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In her Exchange article, a "Looking at the Quality of Early Childhood Programs," Lilian Katz, proposed evaluating programs both from top-down and a bottoms-up perspectives. Here is her view on the latter...

"The characteristics of a program that really predict its outcome are the answers to the bottom-up question, which is: What does it feel like to be a child in this environment? Obtaining answers to this question is not easy! It requires making the very best guess one can about how each individual child in this group experiences the program. We can proceed by asking about the environment on behalf of each child:

• Is it welcoming rather than merely captivating?
• Do I belong in the group rather than merely have a good time?
• Am I usually accepted by adults rather than scolded?
• Am I taken seriously rather than just precious or cute?
• Am I usually accepted by some peers rather than isolated, neglected, or rejected?
• Is this environment usually involving rather than entertaining?
• Are the activities meaningful rather than mindless?
• Are the activities engaging rather than amusing?
• Are the activities interesting rather than boring?
• Do I usually come here willingly rather than reluctantly?

It seems to me that only when answers to most of these questions are positive can we assume that the quality of the program is worthy of our children.

The entire Katz article can be viewed on our home page at www.ChildCareExchange.com.

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