See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/271670159

Assessing quality in toddler classrooms using the CLASS-Toddler

and the ITERS-R

Article in Early Education and Development · February 2014

DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2014.883586

CITATIONS READS

118 3,780

3 authors, including:

Amy C Williamson Payton

Oklahoma State University - Stillwater
18 PUBLICATIONS 656 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Amy C Williamson Payton on 20 August 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Early Education and Development, 25: 875–893
Copyright # 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1040-9289 print/1556-6935 online
DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2014.883586

Assessing Quality in Toddler Classrooms Using the

CLASS-Toddler and the ITERS-R

Karen M. La Paro
Department of Human Development and Family Studies,
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Amy C. Williamson
Schusterman Center, Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education,
The University of Oklahoma, Tulsa
Bridget Hatfield
School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, College of Public Health
and Human Sciences, Oregon State University

Many very young children attend early care and education programs, but current information about
the quality of center-based care for toddlers is scarce. Using 2 observation instruments, the Infant=
Toddler Environment Rating Scale–Revised (ITERS-R) and the Classroom Assessment Scoring
System, Toddler Version (CLASS-Toddler), 93 child care classrooms for toddlers across the state
of North Carolina, representing a range of quality, were assessed to determine overall quality, and
associations between observed quality and teachers’ ratings of child behavior problems and com-
petence outcomes using the Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment. Research Findings:
Findings indicated that overall, toddler classrooms were rated as being of moderate quality. Asso-
ciations between observed quality and teacher-reported child behavior problems and competence
outcomes indicated that CLASS-Toddler ratings were positively associated with fewer behavior
problems; specifically, children in classrooms with higher levels on the CLASS-Toddler domains
of Emotional and Behavioral Support as well as Engaged Support for Learning were reported to have
fewer behavior problems. Similarly, the ITERS-R subscales of Interaction and Listening and Talking
were positively related to fewer reported behavior problems. Regression models showed that the
CLASS-Toddler Emotional and Behavioral Support domain predicted differences in child behavior
problems. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest the need for additional research related to very young
children’s experiences in center-based child care to examine associations between quality and child
experiences and outcomes. Children’s experiences over time need to be examined to understand how
these early child care experiences are related to children’s later school adjustment and performance.
On a related note, professional development for teachers in toddler classrooms needs to be addressed
in terms of preparing effective teachers for young children during the toddler developmental period.

Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Karen M. La Paro, PhD, Department of Human
Development and Family Studies, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 148 Stone, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro,
NC 27402. E-mail: kmlaparo@uncg.edu
 876 LA PARO, WILLIAMSON, AND HATFIELD

The experiences children have in toddlerhood influence their development and later school
readiness (Belsky, 2001; Belsky et al., 2007; Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, & Siraj-Blatchford,
2003). In recent years, as the number of mothers of young children in the labor force has
increased, the number of very young children, ages 15 to 36 months, enrolled in center-based
early childhood and education programs has increased (Children’s Defense Fund, 2005;
Lally, 2013; U.S. Department of Labor, 2009). Reports indicate that between 16% and 29%
of children ages 2 to 3 years attend center-based care (National Center for Education Statistics,
2009). However, it is estimated that almost half of all children in the United States will attend
a center-based early childhood and education program by the time they turn 4 years of age
(National Center for Education Statistics, 2009). Current research suggests that the quality
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

of the child care is a critical feature associated with the behavioral, social, and academic
outcomes of the children attending these programs (Belsky et al., 2007; Love et al., 2003;
Mashburn et al., 2008). Specifically, children who experience higher quality child care at
young ages are more likely to have better educational and social outcomes than children in
lower quality child care settings (McCartney, Dearing, Taylor, & Bub, 2007; National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network [NICHD
ECCRN], 2005). These effects have recently been shown to exist through adolescence,
underscoring the importance of these early experiences in children’s development (Vandell
et al., 2010). However, limited current information exists regarding the quality of center-based
care specifically for toddler-age children (i.e., children ages 15–36 months). The focus of
much of the current research on child care has been on preschool-age children; however, recent
research related to brain development indicates that interactions and relationships during the
first few years of a child’s life are critical to the development of brain structure (Center on
the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010).
Understanding toddler child care environments and teacher–child interactions is important to
building knowledge of how children are learning and developing. It is expected that within these
contexts, toddlers will gain physical, self-help, and increasingly complex social-emotional skills,
such as perspective taking and understanding, expressing, and regulating emotions. Toddlerhood
is a unique period of development, different in many ways from the preschool period. Emerging
toddler independence seeks to balance the needs of autonomy and individuation with the main-
tenance of emotional and physical proximity to caregivers for comfort and security (Brownell &
Kopp, 2007). Toddlerhood is a developmental period that is not defined by ‘‘autonomy or
connectedness, but autonomy with connectedness’’ (Sroufe, 1996, p. 206). This connectedness
through positive relationships with significant adults and their environment is an essential aspect
of promoting healthy development in toddlers and underscores the importance of focusing
on toddlers’ experiences in child care classrooms. For very young children, social-emotional
learning occurs through these adult–child interactions. These daily interactions provide a foun-
dation for and connection to behaviors and skills throughout children’s development and are
critical elements of cognitive development and school readiness (Blair, 2002; Calkins, 2007;
Calkins & Williford, 2009; Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). Thus, the current study sought to
examine the quality of teacher–child interactions in classrooms for toddlers and assess the
global quality in these classrooms. In addition, given emerging evidence that the early childhood
years present a critical time to address children’s risk for social-emotional and behavioral
challenges (Raver et al., 2009), associations between observed classroom quality and toddlers’
social-emotional skills are explored.
 ASSESSING QUALITY IN TODDLER CLASSROOMS 877

ASSESSING CLASSROOM QUALITY

Classroom quality is commonly conceptualized in terms of environmental features of

classrooms, such as materials, the curriculum, and teacher education and training, and process
features, which include the daily interactions that take place in classrooms (Phillips, Mekos,
Scarr, McCartney, & Abbott-Shim, 2000; Vandell, 2004). The Infant=Toddler Environment
Rating Scale–Revised (ITERS-R; Harms, Cryer, & Clifford, 2003) has been widely used
in examinations of global environmental quality in toddler classrooms. The ITERS-R is part
of the Environment Rating Scales and is an observational measure for use in classrooms for
children ages 6 weeks to 30 months. The Environment Rating Scales were developed to
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

assess overall classroom quality (Perlman, Zellman, & Le, 2004). Studies using the ITERS-R
have shown positive associations between higher quality and child cognitive and social
outcomes (Gevers Deynoot-Schaub & Riksen-Walraven, 2006; Goelman et al., 2006).
An additional component of quality that has been examined in some depth in the preschool
literature, but only to a very limited degree for toddlerhood, is the interactions between teachers
and children in classrooms. Teacher–child interactions are an aspect of process quality in early
childhood classrooms that has recently received attention in research as an important pathway to
children’s development within the classroom context. The Classroom Assessment Scoring
System Pre-K (CLASS Pre-K; Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008) is a measure focused on process
quality and assesses teacher–child interactions. The dimensions defined in the CLASS Pre-K,
such as Positive Climate, Teacher Sensitivity, and Language Modeling, are based on research
that has demonstrated that teacher–child interactions within these areas are related to positive
outcomes for children (Domı́nguez, Vitiello, Maier, & Greenfield, 2010; La Paro, Pianta, &
Stuhlman, 2004; Mashburn et al., 2008; NICHD ECCRN, 2002, 2005).

