Directors’ reports about program-wide pedagogical approaches: Using institutional theory in a mixed methods study of Chicago-area centers serving 3- and 4-year old children

Abstract

Using institutional theory as a framework, we examined how professional norms and regulatory standards were associated with the instructional styles and curricular approaches that directors reported were used building-wide in centers serving 3- and 4-year-old children. We conducted a census surveying 229 child care center directors located in 31 ZIP Codes on the west and north sides of Chicago. We also completed in-depth interviews with a subsample of 29 directors. Most directors reported a highly child-initiated instructional style, although these directors were evenly balanced among those that reported little, some, or very much direct instruction. Directors who were highly embedded in the field of early care and education (ECE)—signaled for instance by their ECE certificates—most often reported highly child-initiated styles combined with little direct instruction. The majority of directors reported using Creative Curriculum, and those highly exposed to regulatory standards—such as the requirements of their local public funding grantees—were most likely to use it exclusively. In-depth interviews revealed some directors were able to explain the rationale and mechanisms through which a child-initiated instructional style supported child learning, whereas others pointed to outside requirements when justifying their center-wide style and curriculum. We encourage future studies regarding how and why ECE programs adopt various pedagogical approaches in the context of their institutional environments.