C4kdreamteam finalreport

1

EWEB Parents External Survey Summary of Results Creative 4 Kids & Dream Team May 26, 2014 Eugene, OR

Creative 4 Kids Samantha Schwartz Hannah Lowenthal Selah Shepherd Ariana Garay Jeff Bedbury Brandt Hamilton

Dream Team Rachel Monaghan Britteny Faber Lisa Kliman Sophia Boerman Jackie Kokka

2

Report of Findings, EWEB ChildCare Development Center Parent/External Survey March 31-May 27, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS______________________________ 2 Introduction…………………………………………………………………4 Executive Summary………………………………………………………...4 Part 1: Survey Research…………………………………………………….7 1.1 Secondary Research Part 1…………………………….7 1.2 Secondary Research Part 2…………………………….7 Reports on Upper Class Families Low Income Family/One person Part 2: Media Profiles……………………………………………………...8 2.1Twitter- Social Media Outlets…………………………….8 2.2 KLCC Radio Station……………………………………..9 2.3 The Register Guard- Local Newspaper……………….…10 2.4 Facebook of EWEB Child Development Center….…….10 Part 3: Research Design………………………………………………...…12 3.1 Part 1: Quantitative Survey………………………………12 3.2 Part 2: Qualitative Survey………………………….……12 Part 4: Survey Design…………………………………………………..…13 Part 5: Survey……………………………………………………….…….14 5.1 Part 1: Closed Ended……………………………….……14 5.2 Part 2: Open-Ended ………………………………..……16 5.3 Demographics…………………………………...………18

Report of Findings, EWEB ChildCare Development Center Parent/External Survey March 31-May 27, 2014

Part 6: Data Analysis………………………………………….………….19 6.1 Observations……………………………………………19 Pretest 6.2 Data Collection Part 1……………………………..……20 Part 1: Education & Discipline in Child Care…………20 Part 2: Recreational Activities in Child Care…….……22 Part 3: Meals…………………………………………23 Part 4: Group Setting.…………………………24 Infants…………………………………………25 Toddlers……………………………….………25 Preschool…………………………...…………26 Kindergarten………………………………..…26 Part 5: Childcare Costs………………………..………27 6.3 Data Collection Part 2……………………………..……29 6.4 Demographics…………………………………...………32 Part 7: Limitations………………………………………………………….........34 Part 8: Conclusions ……………………………………………………...35 Part 9: References……………………………………………………..…35 Part 10: Appendices……………………………………………………..37 10.1 Appendix A: Comparison of average age and household income of the Register Guard viewer to represent the best advertisement opportunity for EWEB Child Development Center……………………………………………………..37

3

4

Introduction Founded in 1988, the EWEB Child Development Center caters to the development of children in the Lane County area from two months old to six years old.

Notable aspects of EWEB Child Development Center include their age specific classrooms and provision of hot and nutritious lunches. Currently, EWEB Child Development Center is located at 409 High Street, Eugene, OR. However, the client is considering relocating to Springfield, OR. The research conducted seeks to provide a better understanding of the value parents in Lane County place on various aspects of their child development centers. In furthering their understanding of Lane County parent values, EWEB Child Development Centers seeks to improve their own facilities.

Executive Summary Demographics The demographic questions helped to provide the Creative 4 Kids team and the Dream Team’s overall range of characteristics of the population taking the survey.

Demographic questions help assess the groups of people taking the survey, as well as, general questions including gender, educational background, and income.

Our results found that 31 participants out of 35 are female. We can conclude that our sample size mainly consists of mothers who are most knowledgeable about childcare.

The most popular age range in our participants was between 35 and 44 years old. This knowledge will help childcare surveys in the future knowing that women ages 35 to 44 years old are the main target demographic. Based on the results, almost 100% of the participants do not receive government childcare subsidies and almost half (49%) of our respondents are working for wages. We can conclude that parents are working to supply for their children including high quality day care. The low number of homemakers (9%) show that childcare is necessary because stay-at-home parenting is not as common in Eugene. 54% of participants do not currently have a child in daycare services, but at one point did. Through the use of our data, we can conclude that the parents who work for wages all day need a childcare program to take care of their children while they earn income for their family.

Part 1 It is important among respondents that a childcare program is well structured.

92% of respondents rated a well-structured program as either important or very important for their child. Furthermore, 90% of respondents believe early education is important to their child’s development while 84% of respondents surveyed also believed that a provider’s style of discipline and guidance towards children should match their own.