QUALITY OF TODDLER CHILD CARE

Large-scale studies of child care have provided some initial research into child care for toddlers
(e.g., Cost, Quality, & Child Outcomes Study Team, 1995; NICHD ECCRN, 1997, 2000;
Whitebook, Howes, & Phillips, 1990). Given the expanding numbers of programs providing
care for very young children, current research is needed to examine the quality of center-based
child care programs serving toddler-age children. The limited research to date suggests that
the quality of toddler classrooms is mediocre to poor (Helburn, 1995; NICHD ECCRN, 2002;
Thomason & La Paro, 2009; Whitebook et al., 1990). Using established measures of
quality—that is, the Caregiver Interaction Scale (Arnett, 1989) and the ITERS (Harms, Cryer,
& Clifford, 1990)—Helburn (1995) found that only 8% of infant and toddler classrooms
were rated as ‘‘good or excellent,’’ whereas 40% of them could be categorized in the lowest
rating of ‘‘poor quality.’’ Similarly, observations using the ITERS in toddler classrooms in
the National Child Care Staffing Study indicated that more than two thirds of the infant=toddler
oddler classrooms were assessed to be ‘‘minimally adequate’’ (Whitebook et al., 1990).
Other studies have specifically focused on interactions and relationships within child
care. Researchers in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care examined the child care experi-
ences of more than 1,000 children at 15, 24, and 54 months of age using the Observational
Record of the Caregiving Environment, an observational scale of the caregiving being
 878 LA PARO, WILLIAMSON, AND HATFIELD

provided to children, and found the majority of care being provided to be of poor quality
(NICHD ECCRN, 2002). More recently, Thomason and La Paro (2009) used a pilot version
of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Toddler Version (CLASS-Toddler; La Paro,
Hamre, & Pianta, 2009), in 30 classrooms and found similarly low to moderate quality
in classrooms, ranging from low ratings for interactions supporting early language
development (i.e., Language Modeling) to a moderate rating for interactions indicating
respect and enthusiasm (i.e., Positive Climate).

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN CLASSROOM QUALITY AND

TODDLER OUTCOMES
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

Multiple studies have revealed the connection between positive teacher–child interactions in
preschool classrooms and children’s academic achievement, motivation, and engagement
(Howes & Smith, 1995; Stipek, Feiler, Daniels, & Milburn, 1995). Specifically, children who
exhibit behavior problems tend not to be as engaged in classroom activities, and this limited
engagement minimizes opportunities to learn (Aguiar & McWilliam, 2013; Webster-Stratton
& Reid, 2004). These associations among measured child care quality and preschool children’s
outcomes have been notable in the literature. However, much less attention to date has been paid
to toddler developmental outcomes associated with children’s experiences in child care. Many of
the studies that provide information on the overall quality of settings for toddlers do not include
outcomes for children relative to the assessed quality.
The majority of available findings that do include toddlers are from the national NICHD
Study of Early Child Care. Within this sample, researchers found consistent links between the
quality of toddler child care as rated by the Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment
(NICHD ECCRN, 1996) and very young children’s social and emotional competence within
and outside of the classroom. Specifically, teachers’ sensitive and responsive interactions with
toddlers were associated with parent and teacher ratings of positive social and emotional
competence for these children (NICHD ECCRN, 1998, 2001, 2002). More recently, researchers
have demonstrated that poor-quality child care can be especially problematic for the develop-
ment of social-emotional competence in toddlers who are experiencing double jeopardy, such
that they attend a poor-quality child care and they experience additional family risk factors,
such as poverty, family chaos, and poor parenting, outside of the classroom (Watamura, Phillips,
Morrissey, McCartney, & Bub, 2011), or who have been rated as having a difficult temperament
(Pluess & Belsky, 2010). Thus, although still limited, research has begun to demonstrate
this relation as a salient and useful path to pursue.
Given the critical importance of very early experiences for children’s development
and the limited examination of classroom quality specifically for toddlers in recent years,
further investigation of the quality of toddler classrooms is warranted. Useful to the field
is examining quality from multiple perspectives and understanding the associations between
quality and children’s social-emotional outcomes. The current study explores three central
research questions: (a) What is the observed quality of teacher–child interactions in toddler
classrooms using the CLASS-Toddler and global quality using the ITERS-R? (b) Are there
differences in observed quality when different assessments of quality are used? and (c) Is
observed quality associated with teacher-reported social-emotional outcomes for toddler-age
children?
 ASSESSING QUALITY IN TODDLER CLASSROOMS 879

METHOD

The current study uses data from the Comparison of Quality Assessment Tools (CQAT; Kintner-
Duffy, Mims, Hestenes, & Hestenes, 2011) research project examining classroom quality for
programs participating in North Carolina’s Star Rated License system (NCRL) to address the
research questions. Data for this project were collected from April 2009 to March 2010 from
101 child care programs participating in the CQAT. Although the CQAT had multiple goals,
one of the primary goals was to pilot a variety of measures that may serve to better inform
the current understanding of child care quality and quality assessment.
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

Recruitment of Sites

The full CQAT database includes a sample of 192 early childhood and education teachers, includ-
ing 93 toddler teachers employed by North Carolina center-based child care programs. Programs
were recruited for the CQAT study from a list of centers participating in NCRL using a stratified
random sampling procedure. The initial sampling frame included all center-based licensed child
care programs in North Carolina listed through the Division of Child Development. Licensed child
care centers can voluntarily participate in NCRL to be assigned a star rating of one to five stars. To
ensure adequate representation in the study of each of the five star rating categories, the sample was
stratified based on the star rating. The state quality star level rating is designed to reflect the overall
quality of an early childhood center on a 5-point scale, with a score of 1 representing the lowest
quality and a score of 5 representing the highest quality based on a point system that includes pro-
gram standards and personnel education. Centers that choose not to participate in the quality
assessment are assigned a one-star rating if they are a state-licensed facility.
To assist in the recruitment of programs, a list of all licensed child care programs was obtained
from the North Carolina Division of Child Development; from this list, the CQAT study generated
a list of child care centers for each of the five star rating categories. The goal for stratification was
to obtain roughly 20% of the total goal sample (20 centers) from each star level. This sampling
method was chosen to reduce selection bias by ensuring that centers of lower quality were included
in the sample. Programs were considered ineligible if they were in a public school, as these do not
include toddler classrooms in North Carolina, and=or did not have at least one toddler classroom
(defined as having the majority of children ages 15–36 months) and one preschool classroom
(defined as children primarily ages 3–5 years). For logistical reasons, classrooms requiring a
bilingual assessor also were not included in the current study. Ineligible programs based on these
criteria were removed from each list; there were a total of 1,749 centers deleted from the lists of
eligible programs. The eligible programs were then randomized within the star level, and centers
were contacted to determine further eligibility and their interest in participating in the CQAT study.
The sample of eligible programs that could be contacted for recruitment was 3,030 (736
five-star programs, 1,131 four-star programs, 814 three-star programs, 168 two-star programs,
and 181 one-star programs). Of this total, 323 were contacted, and 117 centers agreed to parti-
cipate in the study. Total response rate was 36.2% of the eligible centers contacted agreed to
participate in the study. This included 64.29% of the five-star programs, 37.7% of the four-star
programs, 39.2% of the three-star programs, 18.3% of the two-star programs, and 39.6% of the
one-star programs. Sixteen centers initially agreeing to participate later cancelled the observation
 880 LA PARO, WILLIAMSON, AND HATFIELD

visit. The final sample included 101 centers consisting of 24 five-star centers, 22 four-star
centers, 25 three-star centers, 13 two-star centers, and 17 one-star centers and had a star quality
rating distribution similar to that of the total number of programs with toddler classrooms parti-
cipating in NCRL. Programs in the current study represented a larger percentage of one- and
two-star programs compared to NCRL; this is likely because of the sampling stratification by
star level. A variety of locales, including North Carolina’s eastern- and westernmost counties,
as well as urban and rural areas were included in the sample.

