About
The Everyday Quality project is a joint effort between researchers at the University of Alabama and the University of Delaware, the Alabama Department of Human Resources, and family child care educators to support quality improvement and highlight the strengths of family child care settings.
We are creating a new measure of quality and accompanying toolkit with family child care educators. Current quality measures used in Family Child Care (FCC) were often created for center-based settings and do not adequately address the unique features and strengths of FCC.
In response, the Everyday Quality (EDQ) project has two primary goals: 1) to design a practical quality measure based on everyday experiences and daily routines in FCC settings, and 2) to develop a toolkit based around the EDQ measure that supports continuous quality improvement (CQI.) We hope that the EDQ tools can be used in a variety of quality initiatives and systems. Findings from this study will fill a gap in family child care quality measurement and can be used to promote more effective inclusion of family child care educators in quality improvement efforts.
If you are a family child care educator, or you work with family child care educators, please contact us to learn more about how you can get involved!
EDQ Framework
We are excited to share the Everyday Quality (EDQ) framework! Our team developed this framework, which will guide the EDQ observation and toolkit, using findings from focus groups with nearly 100 family child care educators around the country.
The inner ring includes six constructs that will be part of the EDQ observational tool. These constructs are Home Away from Home, Guiding Children’s Learning, Children Learning from Each Other, Daily Routines, One-on-One Connections, and Environment.
The outer ring includes six additional constructs that are important parts of family child care quality but may not be measurable during a one-time observation. These six areas will not be part of the EDQ observation but will be reflected in the toolkit of quality improvement resources.
Together, these 12 constructs form the EDQ Framework, encompassing the unique and essential components of quality in family child care program. Thanks to all of the family child care educators who gave their input to help develop this framework.
Team Members
Dr. Alison Hooper
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education
The University of Alabama
Dr. Rena Hallam
Co-Principal Investigator
Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences
University of Delaware
Dr. Stefanie Wind
Co-Principal Investigator
Associate Professor of Educational Measurement
The University of Alabama
Whitney Wahl
Associate Research Professional
The University of Alabama
Deborah Drain
Graduate Research Assistant
University of Delaware
Ekaterina Novikova
Graduate Research Assistant
University of Delaware
Kristin Johnson
Graduate Research Assistant
The University of Alabama