The National Institute of Child Health and Development awarded a $2.5 million grant to the Education School to allow it to continue in a nationwide long-term study on the effects of childcare on childhood development.
The study started in 1991, observing 1,364 children at 10 research sites spread across the country, with the University as one of these sites. The study involves observing children in daycare settings in an attempt to determine the effects of out-of-home childcare on development.
"The study is absolutely unique. There are hundreds of hours of videotape on the many children since birth," Education School Dean David W. Breneman said.
The University's site observed 130 children and determined the major effects of childcare on children's development, said Robert Pianta, principal investigator at the University's site. The study found that children in higher-quality childcare environments have better cognitive and language development, Pianta said.
He said high-quality childcare tended to have a higher adult to child ratio, allowing for more individualized attention. The childcare providers also had higher levels of education in the field.
The Commonwealth can improve the quality of childcare by placing stricter regulations on facilities and daycare providers, he added.
A second finding of the study showed that children who were placed in childcare early on and for long periods of time are less attached to their parents, he said.
University site coordinator Susan Dell said families already in crisis tended to show more detrimental childcare effects. In order to ensure the children were acting naturally, the project organizers set up a "portable cardboard corral open on one end with a camera," Dell said.
Pianta said the observations are valid.
"A lot of studies have been done on how children act when they know they are being watched, and it shows that they do not act significantly different. We have also questioned teachers to see if our participants were acting normally and we are told that they are," he said.
The program currently is in its third phase, which began after receiving the additional federal funding. The third phase is observing the same children from the original study during grades three through six, Dell said.
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