| The purpose of the study was to research four-year-old children's descriptions of their child care/preschool setting. The research question was: How do four-and five-year-olds describe their high-quality early childhood setting? The research question consists of three additional subsections. (A) What, if any, are the contributions of the gender of the children to their descriptions of quality in their high-quality early childhood setting? (B) What, if any, are the contributions of the age of the children to their descriptions of quality in their high-quality early childhood setting? (C) What, if any, are the contributions of the children's full or part-time enrollment and their descriptions of quality in their high-quality early childhood setting?;The quality of the setting was reconfirmed from the adult perspective using the ECERS and CIS instruments. Interview protocols were used with four-year-olds with parental permission. One interview protocol Feelings About My School And Teacher (FAMST) was developed at Auburn University and Amie Lapp Payne established its validity in 2004. The second interview protocol Preschoolers Attitudes about My School and Teacher (PAMST) was developed for this research study.;The four and five-year-old children at the university lab center described a quality educare setting as one that allowed children to play with their peers. The children's responses agreed with accepted developmentally appropriate practice and accepted best practices in the field of early childhood education.;Based on the findings, early childhood teacher preparation programs must continue to teach the importance of play, routine and appropriate adult-child interactions. Because children are rarely provided with the opportunity to speak for themselves, early childhood educators and parents must be willing and able to speak on their behalf.;The children at the university laboratory center have given a clear message as to what is important to children in an early childhood classroom. The three most important things were having a chance to play, having friends to play with and having a predictable classroom routine. |
