Abstract
Child-staff ratios are a key quality indicator in early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs. Better ratios are believed to improve child outcomes by increasing opportunities for individual interactions and educational instruction from staff. The purpose of this systematic review, and where possible, meta-analysis, was to evaluate the association between child-staff ratios in preschool ECEC programs and children’s outcomes. Searches of Medline, PsycINFO, ERIC, websites of large datasets and reference sections of all retrieved articles were conducted up to July 3, 2015. Cross-sectional or longitudinal studies that evaluated the relationship between child-staff ratios in ECEC classrooms serving preschool aged children and child outcomes were independently identified by two reviewers. Data were independently extracted from included studies by two raters and differences between raters were resolved by consensus. Searches revealed 29 eligible studies (31 samples). Child-staff ratios ranged from 5 to 14.5 preschool-aged children per adult with a mean of 8.65. All 29 studies were included in the systematic review. However, the only meta-analysis that could be conducted was based on three studies that explored associations between ratios and children’s receptive language. Results of this meta-analysis were not significant. Results of the qualitative systematic review revealed few significant relationships between child-staff ratios and child outcomes construed broadly. Thus, the available literature reveal few, if any, relationships between child-staff ratios in preschool ECEC programs and children’s developmental outcomes. Substantial heterogeneity in the assessment of ratios, outcomes measured, and statistics used to capture associations limited quantitative synthesis. Other methodological limitations of the research integrated in this synthesis are discussed.
Highlights
Childhood is a critical period in shaping children’s developmental trajectories [1]
Seven studies contained samples that were drawn from both the National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL)’s Multi-State Study and SWEEP study [20,31,32,33,34,35,36], three studies were from the CQO project [21,37,38], two studies utilized the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2000 Cohort sample [39,40], and two studies included samples drawn from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care [15,41]
Despite the substantial limitations of research in this area, the current study suggests that, within the range of permissible child-staff ratios, variations in ratios have small, if any, associations with concurrent and subsequent child outcomes
Summary
Childhood is a critical period in shaping children’s developmental trajectories [1]. Given that enrollment in ECEC settings has become the norm for preschool aged children [4,5], it is important to empirically identify aspects of the ECEC environment that are key in supporting children’s development Organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Public Health Association (APHA), the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER), and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) have identified indicators of high quality ECEC programs. These guidelines are intended to assist parents, policy makers, funders and other key stakeholders in making informed decisions about ECEC arrangements. The ratio of children to staff is one relatively quantifiable aspect of structural quality identified as a key quality indicator in the AAP’s Policy Statement on Quality Early Education and Child Care [6,7,8,9,10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