Selection of Toddler Classrooms

Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

If participating centers had more than one toddler classroom, the classroom for participation
in the study was randomly selected by the scheduler of the observation, so that only one class-
room from each program was included in the final sample. The lead teachers in the classroom
were recruited for participation in the study by the data collectors, who explained the project and
asked for informed consent. In order to be eligible to participate, teachers were required to have
been with the children in the classroom for at least 1 month to ensure that there had been
adequate time for teacher–child relationships to develop. If there were coteachers in the class-
room and both met the eligibility criteria, one teacher was randomly selected to participate
and complete questionnaires.

Teacher and Classroom Characteristics

The final sample for the current study included 93 teachers from classrooms with toddler-age
children. These classrooms had an average star rating of 3.25 (SD ¼ 1.36). The teachers in these
classrooms had an average of 8.65 years of experience and averaged more than 4 years of
employment at their current center (SD ¼ 51.69 months). Most teachers had spent more than
7 months with the children in their classroom (SD ¼ 12.70 months). Moreover, 46% of teachers
reported their educational attainment to be at or below 1 year of college, 17% had a North
Carolina early childhood credential (Child Development Associate credential with 480 hr of
experience in child care classrooms within the past 5 years and 120 hr of training in the specific
areas), 22% had an associate’s degree, and 15% had a bachelor’s degree or higher, with the
majority in early childhood education or a related field.
A total of 406 children were included in the current study. Children (53% male) ranged in age
from 11 months to 41 months (M ¼ 22.89, SD ¼ 5.73). On average the children spent 37.47 hr
per week in child care and had been in child care an average of 12 months (SD ¼ 7.91). In a
given classroom, there were 3.99 children on average receiving subsidy, but fewer than one child
on average had a diagnosed disability. The ethnic composition of participating classrooms was
calculated and indicated that on average 32% of the children in the classrooms were African
American, 53% were Caucasian, 7% were Latino, and 8% were of another ethnicity. The ethnic
composition of the current sample was similar to that of NCRL project, which reports 29% of
children in classrooms to be African American, 56% Caucasian, 7% Latino, and 7% of another
ethnicity. The majority of the children in the classrooms spoke English as their home language,
but other languages were represented.
 ASSESSING QUALITY IN TODDLER CLASSROOMS 881

Overview of Data Collection

Study questionnaires and forms were sent to participating centers in a packet prior to the
observation days. The packets included letters to the director and participating teachers, teacher
consent forms, parent letters, parent consent forms for child assessments, and a classroom roster.
Teachers participating in the study were asked to send parent letters and consent forms home
with the children in order to recruit families for participation in the study. Parents who consented
for their child to participate returned the signed consent forms to their child’s teacher. The goal
for participation was five children per classroom; in the event that more than five children’s par-
ents consented, five children were chosen by targeted selection to include a diversity of gender
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

and ethnicities in the sample.

Observational data for the CQAT study were collected over a 2-day period with no more than
2 weeks between each observation day. Fourteen full-time staff assessors for the North Carolina
Rated License Project conducted the ITERS-R and CLASS-Toddler observations, and all obser-
vers were trained to reliability on the ITERS-R and the CLASS-Toddler prior to data collection.
On both days of observation, observers spent 3 to 5 hr in the classroom, arriving around break-
fast time. On Day 1, observers first collected all consent forms and distributed Brief Infant
Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) forms for each participating child to the tea-
chers. Toddler classrooms were observed using the ITERS-R (Harms et al., 2003) on the first
day. Data collectors observed the classroom for 3 to 4 hr and included all typically included
activities, such as meals, routines, transitions, free play, and outdoor play. Classroom teachers
were interviewed after the observation to obtain information on items that were not observed
per the administration protocol of the ITERS-R. On Day 2 of data collection, classrooms were
observed with the CLASS-Toddler (La Paro et al., 2009). CLASS-Toddler coding was com-
pleted using a cycle of 20 min observing and 10 min coding. A minimum of four observation
cycles was required per classroom to be included in the current study; this aligns with recom-
mendations in the CLASS Pre-K and CLASS-Toddler (La Paro et al., 2009; Pianta et al.,
2008). Also on Day 2, the completed BITSEA forms (Briggs-Gowan & Carter, 2006) were
collected.

Measures

Classroom Quality

ITERS-R. The ITERS-R (Harms et al., 2003) is part of the Environment Rating Scales
family. It provides a total score of global quality in classrooms serving children from birth
through 30 months of age. The measure includes 39 items with seven subscales: Space and Fur-
nishings (5 items), Personal Care Routines (6 items), Listening and Talking (3 items), Activities
(10 items), Interaction (4 items), Program Structure (4 items), and Parents and Staff (7 items).
Each item within a subscale is measured using a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 ¼ low or inadequate
quality to 7 ¼ good quality). Space and Furnishings (a ¼ .33) includes aspects of the environ-
ment, such as indoor space and room arrangement. Personal Care Routines (a ¼ .56) encom-
passes aspects of daily routines, such as nap, meals and snacks, and diapering. Listening and
Talking (a ¼ .49) includes a focus on language used in the classroom. Children’s engagement
 882 LA PARO, WILLIAMSON, AND HATFIELD

in play, fine motor, science, and music activities is captured with the Activities subscale
(a ¼ .86). And Interaction (a ¼ .74) includes supervision, peer interaction, and teacher–child
interactions. The Program Structure and Parents and Staff subscales were included in the total
ITERS-R score to provide some comparability across studies using the total score, but these
subscales were not included further analyses because of their reliance on parent and teacher
report rather than observation.
CLASS-Toddler. The quality of teacher–child interactions was measured with the CLASS-
Toddler (La Paro et al., 2009). The CLASS-Toddler used in the current study was a pilot version
of the measure adapted from the Pre-K version of the CLASS. The CLASS-Toddler assesses
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

seven dimensions of teacher–child interactions: Positive Climate, Negative Climate, Teacher

Sensitivity, Regard for Child Perspective, Behavior Guidance, Facilitation of Learning and
Development, and Language Modeling. The definition for each dimension is described briefly
below.
The CLASS-Toddler is structured into two domains: Emotional and Behavioral Support
(EBS; a ¼ .92) and Engaged Support for Learning (ESL; a ¼ .86). The two-factor model for
the CLASS-Toddler shows good fit (comparative fit index ¼ .96; standardized root-mean-square
residual ¼ .04). The first domain, EBS, includes five dimensions: Positive Climate, Negative
Climate, Teacher Sensitivity, Regard for Child Perspective, and Behavior Guidance. These
dimensions focus on the emotional connection between the teachers and children, including tea-
chers’ responsiveness to children and awareness of children’s developmental and individual
needs, the degree to which classroom activities and interactions reflect the interests of the chil-
dren and encourage child autonomy, and the use of effective methods to prevent and redirect
problem behavior. The ESL domain is assessed through the dimensions of Facilitation of
Learning and Development and Language Modeling. These dimensions consider teachers’ abil-
ity to facilitate classroom routines, materials, and activities to support children’s learning and
development opportunities and teachers’ use of language stimulation and language facilitation
techniques to encourage children’s language development.
Each dimension is rated on a continuous scale from 1 (low) to 7 (high) based on behaviors
observed across the 20-min segment. Dimension scores are averaged across the cycles to yield a
classroom score for each dimension. Reliability estimates in the current study sample for the
domains were good (EBS, a ¼ .92; ESL, a ¼ .73), as were those for each dimension (as ¼
.80–.88), and demonstrated consistency with prior samples (Thomason & La Paro, 2009).