Along with a well-structured program, 98% of respondents surveyed believe playtime was important as well as specifically that outdoor activity. In addition to general playtime, participants were specifically asked to state the importance of group activities with other children in a daycare program. 57% of respondents stated it was very important that their child was exposed to group activities involving other children. 26% believe group activities are important and 15% found it neither important nor unimportant.

5

However, with playtime comes a child’s need for fuel. We found that 33% of respondents did not believe eating organic was either important or unimportant in regards to their child’s meals. Although 31% of respondents believed it was important for their child to eat organic meals, 15% believed eating organic was not at all important, 13% believed it was unimportant, and 8% believed it was very important. Thus, respondents may see eating organic as an added benefit but may not factor it into their decision making when choosing a child care program. Our results in regards to how much organic meals a participant’s child eats per day we found; 44% of respondents selected 1 meal (or less, several respondents, when asked to expand, stated that they selected 1 meal because 0 was not an available option), 19% responded that their child ate three organic meals per day, 13% fed their child two organic meals per day, and 24% of respondents make sure their children eat four or more organic meals per day.

In addition to outside of activities and resources offered, we asked participants about their opinions in regards to child to caretaker ratios. We found that for infants, in the age range of 8 weeks to 18 months, 53% of respondents preferred 2 infants per each caretaker. 45% of respondents preferred 3 infants for every one caretaker. For toddlers, ranging from 18-30 months, 80% of respondents believe five children for every one caretaker is acceptable. 20% responded that six children for every one caretaker is what they prefer. For preschool children 47% of respondents favored six children for every one caretaker while 22% favored eight children for every one caretaker. 18% found seven preschool aged children to every one caretaker was acceptable. Lastly, for kindergarten aged children 37% still found smaller groups more favorable, choosing a ratio of six to one. 28% of respondents found a ratio of ten to one acceptable and 17% favored a ratio of eight to one.

In regards to the importance of financial aid availability in daycare centers 68% of respondents believe financial aid is either important or very important when considering childcare programs. 14% stated financial aid availability was neither important nor unimportant and 28% stated it was not important. The data supports the conclusion that parents in need of help with the cost of childcare are more likely to pursue programs with financial aid availability in order to aid with these costs. Furthermore, the average weekly expenditure costs for childcare appears to be between $0 and $500 as a weekly expenditure. The outliers, at $1000 and $2000 may be based on several factors. The question specified weekly expenditure for all children rather than per each child.

Therefore, respondents who wrote down high expenditure costs may have factored more than one child’s care in their response.

Part 2 In regards to the location of a daycare facility we found that safety appeared to be the greatest concern of most parents when looking for a daycare center. They wanted the surrounding environment to be safe for their children to learn and play in. Neighborhood settings and park settings were most preferred due to the calmer and safer environment they offer. Also, proximity to whoever is responsible for picking up and dropping off the child was critical to parents. However, some participants said if the care was exceptional then convenience of location could be compromised. Furthermore, when asking participants about what programs they look for when researching childcare facilities for their children most participants said that besides philosophy, curriculum, food/nutrition,

6

language programs, physical activities and sports, a safe and clean environment is a must.

From this question, we can confirm that having a well-rounded childcare center that is safe and clean is of utmost importance to parents. In terms of what characteristics participants expect a childcare center to foster in their child 12 of the parents specifically mentioned that they feel the instilment of social skills is important for their children.

Many participants said it was important the daycare program reflect the characteristics they are teaching in their home. A main trend we found was that a well-rounded development of social skills is an important characteristic to parents.

The importance of DHS/government assistance was also brought up in Part 2 of the survey. 25 out of 33 participants said it was not important to them to have government assistance offered through their daycare program. This is mostly because these participants did not fall under the category of those who qualify for assistance. For those who did say it was important they emphasized how necessary it is to have in order to have their child go to daycare. There was not much expansion on why government assistance was or was not important mostly likely due to the sensitivity of this issue since it is related to income.

