Accreditation: A Tool for Enhancing Quality Care

by Karen Chandler

Mechanisms to improve quality child care fall into two general categories: regulatory and non-regulatory. Licensed standards should be recognized as minimum standards, designed to prevent programs that harm children. Higher levels of quality may be established by promoting higher standards of professional practice. One such method is accreditation.

Accreditation, a somewhat new concept in the field of early childhood education, is defined by Doherty¹⁴ as a process by which a representative body, recognized by both the service community and the community in general, establishes standards for services. These standards are above the minimum regulatory requirements of government. Programs apply on a voluntary basis for evaluation against the standards and, if found to meet or surpass them, are granted a certificate of recognition.

One of the most important concepts in organizational theory is that for change to be real and lasting, it must be initiated by the organization. Similarly, one of the most effective strategies for program improvement and change is collaborative problem solving which would involve administrators, early childhood educators, other staff and parents in a systematic study of a program's strengths and areas needing improvement. At the core of an accreditation system is the assumption that for substantive program change to occur and be sustained, it must be program motivated. At the same time, by achieving accreditation, an extrinsic incentive is offered to a program through the recognition that it has substantially complied with high standards.

The similarities and differences between licensing and accreditation are articulated by Morgan.¹⁵

• Licensing is mandatory, whereas accreditation is voluntary.
• Licensing standards are minimal requirements. Accreditation standards define high quality. Licensing is designed to provide a baseline of protection for children in licensed home care and group care. Accreditation defines a ceiling of quality.
• Licensing requires 100 per cent compliance. Accreditation is based on substantial compliance. Because licensing standards are established as minimal standards, the assumption is that they must all be met with an equal level of compliance. Accreditation standards define higher level quality and since compliance is determined on the basis of professional judgement, 100 per cent compliance is not required.
• Licensing is government regulated. Accreditation is professionally sponsored.
• Licensing punishes noncompliance. Accreditation recognizes achievement.

One of the most pressing questions regarding the accreditation system is how well it achieves its goal of bringing about change and improvement in programs. Whitebrook found that accredited centres in the United States employed staff with more formal education, higher levels of early childhood education and more experience than non-accredited centres. ¹⁶ Accredited centres had more developmentally appropriate curriculum, more playroom staff, and better infant and toddler ratios. Teachers were viewed as more sensitive in their interactions and engaged in more appropriate caregiving. Accredited centres paid better wages and provided better working conditions.

Some of the benefits of accreditation reported in centres participating in a NAEYC study included: ¹⁷

• improvements in staff development, communication and morale;
• recognition that providing a good program is great for staff self-esteem;
• measurable program improvements as the result of the process;
• a marketing tool for centres wanting to increase/maintain enrolment; parents felt an increased sense of assurance that they had made a good decision in choosing an accredited program for their children.

There is no national child care accreditation system in Canada. Some Canadians express concern that improving the quality of child care may make these services so expensive that they would be inaccessible to parents and children. However, it is being argued with increasing regularity that society as well as families should share the responsibility for children's well-being. Government funding must be made available to ensure that child care is affordable, accessible, and of high quality.

Karen Chandler is a faculty member, ECE program, George Brown College, and a past president of the Canadian Child Care Federation.

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This article first appeared in Interaction published by the Canadian Child Care Federation, Summer, 1995.

Posted by: the Canadian Child Care Federation, September 1996.

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