Observer Training and Interrater Reliability

Training for all of the scales included detailed information on each measure as well as video
and practice classroom observations. All assessors were trained to reliability on each of the mea-
sures and were required to achieve and maintain reliability through the data collection period.

Child Social-Emotional Skills

BITSEA. The BITSEA (Briggs-Gowan & Carter, 2006) was used as a measure of chil-
dren’s social-emotional behavior. The BITSEA is composed of 42 items from the longer version
of the scale (ITSEA) and has two subscales: behavior problems and competence. The behavior
 ASSESSING QUALITY IN TODDLER CLASSROOMS 883

problems subscale includes 31 items that measure aggression, defiance, overactivity, negative
emotionality, anxiety, and withdrawal. The competence subscale includes 11 items that measure
empathy, prosocial behaviors, and compliance. The BITSEA has shown adequate internal con-
sistency, with Cronbach’s a ¼ .79 for the behavior problems subscale and Cronbach’s a ¼ .65 for
the competence scale (Briggs-Gowan & Carter, 2006; Briggs-Gowan, Carter, Irwin, Wachtel, &
Cicchetti, 2004). In the current study, competence (Cronbach’s a ¼ .78) and behavior problems
(Cronbach’s a ¼ .81) displayed good internal consistency.

Analytic Plan
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

All regression analyses were conducted using Mplus 6.0 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998–2010). The
cluster regression model accounted for dependencies in these data (children nested within class-
rooms) by correcting the standard errors. CLASS-Toddler data were incomplete or missing for
14 classrooms at the cycle level. Analyses were conducted to determine the pattern of missing-
ness for classroom data, and a new variable was created to identify classrooms that were missing
the CLASS-Toddler observation. The relationships between missingness and teacher education,
years of experience, months employed at the center, months employed in the classroom, star rat-
ing, and total ITERS-R score were explored; none of the variables were significantly correlated
with missing the CLASS-Toddler observation (rs ¼
.12 to .12). These analyses suggested that
the data were missing completely at random (Enders, 2010), and thus the models were estimated
using full information maximum likelihood estimation. Full information maximum likelihood
estimation uses all available information in data to create parameter estimates and standard errors
for the missing values (Buhi, Goodson, & Neilands, 2008) and is a preferred method of handling
data missing completely at random (Schlomer, Bauman, & Card, 2010).

RESULTS

Overall Classroom Quality

Teacher–child interaction quality as measured by the CLASS-Toddler and global quality

assessed with the ITERS-R indicated that classrooms for toddlers were on average rated as being
of moderate quality. Specifically, for the EBS domain of the CLASS-Toddler, the majority of
classrooms were in the mid-range. A total of 17% of classrooms were in the high range (at or
above a score of 6), 83% of classrooms were in the mid-range (scores of 3 to 5), and 1% of class-
rooms were in the low range (at or below a score of 2). However, the other CLASS-Toddler
domain, ESL, indicated a different view of overall quality related to supports for learning.
The majority of classrooms were rated in the low range (60%; scores of 1 or 2) or mid-range
(40%; scores of 3 to 5); no classrooms were rated the high range with a score of 6 or 7. The
ITERS-R total score indicated that just over a quarter of classrooms were at a 6 or above, indicat-
ing high quality. The vast majority of classrooms were in the minimal to good range, with ratings
between 3 and 5, and a very small percentage of classrooms, 3%, were at or below a score of 3
(minimal quality). None of the classrooms received a 1, which indicates inadequate quality.
Quality was also examined more specifically by looking at CLASS-Toddler dimension scores
and ITERS-R subscale scores. Average dimension scores from the CLASS-Toddler ranged from
 884 LA PARO, WILLIAMSON, AND HATFIELD

2.22 on Language Modeling to 5.03 on Positive Climate. Dimensions ratings generally

represented the full range of the scale, with the exception of Facilitation of Learning and
Development and Language Modeling, for which no classroom scored above a 5. Quality as
measured by the ITERS-R subscales ranged from an average of 2.53 on Personal Care Routines
to 4.78 on Space and Furnishings. Most subscales used the range of scores, with the exception of
Space and Furnishings, which had a more restricted range; no classroom scored below a 3 on the
Space and Furnishings subscale of the ITERS-R. Table 1 shows means and standard deviations
for the domain scores and each dimension rating from the CLASS-Toddler and the subscale
ratings from the ITERS-R subscales and the ITERS-R total score.
Most of the subscales and dimensions of the ITERS-R and CLASS-Toddler were correlated.
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

Significant correlations between these two measures ranged from .27 between the Activities
subscale of the ITERS-R and Negative Climate on the CLASS-Toddler to .63 between
Listening and Talking (ITERS-R) and Teacher Sensitivity (CLASS-Toddler). The Interaction
subscale of the ITERS-R and the CLASS-Toddler dimension of Teacher Sensitivity were
strongly associated, with a correlation of .62. The only nonsignificant correlations were found
between Negative Climate and Space and Furnishings (r ¼ .25) and between Negative Climate
and Personal Care Routines (r ¼ .16). Table 2 shows the correlations across all dimensions
and domains from the CLASS-Toddler and all subscales and total score from the ITERS-R.

Children’s Behavior Problems and Competence

The BITSEA behavior problems subscale (total score) has a possible score of 0 to 62. The
average behavior problems total score for the current sample was 11.83 (SD ¼ 6.98), which is

TABLE 1
Means of ITERS-R Subscales (n ¼ 93) and CLASS-Toddler Dimensions (n ¼ 78)

Subscale or dimension M (SD) Range

ITERS-R
Space and Furnishings 4.78 (0.72) 3.00–6.80
Personal Care Routines 2.53 (0.94) 1.33–5.33
Listening and Talking 3.73 (1.35) 1.00–7.00
Activities 4.65 (1.29) 1.80–6.89
Interaction 4.43 (1.25) 1.75–7.00
Total ITERS score 4.37 (0.86) 2.79–5.85
CLASS-Toddler
Positive Climate 5.03 (1.22) 1.75–7.00
Negative Climate 2.70 (0.90) 1.00–6.25
Teacher Sensitivity 4.33 (1.16) 2.00–7.00
Regard for Child Perspective 4.36 (1.05) 1.50–6.75
Behavior Guidance 4.07 (1.29) 1.75–6.50
Emotional and Behavioral Support 4.82 (0.99) 1.85–6.60
Facilitation of Learning and Development 3.43 (1.20) 1.00–5.75
Language Modeling 2.22 (1.07) 1.00–5.00
Engaged Support for Learning 2.83 (1.07) 1.13–5.38

Note. ITERS-R ¼ Infant=Toddler Environment Rating Scale–Revised; CLASS-Toddler ¼ Classroom

