Features, measurement, and quality improvement in family childcare: a systematic literature review (SLR)

ABSTRACT

Family childcare (FCC), one of the most widely used childcare provision, is important to children's short and long-term development. FCC quality is receiving more attention in policy and international studies, although additional literature reviews are needed. This study is a systematic literature review(SLR) to identify relevant literature on FCC quality features, quality measurement and quality improvement published between 2002 and 2022 in English. Sixty-eight studies were screened and examined based on the country/region in which they were conducted, years of publication research methods, aims of research, and findings. The findings indicate that there has been an increasing trend in FCC studies, most of which are conducted in the United States. Structural and process quality have also been found to promote children's development. However, some inconsistencies in these findings still require more research, and there are some practical measurements and improvements that countries can learn from.

KEYWORDS:

• Childcare quality
• early childhood education and care
• family childcare
• systematic literature review
• literature review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The National Social Science Fund of China ‘The Study of New industrial Workers’ Children Generally Beneficial Childcare Servies in urban integration' in 2022 (Grant number: 22BSH060).

Notes on contributors

Chengnuo Zheng

Chengnuo Zheng is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Education of Northeast Normal University,Chang Chun,China. Her research interest is on the family childcare and childcare service.

Dongqing Yu

Dongqing Yu is a professor at the Faculty of Education of Northeast Normal University, Chang Chun, China. Her research interest is on the family education and childcare. [email protected].