspects of early childhood development— attachment in non-familial contexts, peer relations among ethnically and linguistically diverse children, and the developmental importance of child care contexts during early childhood. This volume highlights the interconnections between these three distinct bodies of research and crosses disciplinary boundaries by linking psychological and educationaltheories to the improvement of young children's development and experiences within child care. The importance of cultural diversity in early childhood is widely acknowledged and discussed, but up until now, there has been little substantive work with a cultural focus on today's educational and early childcare settings. This innovative volume will be a unique resource for a wide range of early childhood professionals including basic and applied developmental researchers, early childhood educators and advocates, and policymakers.

"This volume brings together a stellar group of authors to underscore a critical point--relationships matter for all young children. However, it also pushes the field to move beyond this basic premise and asks pressing questions--what do these relationships look like, and how do they support children within an increasingly diverse cultural context? A fitting tribute to the outstanding contributions of Dr. Howes to the early childhood community over the years!" --Jason Downer, PhD, Associate Professor, Director, Clinical and School Psychology Program, and Director, Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, University of Virginia"Carollee Howes and her colleagues continue to show their commitment to true scholarship and equity as they engage in collective inquiry to examine hard questions about the impact of race and culture on the accuracy and relevancy of decades of their own work." --Sharon A. Ritchie, EdD, Senior Scientist, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Principal Investigator, FirstSchool Initiative"The Culture of Child Care celebrates the career of Professor Carollee Howes, a stalwart advocate and champion of culturally responsive, relationship-based, high-quality early child care. The book's integrated focus on early childhood development and education ensures its broad appeal to stakeholders--researchers, educators, and policy makers--invested in advancing best practices to promote the health and well-being of our nation's youngest, and increasingly diverse, citizens." --Rashmita Mistry, PhD, Professor of Human Development & Psychology, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA

Kay Sanders, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Child Development at Whittier College. Dr. Sanders' research examines cultural and racial socialization practices in community-based child care programs. In particular, she examines how racial/ethnic socialization in child care programs contributes to child care quality, relationships, and children's social and emotional school readiness skills.Alison Wishard Guerra, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Wishard Guerra's research examines culture and development in early childhood, with particular focus on Latino children from low-income families. She examines the intersection of language and social development through an investigation of narrative interactions, social pretend play, attachment relationships as they relate to thedevelopment of critical school readiness skills among children growing up in poverty and in diverse communities.