The presence of diversity in a daycare facility was also discussed. 23 out of 34 participants not only said it was important, but very important to have diversity within their child’s daycare center. Many said it was essential and healthy for a child’s development. For those who said it was not important it was mostly because they expressed being more focused on ensuring their child was placed under good care regardless of diversity. Along with diversity in the class and teaching staff we asked about parents feelings in regards to the turnover rate of teaching/instructing staff. The majority of parents who participated in this survey concluded that the smaller the turnover rates the better. Many participants expressed how consistency is very important for developing young children. The reputation of a daycare center will be better if there is a low turnover rate so that parents can trust the facility and know their child is being taken care of by a dedicated and committed staff. Building off of this we asked how important it was that familiar faces surround a participant’s child everyday. 31 of our 34 respondents said that it was important that familiar faces surround their child or children on a daily basis. This mostly had to do with making sure the child is comfortable at the daycare center. Only 2 participants said it wasn’t important because they thought it was helpful to be exposed to different faces to help their child learn important social skills.

One of the questions that resulted in the most insightful responses was about participants’ preference of center-based childcare or home-based childcare. There were only 20 respondents to this question. Those who favored center-based care seemed to like the structure and resources that were available through a center-based daycare facility.

Those who favored home-based care liked the individual attention and familiarity that tends to follow a home-based daycare facility. Furthermore, most said home-based care is best for younger children or toddlers. However, there was a trend in responses that stated they either wanted references or some kind of proof of qualification on the home-based center’s part.

Finally we asked participants what three things would immediately deter them from choosing a childcare center. The general consensus for this question was that a dirty center was the main deterrent for most participants. Parents want an environment that is clean and feels welcoming. Parents want a welcoming environment from the moment

7

they walk in the door. They don’t want to see utter chaos or facilities that appear dirty or unsanitary. They look for a clean center, in a safe location with staff that is friendly.

Survey Research Secondary Research Part 1 Over 32.7 million children are enrolled in a childcare service in the United States.

One of the target demographics for EWEB are mothers who are employed. Research shows that 88 percent of preschooler’s have an employed mother. On average, “preschoolers or employed mothers spend 15 hours per week or more in childcare than preschoolers with unemployed mothers (Census Bureau). There are more parents opting to stay at home with their children instead of going to work and leaving their children at day care, which effects EWEB’s growth as a child care center. Child to teacher ratio preferences are important for EWEB to understand in order to successfully satisfy current and potential parents. The ideal teacher to child ratio for infants is 1:4, toddlers it is 1:5 and 1:10 for preschool aged children (Emporia & CCEI). It is also important for EWEB to understand the financial cost of childcare centers. Oregon has become the least affordable state for infant care, with the average cost 18% of a married couple’s average median income. In Oregon, approximately 65% of 0-4 year olds and 65% of 5-9 year olds are placed in childcare centers. 1,420 Lane County children received subsidies. This research is valuable to EWEB in order to understand the importance of financial aid in Oregon and Lane County.

Secondary Research Part 2 Reports on Upper Class Families: Current Demographic for EWEB’s childcare program According to the United States census, 51.1% of Eugene’s population is married and 44.8% of those couples have children under the age of 18. This shows us that there are a high percentage of households in the Eugene area that EWEB can target as potential new customers. Looking at high-income families, specifically within the Eugene area, families who make over $200,000 a year make up 6.3% of the community. There are a small percentage of high-income families who reside in Eugene, but there is a large market in Lane County for childcare in general.

There are 68,221 residents in Eugene that are employed. 82.7% of these Eugene residents have health insurance and 79% have private health care coverage. This high percentage of employed workers with health care plans indicate that there are families in Eugene with higher incomes that could send their children to the more expensive child care programs.

The average annual income per household in Eugene is $31,185 and the average persons’ per household is 2.20. In the $200,000 and above income tax bracket, 167 joint tax returns were filed and 800 dependent tax returns were filed. These low numbers suggest there are few high earning families in Eugene. While EWEB’s clientele is mainly those in the higher income bracket, which makes up a smaller percentage of the city’s makeup, this information shows that EWEB would benefit by reaching out to the middle and lower income bracket families to expand their clientele.

Â

8 Â

Low Income Family/One person: Current demographic for the Eugene area According to the United States Census of the lower income families in Eugene 23.1% of the population lives below the poverty line. This information was gathered between 2008 - 2011. This percentage is higher than anywhere else in Oregon, which suggests Eugene is in need for affordable childcare. In 2010, there were 66,419 households in Eugene. The percent of these households that had children under the age of 18 was 43.8%. Families made of up two parents with children under the age of 18 were 38.1% of total households and households with a single female parent with children under the age of 18 came to 60.5%. This number indicates that there is a greater demand for childcare for single mothers in Eugene. From this information, we can conclude that Eugene is a relatively low-income area and there is a high demand for childcare. From researching this demographic, EWEB would benefit from lowering their prices and prioritizing child care for single mothers with lower incomes.

