Assessing Program Delivery from the Perspective of Service Providers: the Ontario Early Years Centres’ School Readiness Program

Ziba Saadati

doi:10.32920/ryerson.14656380

Abstract

This paper assesses the School Readiness program as delivered in two Ontario Early Years Centres (OEYCs) in Toronto. Information about program goals and delivery methods gleaned from interviewing three Child Development Consultants who ran the program in the last year is analyzed within the context of existing scholarship on and practices in early childhood learning and development. The interviewers' observations and comments form the basis for the assessment of the effectiveness of the OEYC School Readiness program. An important part of assessing effectiveness is determining whether the OEYCs and program workers have set clearly defined learning outcomes for program participants and how, if at all, the program measures these outcomes. In assessing program effectiveness, one of the factors considered is to what extent the OEYCs acknowledge and address the needs of an important demographic: immigrant children (and their support network of parents/caregivers and families). The observations and recommendations made in this study are intended to help service providers in the OEYCs develop a best practice model for program delivery, including arriving at a better sense of how they conceive of school readiness.

Highlights

A Major Research Paper Presented by Ryerson University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree o f
This approach is appropriate for this study as, going in, the researcher had no pre-existing categories or criteria identified by the Ontario Early Years Centres (OEYCs) against which to compare the Child Development Consultants (CDCs)’ practice and was unsure as to whether there was a set structure for delivering the program
The strengths of the study are evident in it’s: a) Credibility The program workers asked to participate in the study have had experience with the School Readiness program and are currently employees of the OEYC

Summary

The Ontario Early Years Centres

Enough, it was found that poor outcomes were observed in children from all socio-economic backgrounds and that sub-standard performance could be traced back to poor early brain development, which made a compelling case for establishing a more universal, province-wide program offered through, unlike the scope of Head Start in the US or even the more closely-targeted Parenting and Family Literacy centres that, based on their location, cater more exclusively to inner-city communities in Toronto. The Mustard and McCain Early Years Report identified a number of principles (see Appendix B) at the core of early development and parenting programs, noting among them “[t]he effectiveness of early child development centres that are monitored using a developmental readiness-to-leam measure when children enter the school system” (MCYS, 2007c, 139), which is the final of 12 principles listed in the document. Lack thereof, of the OEYCs’ program is explored at further length, it is necessary to recap what the current scholarship has to say about “school readiness” and recall the various definitions in use in the context of making preliminary comments about program practice at the OEYCs in order to set the stage for the program assessment

What is School Readiness?

Research on

Involving families

What are we doing, why, who will it be for?

Researcher’s Characteristics

The Qualitative Approach

Description o f Sample Three Child Development Consultants who ran the School

Data Analysis

Strengths and Limitations

Validity and Reliability a) Credibility

How is the School Readiness program run by the Ontario Early Years?

To what extent do the Ontario Early Years prepare childrenfo r school readiness?