Assessment Scoring System, Toddler Version.
 Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

TABLE 2
Bivariate Correlations Between ITERS-R, CLASS-Toddler, and BITSEA Subscales

Subscale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

ITERS-R
1. Space and Furnishings —
2. Personal Care .34 —
Routines
3. Listening and Talking .55 .46 —
4. Activities .62  .55 .63 —
5. Interaction .48 .40 .70 .60 —
6. Total ITERS-R .67 .68 .78 .91 .79 —
CLASS-Toddler
7. Positive Climate .34 .33 .58 .44 .53 .55 —
8. Negative Climatea .17 .25 .45 .27 .45 .40 .58 —
9. Teacher Sensitivity .38 .46 .60 .54 .65 .67 .82 .57 —
10. Regard for Child .41 .37 .59 .48 .56 .59 .75 .53 .79 —
Perspective
11. Behavior Guidance .42 .32 .53 .52 .57 .60 .80 .43 .85 .79 —
12. Facilitation of Learning .32 .45 .51 .52 .50 .59 .66 .39 .75 .70 .68 —
and Development
13. Language Modeling .35 .40 .47 .34 .36 .45 .47 .31 .64 .72 .54 .75 —
14. Emotional and .40 .40 .63 .52 .63 .65 .92 .68 .93 .89 .91 .74 .62 —
Behavioral Support
15. Engaged Support for .36 .45 .53 .46 .46 .56 .61 .38 .74 .76 .65 .94 .93 .73 —
Learning
BITSEA
16. Competence
.01
.04 .02
.04 .09 .01 .02 .08 .02 .02 .02 .02
.04 .04
.01 —
17. Behavior Problems
.08
.03
.15
.06
.15
.11
.19
.10
.17
.13
.15
.11
.12
.17
.12
.31 —

Note. n ¼ 93 classrooms, 406 children. ITERS-R ¼ Infant=Toddler Environment Rating Scale–Revised; CLASS-Toddler ¼ Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Toddler
Version; BITSEA ¼ Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment.
a
Reverse scored.

p < .05.  p < .01.

885
 886 LA PARO, WILLIAMSON, AND HATFIELD

at the lower end of the range of possible scores, suggesting that children in this sample showed
some, but generally few, behavior problems as reported by their teacher, although there was
a range of scores across the sample. The competence subscale has a total possible score of
22, with the minimum score being 0. The average total score for this sample was 15.10
(SD ¼ 3.91), which is toward the higher end of the sample, indicating that teachers reported
moderately high levels of competence for the children in their classrooms.
Generally speaking, the CLASS-Toddler dimension scores were negatively associated with
teacher-reported behavior problems such that on average children were reported to have more
behavior problems in classrooms rated lower on the CLASS-Toddler. Specifically, lower ratings
of Positive Climate, Teacher Sensitivity, Regard for Child Perspective, Behavior Guidance, and
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

Language Modeling were associated with higher teacher report of behavior problems.
Similarly, the ITERS-R subscales of Interaction and Listening and Talking were negatively
related to behavior problems such that children were reported to have more teacher-reported
behavior problems in classrooms rated lower on Interaction and Listening and Talking. None of
the indicators of classroom quality from either the ITERS-R or the CLASS-Toddler were asso-
ciated with toddlers’ competence scores as reported on the BITSEA by the teachers (see Table 2).

Predicting Toddler Outcomes From Observed Classroom Quality

A secondary purpose of the study was to examine the predictive validity of teacher-reported
behavior using these two measures of classroom quality. Regression models were executed sep-
arately for child behavior problems and child competence for the ITERS-R total and each
CLASS-Toddler domain: EBS and ESL. All clustered regression models accounted for nesting
and controlled for child age and gender. Age and gender were included as covariates following
recommendations in the BITSEA examiner’s manual outlining the age-band-by-sex norm groups
(Briggs-Gowan & Carter, 2006; Briggs-Gowan et al., 2004). Teacher–child ratio was also
controlled for given evidence that classrooms with fewer children often have higher ratings of
quality (Le, Perlman, Zellman, & Hamilton, 2006). If the CLASS-Toddler domain score or
the ITERS-R total score was significant, follow-up analyses were conducted at the dimension=
subscale level to provide further information.
In all of the three clustered regression models, toddler problems were predicted by age such
that older children displayed fewer behavior problems. With respect to classroom quality, the
CLASS-Toddler domain of EBS predicted differences in child behavior problems teachers
reported on the BITSEA, which included impulsivity, withdrawal, and sensory sensitivity
(see Table 3). Follow-up analyses indicated that the association between EBS and behavior
problems was driven by the dimensions of Positive Climate and Behavior Guidance (see
Table 3). The effect sizes for both models were small (f2 ¼ .08 and f2 ¼ .06, respectively;
Cohen, 1988). The models with the CLASS-Toddler domain of ESL (R2 ¼ .04, p ¼ .11) or
the ITERS-R total score (R2 ¼ .04, p ¼ .08) predicting difference in toddler behavior problems
were not significant. The cluster regression models investigating child competence as reported
on the BITSEA teacher form (e.g., attention, prosocial behaviors, compliance) indicated that
older children (b ¼ 0.23) and girls (b ¼
0.37) displayed significantly higher competence, but
classroom quality was not a significant predictor in these models (ITERS-R, b ¼
0.01;
EBS, b ¼ 0.09; ESL, b ¼ 0.01).
 ASSESSING QUALITY IN TODDLER CLASSROOMS 887

TABLE 3
Follow-Up Analyses With the Dimensions of Emotional and Behavioral Support Predicting Behavior Problems

Positive Negative Teacher Regard for child Behavior

climate climate sensitivity perspective guidance

CLASS dimension b SE b SE b SE b SE b SE

Intercept (c00) 3.51 .47 3.55 .60 3.21 .41 3.19 .51 3.11 .41
Male (c10) 0.08 .05 0.07 .05 0.07 .05 0.05 .05 0.07 .05
Child age (c20)
0.19 .06
0.18 .06
0.17 .06
0.18 .06
0.18 .06
Teacher–child ratio (c01)
0.07 .06
0.11 .07
0.08 .07
0.08 .07
0.07 .06
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

CLASS dimension (c02)
0.22 .08
0.12 .07
0.17 .10
0.14 .09
0.17 .08

Note. n ¼ 467 children, n ¼ 93 classrooms. CLASS ¼ Classroom Assessment Scoring System.


p < .05.  p < .01.  p < .001.

DISCUSSION

Results from the current study show moderate levels of quality in toddler classrooms across two
observational measures. Quality as measured by the CLASS-Toddler indicated that classrooms
for toddlers were observed to be in the moderate range for EBS. With regard to ESL, classrooms
were in the low range, indicating a low frequency of classroom interactions that support
language and learning. Ratings of global quality from the ITERS-R showed that toddler class-
rooms were observed to be in the moderate range across the total score and five subscales,
including Space and Furnishings, Personal Care Routines, Listening and Talking, Activities,
and Interaction, with minimal variability across classrooms as indicated by the low standard
deviations. Classrooms were rated highest on Space and Furnishings and lowest on Personal
Care Routines on the ITERS-R. These results from the current study parallel recent studies of
quality using the ITERS-R and=or the CLASS-Toddler with similar overall patterns of low to
moderate quality (Hallam, Fouts, Bargreen, & Caudle, 2009; Joseph et al., 2011; Thomason
& La Paro, 2009). These ratings of low to moderate quality and low levels of language support
are of significance given the large numbers of very young children spending time in center-based
care and the rapid growth and acquisition of developmental milestones in toddlerhood. Further-
more, the types of interactions assessed with these measures support several components of
classroom quality that are critical for children’s development in the areas of self-regulation
and language development, crucial skills for children’s school readiness (Calkins & Williford,
2009; Girolametto & Weitzman, 2002; Katz & Snow, 2000).