In 2012, a survey conducted by Pew Research Center showed that 29% of mothers are stay at home parents. This percentage is the highest it has been in two decades. This is partly due to the rising costs for childcare. Mothers who do work are paying more for childcare than ever before, but it affects families with different incomes in different ways. Families with employed mothers, who have an income of $4,500 or more, are paying an average of $163 per week for childcare. This data represents 6.7% of their total income. However, families with less than $1,500 monthly income paid much less, at $97 a week, but represents 39.6% of their income. This data suggests that there is a high demand and a low supply for affordable childcare in Eugene.

Media Profiles Twitter - Social Media Outlet 1) Brief History/Bio New York University students Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass founded twitter in March of 2006. Today, it is one of the most important social media platforms in the world with over 241 million monthly active users and 500 million tweets per day. With an overwhelming following and popularity, Twitter serves as a great platform for EWEB to reach out to parents and promote their childcare center.

2) Demographics/Who it reaches Twitter reaches a very large and diverse audience within the Eugene community. Eugene has official Twitter accounts for numerous local news station, police stations, weather updates, and more. The Eugene community is very engaged. Twitter is very popular among parents because it is easy to use and gives them fast, real time news and information.

3) Why Twitter is useful/how advertising or promoting on this source would best benefit our client Twitter would be very helpful to EWEB childcare center because it is such a popular social media platform and reaches a broad audience. Twitter is a very easy way to promote company, reach larger audiences, and engage the community. With social

9 media evolving at such a rapid pace, having an active and engaged Twitter account for EWEB childcare center would help promote their brand in a positive way by fostering quicker exchanges of communication with their clients.

Sources (see works cited): "Twitter: History." Wikipedia.

Twitter.com KLCC Oregon - Radio Station 1) Brief History/Bio At 81,000 watts, KLCC is the most powerful public radio station in Oregon and is consistently ranked among the top five public radio stations in the nation for market impact. The station broadcasted its first radio show in 1967 and is noteworthy for its eclectic music blend and talk radio segments. As a public radio station, KLCC is classified by the FCC as a non-commercial and non-promotional station, which means there are no commercials that air during the broadcast. Over half of KLCC’s funding comes from the listening audience and business community, which only heighten the importance of partners and KLCC’s community outreach.

2) Demographics/ who it reaches KLCC reaches more than 88,000 people in the Eugene area and other major portions of the Northern and Western Oregon. Their listeners are generally college educated and over 72% of their listeners have household incomes over $50,000. Two-thirds of their listeners are college graduates and over half of them are employed in professional, technical, managerial or administrative work. Over 79% of their listeners are between the ages of 25 and 64.

3) Why each KLCC is useful/ how advertising or promoting on this source would best benefit our client It’s an ideal way to target a mass amount of parents who, according to the KLCC data, have incomes that can afford EWEB’s child care facilities. The 72% of listeners with household incomes over 50,000 is the exact demographic that EWEB needs to use their facility. The accessibility the radio station has to parents who consistently drive and listen to the radio on a daily basis is a useful outlet to get messages across the airwaves. KLCC commercials are only 15 second in length and only five are allowed per hour to ensure that there isn’t listener tune out. Fortunately, if EWEB CDC uses this outlet, the price they pay to create awareness on KLCC will be a cost free way for listeners to hear about their services. The listeners, whose ages range between 25 and 64, will hear about EWEB and consider using them as a credible day care program.

Sources (see works cited): "What Is KLCC?" "Connect with the People Who Shape Western and Central Oregon."

Â

10 Â

The Register Guard - Local Newspaper 1) Brief History/ Bio The Register Guard was formed in a 1930 and serves the Eugene-Springfield area, the Oregon Coast, Umpqua River Valley, and surrounding areas. The paper came to be through a merger of the Eugene Daily Guard and the Morning Register. The Baker family in Eugene, who run most of the departments, locally owns the paper. Furthermore, the paper proudly wears the badge of being Oregon's second-largest daily newspaper, but is also one of the rare breads of medium-sized family newspapers still standing in the US. 2) Demographics/Who it reaches The market that the paper reaches is the Eugene-Springfield metro area is 283,600 adults age 18+. Our client is mostly targeting higher income households and the Lane County average family household income is $55,826. Meaning that the paper will reach a larger amount of the target audience. Furthermore, 24 percent of Lane County families are dual income with the Lane County median age being 46, which would likely be around the age of many parents in the area as well. More specifically 35 percent of the market has children present in their household. The average Lane County family size is 2.9 persons.

