Evaluation of early childhood programs: The role of parents

Recent literature indicates that parents have generally been overlooked as sources of information in preschool and day care program evaluations. The need for parent involvement in program evaluation is detailed and data are presented that highlight some of the problems which may be encountered when parents are included. Behavioral ratings from both parents and teachers of preschool and day care children were collected and differences were noted despite the high internal consistency of the scale used. Approaches toward interpreting such discrepancies are detailed and suggestions for future research and application are made.The authors wish to thank Ted Speroff for making his data available for this report. Also, we are indebted to the many parents and teachers who cooperated in the various phases of the research program described here. Copies of the current edition of the DRSPC (Deitchman & Battle, 1976) and reprints can be obtained from Robert Deitchman, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325.