Comparison of Quality Measures

The results from the current study illustrate some interesting similarities and differences with
respect to assessing quality in toddler classrooms. The correlations in the present study were
not as strong as may have been expected from two observational measures of classroom quality,
indicating that these measures may be assessing related although different characteristics of
quality in early childhood classrooms. The subscales more focused on interactions from the
ITERS-R—Interaction, and Listening and Talking—appeared to measure similar aspects of
 888 LA PARO, WILLIAMSON, AND HATFIELD

quality as the CLASS-Toddler dimensions of Positive Climate and Teacher Sensitivity. The
other subscales of the ITERS-R—Space and Furnishings, Personal Care Routines, and
Activities—may be assessing more structural features of the child care environment. In addition,
the CLASS-Toddler dimensions of Language Modeling, Facilitation of Learning and Develop-
ment, Behavior Guidance, and Regard for Child Perspective may be focused on specific teaching
strategies or process variables of how teachers support children’s behavior and learning in the
classroom. These data support the stated intention of each measure, in that the CLASS-Toddler
was developed as a tool to assess process quality in the classroom focused on teacher–child
interactions (La Paro et al., 2009; Pianta et al., 2008) and the ITERS-R was developed as
a research tool focused on global quality, including structural features of the environment
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

(Harms et al., 2003).

Classroom Quality and Children’s Social-Emotional Behaviors

The association between behavior problems and competence and school success for prekin-
dergarten children is well supported in the literature (Howes & Smith, 1995; Webster-Stratton &
Reid, 2004). Literature relevant to this association for toddlers, specifically, is more limited.
What is interesting is that neither the CLASS-Toddler nor the ITERS-R predicted child
competence as measured by the BITSEA. The BITSEA competence items focus on social-
relatedness and include child behaviors such as ‘‘looks toward you when upset’’ or ‘‘is affec-
tionate with loved ones.’’ This result is somewhat surprising given that these are types of
social-emotional skills that would be expected to develop during the toddler period, and inter-
actions with adults tend to be related and contribute to the development of these skills. However,
observed teacher–child interactions were associated with teachers’ reports of behavior problems
in that dimension scores from the CLASS-Toddler were generally negatively associated with
reported behavior problems; children in classrooms with higher levels of EBS were reported
by teachers to have fewer behavior problems. These associations were not found for the
ESL domain of the CLASS-Toddler or the ITERS-R total score, indicating that although process
variables and interactions have some association with behavior problems in the classroom,
structural features or more instruction-focused interactions may not.
Specifically, within the EBS domain, the dimensions of Positive Climate and Behavior
Guidance from the CLASS-Toddler predicted teacher-reported child behavior problems
such that children in classrooms with higher ratings of respect and enthusiasm had fewer
reported behavior problems. Similarly, children had fewer teacher-reported behavior problems
in classrooms in which teachers took a proactive approach to behavior guidance, teachers used
effective redirection, and children were not wandering or waiting for significant periods of time.
These findings suggest that these aspects of teacher–child interactions occurring in classrooms
may support children in regulating their behavior. Emotion contributes to children’s prosocial
behavior and self-regulation (Brownell & Kopp, 2007); therefore, supporting children’s
regulation of emotions and behavior may be a crucial element in reducing behavior problems
in classrooms and supporting development. In sum, respectful and consistent relationships
with the adults in their environment provide the security for toddlers’ developing independence
and self-regulation, and the unique and combined contributions of parents, caregivers, and
teachers to children’s development warrant study.
 ASSESSING QUALITY IN TODDLER CLASSROOMS 889

Implications

The current study has implications both for assessing quality in toddler classrooms and for the
field of early care and education. The teacher-reported child outcomes measures have limita-
tions. To ultimately understand children’s experiences in child care, additional measures of child
outcomes must be developed and available to use to examine children’s learning and social-
emotional experiences in child care. Although significant attention has been paid to preschool-
age children’s experiences in child care, and adequate child outcome measures exist for children
this age, much more limited attention has been paid to outcomes for younger children (Wilen,
2003). Additional measures of children’s social-emotional development, including parent report
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

and observation of skills and competencies, would provide additional information about the
association of child outcomes to measures of classroom quality. The field may need to consider
the need for measures of classroom quality specific to toddlers and child outcome measures and
how one may inform and be necessary for the other.
Consistent findings of mediocre quality of toddler classrooms across large national studies
(Helburn, 1995; NICHD ECCRN, 1997, 2000; Whitebook, Howes, & Phillips, 1989) and more
recent smaller scale studies (Hallam et al., 2009; Joseph et al., 2011; Thomason & La Paro,
2009) suggest a continuing need to address professional development for teachers of toddler-age
children. Emerging evidence suggests that teachers with a degree or at least some education in
the field of early care and education have more positive teacher–child interactions and higher
overall classroom quality (Pianta et al., 2005). Appropriate professional development opportu-
nities need to consider and support children’s emerging emotional and behavioral regulation
and expansive growth in language and support and facilitate children’s development and learn-
ing. Yet teachers of toddlers generally have few educational requirements for their position and
may have limited educational experiences related specifically to toddlers (Maxwell, Lim, &
Early, 2006; Norris, 2010; Norris, Dunn, & Eckert, 2003).
Early childhood education teacher preparation programs tend to be designed with more of
a focus on coursework and classroom experiences related to children at the upper range of early
childhood rather than toddlers (Horm, Hyson, & Winton, 2013). Within these programs students
tend to experience a somewhat superficial coverage of toddler development and learning and
teaching strategies to maximize children’s learning opportunities at younger ages. Furthermore,
less than half of higher education programs that offer a degree in early care and education for
children ages 4 and younger require even one course specifically focused on infants and toddlers
(Maxwell et al., 2006). It is becoming clear that intentional efforts need to be made in regard to
policies that require educational levels and experiences for teachers of toddler-age children and
in preservice education program. These professional development efforts should focus on the
unique developmental characteristics of toddlers and effective reciprocal interactions and be
available for preservice as well as in-service teachers.

