Child-Staff Ratios in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings and Child Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Child-staff ratios are a key quality indicator in early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs. Better ratios are believed to improve child outcomes by increasing opportunities for individual interactions and educational instruction from staff. The purpose of this systematic review, and where possible, meta-analysis, was to evaluate the association between child-staff ratios in preschool ECEC programs and children’s outcomes. Searches of Medline, PsycINFO, ERIC, websites of large datasets and reference sections of all retrieved articles were conducted up to July 3, 2015. Cross-sectional or longitudinal studies that evaluated the relationship between child-staff ratios in ECEC classrooms serving preschool aged children and child outcomes were independently identified by two reviewers. Data were independently extracted from included studies by two raters and differences between raters were resolved by consensus. Searches revealed 29 eligible studies (31 samples). Child-staff ratios ranged from 5 to 14.5 preschool-aged children per adult with a mean of 8.65. All 29 studies were included in the systematic review. However, the only meta-analysis that could be conducted was based on three studies that explored associations between ratios and children’s receptive language. Results of this meta-analysis were not significant. Results of the qualitative systematic review revealed few significant relationships between child-staff ratios and child outcomes construed broadly. Thus, the available literature reveal few, if any, relationships between child-staff ratios in preschool ECEC programs and children’s developmental outcomes. Substantial heterogeneity in the assessment of ratios, outcomes measured, and statistics used to capture associations limited quantitative synthesis. Other methodological limitations of the research integrated in this synthesis are discussed.

Quality of the ECEC Workforce in Romania: Empirical Evidence from Parents’ Experiences

“…Shortages of staff are perceived especially in the case of non-teaching personnel, such as nurses and auxiliary staff (see Table 4). Previous research proved that in childhood education and care settings, a lower child ratio ensure the necessary conditions to provide better child outcomes, higher quality interactions between teachers and children, and better educational and care processes [36][37][38][39][40]. Our research proves that the responses of the parents in respect to the adequacy of the staff number are consistent with results from previous studies.…”

Essentiality of Management of Facilities and Infrastructure toward a Number of Students of Early Years Institution

“…And the last research about number of outcome is about significant relationships between child-staff ratios and child outcomes construed broadly [3].…”

Desigualdades De Oportunidades Educacionais No Início Da Trajetória Escolar No Contexto Brasileiro

“…A segunda variável de interesse é uma característica relacionada à infraestrutura das escolas: diversos estudos já estimaram o efeito do tamanho da turma no aprendizado dos alunos (Finn e Achilles, 1999;Perlman et al, 2017). Afinal, faz diferença para o estudante ser alocado em turmas menores, ou seja, com menos estudantes?…”