An Approach to the Measurement of Preschool Environments

The general method of observation of education for preschool children, and the conceptual dimensions underlying the categories of experience are discussed. The technique used for measuring preschool experience is the Inventory of Children's Preschool Experience (ICPE). The scale provides a description of the experiences of specific children in the classroom. Time sampling is used: The unit is 30 seconds long and there is a 90 second time-out period for recording. The scale is divided into two parts. Categories concerning what the child is doing are recorded in the upper part and the activities of the teacher or other adult which are directed to the referenced child are recorded in the lower part. In the development of the categories several theoretical approaches provided an organizing framework, e.g., social learning, many of Piaget's notions and operant conditioning. The categories are divided into six broad classes: two for the child and four for the teacher. For the child these categories are those involving interaction with materials and those involving social interaction and affect. For the teacher these are: transmitting skills and knowledge; activities concerned with encouraging, modulating, and inhibiting child's behavior; providing feedback and contingent reward or reinforcement; and providing praise and experiences which would tend to enhance the child's feelings of self worth. It is concluded that there is no single approach that can be used to derive a set of variables from a larger set of categories. (Author/CK)