Limitations and Directions for Future Research

Although this study provides a current overview of quality in toddler classrooms using two mea-
sures of observed quality and associations with teachers’ reports of children’s social-emotional
behavior, the study has limitations. The primary limitation of the study is in the restricted child
 890 LA PARO, WILLIAMSON, AND HATFIELD

outcome measures. Only one brief teacher-report measure was used to assess child outcomes,
and the sample in the present study was generally rated high in competence by teachers and
low with regard to behavior problems, resulting in restricted variability. Two possible biases
may be contributing to this sample characteristic. First, because participation in this study
was voluntary, it is possible that directors who had classrooms with children with more problem
behaviors declined to participate, hence resulting in an underestimation of behavior problems in
the study. Second, parents may have self-selected so that parents of children who may not have
considered their child to have behavior problems consented to have their child participate in the
study more frequently than parents who had children with behavior problems. Also, teachers
completed the ratings of children’s behavior problems and competence; ratings from parents
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

or independent ratings of children may provide additional sources of child outcome information.
Additional consideration of the parents’ role in toddlers’ social-emotional development may be
an important variable to consider in terms of moderation of associations between classroom
quality and children’s behavior. Furthermore, these data were limited particularly for child
characteristics, as only data on age and gender were available.
Another limitation related to measurement is that the CLASS-Toddler measure has not been
validated on a large scale. This study is one of the first to examine the validity of the measure
and is exploratory in nature. Related to the quality measurements is that some subscales of the
ITERS-R displayed low reliability (e.g., Space and Furnishings, a ¼ .33), suggesting caution
in interpreting the results. Another limitation is that this study was conducted in one state
with an established Quality Rating and Improvement System. Although a range of quality
was represented in the sample, the state as a whole may have higher quality centers, restricting
the generalizability of the results.
Future research first needs to include additional child outcome measures from multiple, var-
ied reporters and additional collection methods (e.g., observation) and follow children into pre-
kindergarten and kindergarten, controlling for child care experiences in prekindergarten to assess
the importance of quality in the toddler environment across samples in a variety of states. The
primary challenge remains finding appropriate outcome measures for very young children. How-
ever, even at this time, with an appropriate amount of resources, individual child assessments
using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley, 2005) or similar measures
would provide additional child information that could be used to assess associations with child
care quality and experiences. Longitudinal studies that include child care quality dosage and fol-
low children into kindergarten would assist in ascertaining the contribution of quality in the tod-
dler period and what that means for children who have low, average, and high prekindergarten
child care experiences and their subsequent experiences in kindergarten and first grade.

REFERENCES

Aguiar, C., & McWilliam, R. A. (2013). Consistency of toddler engagement across two settings. Early Childhood
Research Quarterly, 28, 102–110. doi:10.1016=jecresq.2012.04.003
Arnett, J. (1989). Caregivers in day-care centers: Does training matter? Journal of Applied Development Psychology, 10,
541–552. doi:10.1016=0193-3973(89)90026-9
Bayley, N. (2005). Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development1, Third Edition (Bayley-III1). San Antonio, TX:
Pearson.
Belsky, J. (2001). Developmental risks (still) associated with early child care. Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, 42, 845–859. doi:10.1111=1469-7610.00782
 ASSESSING QUALITY IN TODDLER CLASSROOMS 891

Belsky, J., Burchinal, M., McCartney, K., Vandell, D. L., Clarke-Stewart, A. K., & Owen, M. T. (2007). Are there
long-term effects of early childcare? Child Development, 78, 681–701. doi:10.1111=j.1467-8624.2007.01021
Blair, C. (2002). School readiness: Integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of children’s
functioning at school entry. American Psychologist, 57, 111–127. doi:10.1037=0003-066x.57.2.111
Briggs-Gowan, M. J., & Carter, A. S. (2006). Manual for the Brief Infant-Toddler Social & Emotional Assessment—
BITSEA—Version 2. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
Briggs-Gowan, M. J., Carter, A. S., Irwin, J. R., Wachtel, K., & Cicchetti, D. V. (2004). The Brief Infant-Toddler Social
and Emotional Assessment: Screening for social-emotional problems and delays in competence. Journal of Pediatric
Psychology, 29, 143–155. doi:10.1093=jpepsy=jsh017
Brownell, C. A., & Kopp, C. B. (Eds.). (2007). Socioemotional development in the toddler years: Transitions and
transformations. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Buhi, E. R., Goodson, P., & Neilands, T. B. (2008). Out of sight, not out of mind: Strategies for handling missing data.
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

American Journal of Health Behavior, 32, 93–92. doi:10.5993=AJHB.32.1.8

Calkins, S. D. (2007). The emergence of self-regulation: Biological and behavioral control mechanisms supporting
toddler competencies. In C. A. Brownell & C. B. Kopp (Eds.), Transitions in early socioemotional development:
The toddler years (pp. 261–284). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Calkins, S. D., & Williford, A. P. (2009). Taming the terrible twos: Self-regulation and school readiness. In O. A.
Barbarin & B. H. Wasik (Eds.), Handbook of child development and early education: Research to practice
(pp. 172–198). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2010). The foundations of lifelong health are built in early
childhood. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu
Children’s Defense Fund. (2005). The state of America’s children. Retrieved from http://www.childrensdefense.org
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children
from birth through age 8 (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Cost, Quality, & Child Outcomes Study Team. (1995). Cost, quality and child outcomes in child care centers: Executive
summary. Denver: University of Colorado at Denver, Economics Department.
Domı́nguez, X., Vitiello, V. E., Maier, M. F., & Greenfield, D. B. (2010). A longitudinal examination of young
children’s learning behavior: Child-level and classroom-level predictors of change throughout the preschool year.
School Psychology Review, 39, 29–47.
Enders, C. K. (2010). Applied missing data analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Gevers Deynoot-Schaub, M. J., & Riksen-Walraven, J. M. (2006). Peer contacts of 15-month-olds in childcare: Links
with child temperament, parent-child interaction and quality of childcare. Social Development, 15, 709–729.
doi:10.1111=j.1467-9507.2006.00366.x
Girolametto, L., & Weitzman, E. (2002). Responsiveness of child care providers in interactions with toddlers and pre-
schoolers. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 33, 268–281. doi:10.1044=0161-1461(2002=022)
Goelman, H., Forer, B., Kershaw, P., Doherty, G., Lero, D., & LaGrange, A. (2006). Towards a predictive model of
quality in Canadian child care centers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21(3), 280–295. doi:10.1016=
j.ecresq.2006.07.005
Hallam, R., Fouts, H., Bargreen, K., & Caudle, L. (2009). Quality from a toddler’s perspective: A bottom-up examination
of classroom experiences. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 11(2). Retrieved from http://www.freepatentsonline.
com/article/EarlyChildhoodResearch-Practice/214892837.html
Harms, T., Cryer, D., & Clifford, R. M. (1990). Infant=Toddler Environment Rating Scale. New York, NY: Teachers
College Press.
Harms, T., Cryer, D., & Clifford, R. M. (2003). Infant=Toddler Environment Rating Scale–Revised edition. New York,
NY: Teachers College Press.
Helburn, S. W. (1995). Cost, quality, and child outcomes in child care centers, technical report. Denver, CO: University
of Colorado at Denver, Center for Research in Economic and Social Policy, Department of Economics.
Horm, D. M., Hyson, M., & Winton, P. J. (2013). Research on early childhood teacher education: Evidence from three
domains and recommendations for moving forward. Journal of Early Childhood Education, 34(1), 95–112.
Howes, C., & Smith, E. (1995). Relations among child care quality, teacher behavior, children’s play activities, emotional
security, and cognitive activity in child care. Early Childhood Research Quality, 10, 381–401. doi:10.1016=0885-
2006(95)90013-6
 892 LA PARO, WILLIAMSON, AND HATFIELD

Joseph, G. E., Feldman, E. N., Brennan, C., Naslund, R., Phillips, J., & Petras, A. (2011). Seeds of success field test:
Year two—Final technical report. University of Washington, Seattle, Center for Research and Training, Childcare
Quality and Early Learning.
Katz, J. R., & Snow, C. E. (2000). Language development in early childhood: The role of social interaction. In D. Cryer
& T. Harms (Eds.), Infants and toddlers in out-of home care (pp. 49–85). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Kintner-Duffy, V., Mims, S., Hestenes, L., & Hestenes, S. L. (2011, April). Comparisons among quality measures
in child care centers: Indictors of quality related to child outcomes. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of
the Society for Research in Child Development, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
La Paro, K. M., Hamre, B. C., & Pianta, R. C. (2009). The Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Toddler Version.
Charlottesville, VA: Teachstone.
La Paro, K. M., Pianta, R. C., Stuhlman, M. (2004). The Classroom Assessment Scoring System: Findings from the
prekindergarten year. The Elementary School Journal, 104, 409–426. doi:0013-5984=2004=10405-0004$05.00
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