3) Why The Register Guard is useful/how advertising or promoting on this source would best benefit our client.

The Register Guard reaches a huge amount of the target audience our client is attempting to reach. The newspaper itself reaches 54 percent of the market in 5 weekdays. This statistic proves that if our client were to take out an ad or promotion with the newspaper they would be reaching out to a majority of their potential targets. Also, The Register Guard newspaper has a Website in which advertisements can be taken out as well. Both the paper and the paper’s Website reach 80 percent of those households with a combined income of $50,000-plus. Meaning through the paper our client could communicate with their target audience on multiple platforms via the Internet and paper. The cost of the advertisements themselves range from 25-35$ making it an affordable platform for EWEB Parents to promote themselves on.

Sources (see works cited): "About Our Reader."

"The Register-Guard." Advertising Rate Card.

The Register-Guard." Breaking Local News, News Updates, Sports, Business and Weather.

Facebook of EWEB Child Development Center 1) Brief History/ Bio Facebook is an online social networking service founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard University roommates on February 4, 2004. Any person can make a profile page and request to be friends with any other company or person who also has a page. Each page allows you to make posts, chat with friends, create events and organize groups.

11

2) Demographics/Who it reaches Most popular age group = 35-44 year olds.

Number of page likes 35 Number of posts

5

Number of post likes

1

3) Why Facebook is useful/how advertising or promoting on this source would best benefit our client.

The EWEB Child Development Center’s Facebook currently only has 35 likes.

Compared to local competitors in the child development industry, EWEB is lacking on social media influence. Gaining more likes on Facebook will not only raise awareness of the child development center, but also shows prospective clients EWEB is a well known, reliable day care service in the community. The lack of likes garnered by EWEB may have a correlation to the lack of consistency of postings. Parkside Community Preschool and New Dream both consistently provide their followers with updates.

Sources (see works cited): "Oak Street Child Development Center - Eugene, OR - Education, Child Care | Facebook."

"Parkside Community Preschool - Eugene, OR - Education | Facebook."

"New Dream Child Care Center - Eugene, Oregon - School, Child Care | Facebook."

12

Research Design Part 1 Quantitative Survey Quantitative survey allows for us to record our respondents’ answers as numbers.

Since we have a limited budget, we are unable to offer the respondents proper compensation for their time. Our respondents are working individuals and between our time constraints and theirs, we felt it would be more efficient to provide our participants with a survey that can be completed in a matter of minutes. Providing a quick and easy survey would be more convenient for our demographic.

Non probability sampling: We will be using nonprobability sampling to choose individuals who best fit the clientele of EWEB Child Development Center. We are seeking to survey individuals with children of childcare age who do not have children in the center. Since this is a specific part of the population, we decided it would be more efficient to administer surveys to specific, handpicked individuals who met the criteria above. This will allow our participants to partake in a survey relevant to their interests and life, while simultaneously providing us with information from our target demographic.

• Sample size: Our sample size is 50 to 100 people because it will offer us a wide range of answers from different people. Our research will rely on snowball sampling to reach our target sample size. We will rely on our handpicked participants to distribute our survey among their friends who also fit our target demographic.

• Validity: We do not have a high external validity rate because our respondents are chosen based on nonprobability sampling. Therefore, we are unable to generalize our findings to the total population of Lane County. This means our overall sample size is extremely narrow and our findings may not speak for the rest of the population. In terms of internal validity, we do not expect completely accurate answers from respondents on the demographic questions. In some cases, respondents may claim they are younger than they are or their income is higher than it truly is.

Snowball sampling: Snowball sampling enables us to build a network of prospective participants, while reducing the time and cost required of contacting respondents to collect results. Each team member will send an electronic version of our survey to ten individuals. Two of our five group members know a parent with at least one child in childcare in the Eugene area. From there, we trust our participants will send our survey to their friends or family members that meet our criteria as well. Utilizing snowball sampling will allow us to gain the trust of our respondents, while providing us with the opportunity to reach individuals who fit our criteria.

