As with every other branch of care and education, there is a fine balance to be struck between the cost, the ratio of teachers to pupils – and the resulting quality of the service. High-quality, low-cost childcare is hard to find, and, to keep costs down, childcare centers often employ fewer staff.
The impact of the high child-to-caregiver ratios is much as one might suppose: the authors of a recent article in Child Development note that high ratios and poorer student functioning go hand-in-hand. However, it remains unclear whether the high ratios are strictly to blame, since other potential causes (like poor caregiver training or low salaries) are also often found in centers where they occur.
To address this gap in knowledge, the research team from Radboud University Nijmegen conducted an experiment. Two hundred seventeen caregivers from 64 child care centers in the Netherlands were observed during two structured play episodes: one with a group of three children and one with a group of five. They found that a child–caregiver ratio of 3:1 produced a significantly higher quality of interaction than a ratio of 5:1, particularly for younger children. The 3:1 ratios also produced better results in terms of children's well-being and cooperation.
Additionally, Elles J. De Schipper, Elles J., Marianne J. Riksen-Walraven, and Sabine A. E. Geurts found that caregivers’ behaviors in the play episodes were similar to their behavior at other times of the day, suggesting that the findings might apply to other, less structured settings.
The report does not consider whether bias among the observers of the play episodes might have influenced their findings. Some observers, for example, might assume that lower ratios are better and thus tend to see more positive behaviors in low ratio episodes and less positive behaviors in high ratio episodes.
Although more research is needed (for example on different ratios and long term impacts), the study provided some important information for those considering how to promote quality in childcare centers.