ECERS-3 Research Study

Supporting Families Together Association and 4C for Children are participating in a research study being conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). They are conducting a study to examine a widely used preschool classroom observation tool, the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Third Edition (ECERS-3). We would like to invite your center to participate in this study. Information from this study will be used to make recommendations to improve the ECERS-3. We estimate participation might involve up to 4 hours of a teacher’s time in the spring for 1 morning classroom observation and completing a brief survey.

As you may know, ECERS-3 is an observational global quality assessment for classrooms serving children ages 3-5 years. The ECERS is currently used as part of 30 US states’ quality rating and improvement systems. Given this widespread use, it is critical that the measure be improved continuously and in particular that attention be given to how the measure works for Black and Latine populations and programs serving children from low-income communities. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at UNC-CH to examine the ECERS-3 and provide solutions related to racial equity with a particular lens toward anti-bias and culturally grounded practices.

Interested in Participating

Center Consent If your center is interested in participating, please email Rachel Kaplan rachel.kaplan@unc.edu Teacher Consent Teachers interested in participating should obtain approval from their center director first and then click on this link to fill out the teacher eligibility questionnaire.

If your center participates in the study, two evaluators will visit each classroom during the Spring. Teachers will be asked to complete a survey to report their demographic information and that of their classrooms, including the race/ethnicity of children and teachers and the family income levels of children. The two evaluators will observe in the classrooms for about 3-4 hours, one using the ECERS-3 and the other using the Equity in Early Learning Assessment (EELA). We will select a sample of classrooms from your center to be invited to participate and teachers will be asked to provide their consent before the classrooms are included in the evaluation. The teacher would receive a $50 gift card for helping us with this study. We would like your permission for preschool teachers in your center to participate in this study. If you would prefer to contact UNC, you are welcome to do so by contacting our project coordinator, Rachel Kaplan by email at rachel.kaplan@unc.edu or by phone at 919.259.6235.

Purpose of the Study The project will explore the extent to which the ECERS-3 might contain biases related to definitions, examples, indicators, analyses, and data interpretations, or be less reliable and valid for particular populations. Such information can then be used in future work to improve the tool to better meet the needs of children and families served by early childhood education/Pre-K programs, with a focus on Black and Latine children and children from low-income communities.

Information to Gather Once we have obtained permission from districts and schools and consent from teachers, two evaluators will visit each classroom. Teachers will be asked to complete a survey to report their demographic information and that of their classrooms, including the race/ethnicity of children and teachers and the family income levels of children. The two evaluators will observe in the classrooms for about 4 hours, one using the ECERS-3 and the other using the Equity in Early Learning Assessment (EELA).

Benefits and Risk There are no known risks associated with participating in this study. Research is designed to benefit society by gaining new knowledge.  Neither you nor your school/center will benefit directly from being in this research study. Teachers will receive a $50 gift card for participating.

IRB Study # 22-1899 Title of Study: ECERS-3: Identifying Gaps and Equity Challenges

Principal Investigator: Noreen Yazejian
Institutional Review Board: 919-966-3113 or email IRB_subjects@unc.edu

Supporting Families Together Data Collectors EELA – Amanda Austin – amandas@supportingfamiliestogeher.org ECERS-3 – Yaret Moreno – yaret@supportingfamiliestogether.org

4C for Children Data Collectors

EELA – Ashley Harrel – aharrell@4cfc.org

ECERS-3 – Paola Garcia – pgarcia@4cfc.org