Lally, R. (2013). For our babies: Ending the invisible neglect of America’s infants. New York, NY: Teachers College
Press.
Le, V. N., Perlman, M., Zellman, G. L., & Hamilton, L. S. (2006). Measuring child-staff ratios in child care centers:
Balancing effort and representativeness. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21, 267–279. doi:10.1016=j.ecresq.
2006.07.002
Love, J. M., Harrison, L., Sagi-Schwartz, A., van IJzendoorn, Ross, C., Ungerer, J., . . . Chazan-Cohen, R. (2003). Child
care quality matters: How conclusions may vary with context. Child Development, 17, 1021–1033. doi:10.1111=
1467-8624.00584
Mashburn, A. J., Pianta, R., Hamre, B. K., Downer, J. T., Barbarin, O., Bryant, D., . . . Howes, C. (2008). Measures of
classroom quality in pre-kindergarten and children’s development of academic, language, and social skills. Child
Development, 79, 732–749. doi:10.1111=j.1467-8624.2008.01154
Maxwell, K. L., Lim, C., & Early, D. M. (2006). Early childhood teacher preparation programs in the United
States: National report. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Develop-
ment Institute.
McCartney, K., Dearing, E., Taylor, B. A., & Bub, K. L. (2007). Quality child care supports the achievement of
low-income children: Direct and indirect pathways through caregiving and the home environment. Journal of Applied
Developmental Psychology, 28, 411–426. doi:10.1016=j.appdev.2007.06.010
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2010). Mplus version 6.0 user’s guide. Los Angeles, CA: Author.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Digest of education statistics, 2008 (NCES 2009–020), Table 44.
Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d08/tables/dt08_044.asp
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (1996). Characteristics
of infant child care: Factors contributing to positive caregiving. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 11, 269–306.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (1997). Child care in
the first year of life. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 43, 340–360.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (1998). Early child
care and self-control, compliance, and problem behavior at twenty-four and thirty-six months. Child Development,
69, 1145–1170.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (2000). Characteristics
and quality of child care for toddler and preschoolers. Applied Developmental Science, 4, 116–135. doi:10.1207=
S1532480XADS0403 2
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (2001). Child care
and children’s peer interaction at 24 and 36 months: The NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Child Development,
72, 1478–1500.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (2002). Child-care
structure ! process ! outcome: Direct and indirect effects of child-care quality on young children’s development.
Psychological Science, 13, 199–206. doi:10.1111=1467-9280.00438
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (2005). Early child care
and children’s development in the primary grades: Follow-up results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care.
American Educational Research Journal, 42(3), 537–570.
Norris, D. J. (2010). Raising the educational requirements for teachers in infant toddler classrooms: Implications for
institutions of higher education. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 31, 146–158.
 ASSESSING QUALITY IN TODDLER CLASSROOMS 893

Norris, D. J., Dunn, L., & Eckert, L. (2003). ‘‘Reaching for the Stars’’ center validation study final report. Oklahoma
City, OK: Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Division of Child Care.
Perlman, M., Zellman, G. L., & Le, V. (2004). Examining the psychometric properties of the Early Childhood
Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R). Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19, 398–412. doi:10.1016=j.ecresq.
2004.07.006
Phillips, D., Mekos, D., Scarr, S., McCartney, K., & Abbott-Shim, M. (2000). Within and beyond the classroom door:
Assessing quality in child care centers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15, 475–496. doi:10.1016=S0885-
2006(01)00077-1
Pianta, R. C., Howes, C., Burchinal, M., Bryant, D., Clifford, R. M., Early, D., & Barbarin, O. (2005). Features of
pre-kindergarten programs, classrooms, and teachers: Do they predict observed classroom quality and child–teacher
interactions? Applied Developmental Science, 9, 144–159. doi:10.1207=s1532480xads0903 2
Pianta, R. C., La Paro, K. M., & Hamre, B. C. (2008). The Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Downloaded by [University of Oklahoma Libraries] at 11:03 28 May 2014

Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2010). Differential susceptibility to parenting and quality child care. Developmental
Psychology, 46, 379–390. doi:10.1037=a0015203
Raver, C. C., Jones, S. M., Li-Grining, C., Zhai, F., Metzger, M. W., & Solomon, B. (2009). Targeting children’s
behavior problems in preschool classrooms: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 77, 302–316. doi:10.1037=a0015302
Schlomer, G. L., Bauman, S., & Card, N. A. (2010). Best practices for missing data management in counseling
psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57, 1–10. doi:10.1037=a0018082
Sroufe, L. A. (1996). Emotional development: The organization of emotional life in the early years. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press.
Stipek, D., Feiler, R., Daniels, D., & Milburn, S. (1995). Effects of different instructional approaches on young children’s
achievement and motivation. Child Development, 66, 209–223. doi:10.1111=j.1467-8624.1995.tb00866
Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2003, September). The effective provision of pre-school
education project: A longitudinal study funded by the DfEE (1997–2003). Paper presented at the British Educational
Research Association Annual Conference, University of Leeds, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Thomason, A. C., & La Paro, K. M. (2009). Measuring the quality of teacher–child interactions in toddler child care.
Early Education & Development, 20, 285–304. doi:10.1080=10409280902773351
U.S. Department of Labor. (2009). Labor force participation of women and mothers: 2008. Retrieved from http://
www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2009/ted_20091009.htm
Vandell, D. (2004). Early child care: The known and the unknown. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50, 387–414.
doi:10.1353=mpq.2004.0027
Vandell, D. L., Belsky, J., Burchinal, M., Steinberg, L., Vandergrift, N., & NICHD Early Child Care Research Network.
(2010). Do effects of early child care extend to age 15 years? Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and
Youth Development. Child Development, 81, 737–756. doi:10.1111=j.1467-8624.2010.01431.x
Watamura, S. E., Phillips, D., Morrissey, T. W., McCartney, K., & Bub, K. (2011). Double jeopardy: Poorer
social-emotional outcomes for children in the NICHD SECCYD experiencing home and child-care environments
that confer risk. Child Development, 82, 48–65.
Webster-Stratton, C., & Reid, M. J. (2004). Strengthening social and emotional competence in young children—The
foundation for early school readiness and success: Incredible years classroom social skills and problem solving
curriculum. Infants & Young Children, 17, 96–113.
Whitebook, M., Howes, C., & Phillips, D. (1989). Who cares? Child care teachers and the quality of care in America.
National Child Care Staffing Study. Oakland, CA: Child Care Employee Project.
Whitebook, M., Howes, C., & Phillips, D. (1990). Who cares: Child care teachers and the quality of care in America.
Final report of the National Child Care Staffing Study. Oakland, CA: Child Care Employee Project.
Wilen, J. R. (2003). Ready for school: The case for including babies and toddlers as we expand preschool
opportunities (Ounce of Prevention Fund). Available at http://www.ounceofprevention.org/downloads/publications/
ready_for_school.pdf

View publication stats