Building on feedback from the field, as well as current research on supporting young children's development and learning, the authors have revised and updated the widely used Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale(R). FCCERS-3 is the next-generation assessment tool for use in home-based child care programs for children from infancy through school age (birth through age 12).
FCCERS-3 focuses on the full range of needs of the wide age-range of children often found in family child care programs. Further, the scale assesses both environmental provisions and provider-child interactions that contribute to children's learning and development, including language, cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development, as well as concerns for health and safety.
FCCERS-3 is appropriate for state- and district-wide QRIS and continuous quality improvement, for provider self-assessment, and as a learning or monitoring tool within networks of family providers. The established reliability and validity of the scale make it particularly useful for research and program evaluation with family child care programs.
While the approach to assessing quality and the scoring process remain the same for the new FCCERS-3, users will find the following improvements informed by extensive use of the FCCERS in the field and by the most recent research:
- Enhanced focus on interactions and the role of the provider.
- Six new language and literacy Items.
- A new Item on math experiences.
- A new approach to scoring based solely on observation of ongoing program activity (3-hour time sample).
- The elimination of the Parents and Provider subscale and provider interview, freeing up time for observing more actual programming.
- Improved indicator scaling, providing more precise and useful scores for use in self-improvement and professional development.
- Reduced emphasis on the number of materials, along with greater emphasis on how materials are used to encourage learning.
Suitable for use in inclusive and culturally diverse programs, FCCERS-3 subscales evaluate:
- Space and Furnishings
- Personal Care Routines
- Language and Books
- Activities
- Interaction
- Program Structure
For further information, please visit the Environment Rating Scales Website: ers.fpg.unc.edu
About the Author: Thelma Harms, Director of Curriculum Development Emerita, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director, Environment Rating Scales, Inc.
Dr. Harms is recognized internationally for her work on assessing care and educational programs for children and as lead co-author of the four Environment Rating Scales (ECERS, ITERS, FCCERS, and SACERS). Much of her consultation through the Environment Rating Scales Institute (ERSI) has focused on preparing professionals in the use of the scales for research, technical assistance, training, and program assessment in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) and similar quality enhancement projects in the United States and abroad.
Debby Cryer, Scientist Emerita, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director, Environment Rating Scales, Inc.
Dr. Cryer was a principal investigator for the national study on Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers, continued those interests in the European Child Care and Education Study, and is the lead co-author of a curriculum called "All About Preschoolers." She regularly provides consultation on establishing quality rating and improvement systems and provides training on the scales internationally. She is lead author on All About ECERS-R and All About ITERS-R.
Richard M. Clifford, Senior Scientist Emeritus, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dr. Clifford was a principal investigator on the National Center for Early Development and Learning study of state-funded pre-kindergarten programs and Co-Director of the companion SWEEP study, served as Director of the NC Division of Child Development, and was one of the principal investigators on the Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers study. Dr. Clifford is a past president of NAEYC.
Noreen Yazejian, Senior Research Scientist and Lead, Research and Evaluation Division, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dr. Yazejian's early childhood research and program evaluation studies have focused on professional development, models of programming birth to 5, home visiting, quality rating and improvement systems, early childhood language and literacy, and the use of data for continuous quality improvement. Her research has been published in Child Development, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Early Education and Development, Social Policy Report, and NHSA Dialog.
