Continuity of Care: Primary Caregiving in Singapore

Abstract

Child care centres in many developed countries have expanded exponentially due to the increased participation of women in the workforce. Consequently, children are spending long hours in child care settings, and hence the issue of quality of provision has come under scrutiny. Given the vulnerable age of children, particularly those birth to 3 years, researchers investigated parents’ views of a primary caregiving system in Singapore, which is an approach that aims to foster children’s holistic growth and development. Within the system, three to four infants are cared for, in the main, by one caregiver within an early childhood educational setting and supported by a team of other staff. Parents were asked specifically about their level of satisfaction with the primary caregiving system and were also asked about their level of understanding. Findings showed that 49% of the sample were satisfied and 51% were very satisfied. In relation to the second question three major themes emerged in the qualitative data from responding parents—meeting children’ needs, supporting safe and secure relationships, and improving home school communication. As primary caregiving is not used widely in Singapore it is deemed important to disseminate findings to policy makers and practitioners working in child care centres. Given the importance of primary caregiving and its application in many other countries, the findings have relevance internationally.