Dr. Michal Perlman

Professor, University of Toronto and Director, Dr. R.G.N. Laidlaw Research Centre, University of Toronto

Curriculum vitae

416-978-0596

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)

University of Toronto

252 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5S 1V6

Associations between Directors' Characteristics, Supervision Practices and Quality of Early Childhood Education and Care Classrooms

Journal article

Michal Perlman, Nina Howe, Cathryn Gulyas, Olesya Falenchuk
Early Education and Development, vol. 31, Informa {UK} Limited, 2019 Oct, pp. 507--523

DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2019.1679006

Cite

APA Click to copy
Perlman, M., Howe, N., Gulyas, C., & Falenchuk, O. (2019). Associations between Directors' Characteristics, Supervision Practices and Quality of Early Childhood Education and Care Classrooms. Early Education and Development, 31, 507–523. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2019.1679006

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
Perlman, Michal, Nina Howe, Cathryn Gulyas, and Olesya Falenchuk. “Associations between Directors' Characteristics, Supervision Practices and Quality of Early Childhood Education and Care Classrooms.” Early Education and Development 31 (October 2019): 507–523.

MLA Click to copy
Perlman, Michal, et al. “Associations between Directors' Characteristics, Supervision Practices and Quality of Early Childhood Education and Care Classrooms.” Early Education and Development, vol. 31, Informa {UK} Limited, Oct. 2019, pp. 507–23, doi:10.1080/10409289.2019.1679006.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{perlman2019a,
  title = {Associations between Directors' Characteristics,  Supervision Practices and Quality of Early Childhood Education and Care Classrooms},
  year = {2019},
  month = oct,
  journal = {Early Education and Development},
  pages = {507--523},
  publisher = {Informa {UK} Limited},
  volume = {31},
  doi = {10.1080/10409289.2019.1679006},
  author = {Perlman, Michal and Howe, Nina and Gulyas, Cathryn and Falenchuk, Olesya},
  month_numeric = {10}
}

Abstract

We investigated associations between the characteristics of directors, their practices in supervising educators, and the quality of classrooms in their centers. Directors from 71 randomly selected child care centers (106 classrooms) serving preschool-age children in Toronto, Canada, completed a questionnaire asking about their characteristics (e.g., education/experience) and supervision practices. Quality was assessed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) and a short version of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R). Most directors were female and had a strong early childhood education background. Their characteristics showed no, or negative, associations with supervision practices. Variance decomposition analysis revealed significant center level variance for the Emotional Support and Classroom Organization subscales of the CLASS and for the ECERS-R score. Experience in the current center, in the early childhood sector and administrative experience were negatively related to ECERS-R scores. No associations were observed with the CLASS. Practice and Policy: While our findings show center level effects for quality, they highlight the need for further research on whether and how directors drive center quality.