Practicing continuity of education in early childcare.

Abstract

This narrative explored a director’s and six caregivers’ perspectives on looping or continuity of education with young children. This study sought to answer the following questions: What perspectives do caregivers have on looping and its’ benefits? What perspective does the center’s director have on looping and its’ benefits? What are the relationships like between the caregivers and children in a looping classroom? The purpose of this research study was to 1.) explore how teachers and a supervisor describe their perspectives on looping with children through an early childcare center in a rural town of Western New York; 2.) explore how looping impacts children academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and linguistically. Qualitative data were collected through non-participant observations and interviews. Results revealed positive perspectives on the practice of looping for early childcare education. Participants expressed their joy of working closely with the children at the center for three consecutive years. The study concludes with considerations for the future to compare this childcare center with a non-looping early childhood childcare center in hopes to discover which type of early childcare education would be possibly considered as best practice.