Analyzing Process Quality of Early Childhood Education with Many Facet Rash Measurement Model

Abstract Quality of early childhood education institutions specifically, dimensions of process quality should be evaluated. Purpose of this study is to analyze process quality of early childhood education by using many-facet Rasch measurement model (MFRM). In this study, data were collected from twelve early childhood education institutions by four independent judges. Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECER) was used to evaluate the process quality of the institutions. MFRM was applied to analyze the data. The results indicated that early childhood education institutions were below the desirable level of process quality. It has been found that judges exhibited similar behaviors and when item statistics were examined they served the purpose of the evaluation. Standardized measurement tools and measurement models were recommended to increase process quality of early childhood education. Key Words Many-Facet Rasch Measurement Model, Judges Bias, Early Childhood Education Quality. With the purpose of reaching early childhood schooling rate of developed countries, studies have been continued to widespread early childhood education in Turkey (MEB, 2006a; MEB, 2006b). Despite quantitative increase in the number of early childhood institutions, the current number of children attending centre-based ECE programmes is, approximately 16 percent (MEB, 2007). Along with increasing quantity of early childhood schools, the quality of the early childhood education institutions specifically providing developmentally appropriate practices should be taken into consideration. It is obvious that high quality early childhood education has positive effects on children. In the cost, quality, and outcomes study, Peisner-Feinberg, Burchinal, Clifford & Yazejian, (1999) stated that high quality child care services was significantly related to children's school readiness, academic success, cognitive progress and social development as well as children who experienced better quality child care were more advanced in their development into the early elementary years. Additionally, researches showed that children enrolled in good quality childhood programs tend to be more successful in later school, were more component socially and emotionally and showed higher verbal and intellectual development during early childhood period (Barnett, 1995; Clarke-Stewart, 1987; Peisner-Feinberg, et.al, 1999; Schweinhard & Weikard, 1997; Sylva, Siraj-Blatchford, Taggart, Sammons, Melhuish & Elliot, 2006). The positive affects of early childhood education on children's socio-emotional development (Secer & Sari, 2006), the increase on children's motivations of learning and later success were also stated (Zembat, 2005). On the other hand, definition of quality and indicators of quality programs has still been discussed by researchers in this area (Textor, 1998, Phillipsen, Burchinal, Howes, & Cryer, 1997). A common approach is to define quality in terms of certain structured components of services such as teachers' educational level, experiences, salaries, child-teacher ratio and size of the classroom. Alternatively, the process quality of early childhood education including teacher child relationships, providing developmentally appropriate activities, simulating and rich educational environment needs to be considered while measuring and defining early childhood education quality (Wishard, Shivers, Howes & Ritchie, 2003). Observational measures were often used to assess the process quality of early child care services (Sheridan & Schuster, 2001). Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale developed by Harms & Clifford (1980) is often used to assess the quality of the early childhood education. This observational tool assesses teacher-child interactions, developmentally appropriate activities, stimulating and rich learning environments and family/personal relationships (Sheridan & Schuster, 2001). …