Part 2 Qualitative Survey Originally we proposed using a non-probability sampling method because we intended to execute a qualitative phone interview based survey. We thought this method placed parents in a more comfortable and personal environment, in which we would be

13

able to attain a more accurate picture of what does and does not work for parents and their children when it comes to choosing a daycare center. Furthermore, by being able to discuss the topic one on one, we thought it would produce deeper conversation that would have allowed us to identify the common interests between parents. We intended for each phone interview to take around 25 minutes per participant. Using our ties within the community and working off of the snowball methods, we would’ve reached our sample size of ten to fifteen participants.

We knew we would require more personal based questions in order to best solve our client’s problems. Our goal was to target and interview a variety of family types to allow us to gain insights about what common threads families are looking for in a daycare facility. We intended to implement ten to fifteen interviews over the course of the two-week data collection period. Since our client is in the daycare profession it makes for a very personal topic of discussion, which we recognized would need to be taken into consideration when executing the phone interviews. Our demographics included families within the Eugene/Springfield area that were currently involved or looking to have their children involved in a daycare program. We were aware that our client tends to serve members of higher income brackets that can afford EWEB services so we were looking for participants who fall under that category.

We planned for each interviewer to have a script with them to help guide the interview. Our script was structured in a manner that aimed to answer two main questions posed by our client. The first half of our survey aimed to answer how parents are deciding which day care works best for their family (i.e. educational programs, location, health facilities, nutrition, QRIS, price). The second half of the survey attempted to find out what services and qualities keep families as members of their current day care center.

From these interviews we hoped to find insights that inform us what EWEB could do to help generate greater enrollment and awareness about their day care program.

However, after learning that the client wanted different groups conducting internal and external surveys we changed our research approach. Instead our team worked with Creative 4 Kids to generate an external survey to be sent out to the Lane County public.

Survey Design Initially when designing our survey the Dream Team had planned to do phone interviews asking participants a series of open-ended questions about their opinions on childcare. We designed these questions to be able to prompt further discussion. We had thought that phone interviews would yield the best answers since it would be a personal way to engage with the respondents. However, as described in the “Research Design” section, after learning that the client wanted different groups conducting internal and external surveys Dream Team changed their research approach. Instead Dream Team worked with the Creative 4 Kids team to generate an external survey to be sent out to the Lane County public. We decided to combine qualitative and quantitative questions, split into two separate sections, and added an extensive demographics section at the end of the survey.

Our survey was split into two parts. The first part of the survey was brief questions where participants selected a number representing the importance of certain issues on a scale from 1-5. These brief questions helped us gather what parents find

14

important in a daycare facility and helped us conduct graphs and charts to represent our findings. The description on the survey for part 1 stated: “The questions in this section of the survey are designed to help develop a better understanding of your opinions about the philosophy, food, teaching style, and childcare cost surrounding childcare centers. The majority of the following questions ask you to answer the question on a scale from 1 to 5.”

The second part of the survey was open-ended questions where parents personally answered questions and helped us establish a better sense of how parents feel about certain issues. The description on the survey for part 2 stated: “The questions in this section of the survey are aimed at gaining a deeper understanding about your thoughts in regards to different aspects of child day care. Please feel free to take up as much space as you need to articulate your thoughts and opinions.”

After the completion of parts 1 and 2, participants were asked a variety of short multiple choice questions regarding gender, income, size of household, age, marital status and more so we could understand the demographics of each participant. After the completion of the survey, we thanked them for their participation and provided them with a follow-up e-mail address if they had any questions or concerns.

It was key to have the demographic portion at the end of the survey as to not deter the potential respondents from completing the survey, since the demographic questions are typically the most sensitive. By using qualitative and quantitative questions we hoped to get the most informative data from our respondents to be able to form solid conclusions.

Survey EWEB Child Development Center Parents Survey The following survey was constructed by a group of students from the University of Oregon for the EWEB Child Care Development Center. The survey aims to better understand what parents seek when searching for a daycare service for their child. To help their own child care services, EWEB would like to know what parents in the Eugene community look for in their childcare system. The survey will approximately take 20 minutes. Thank you for your time.

Part 1 Close-Ended The questions in this section of the survey are designed to help develop a better understanding of your opinions about the philosophy, food, teaching style, and childcare cost surrounding childcare centers. The majority of the following questions ask you to answer the question on a scale from 1 to 5. Under each set of questions there is a space if you would like to expand on your answer.

1. How important is a well-structured program for your child?

(Not at all important) 1 2 3 4 5 (Very important) 2. How important is it to you that your child receives an early education?

(Not at all important) 1 2 3 4 5 (Very important)

15

3. How important is playtime for your child?

(Not at all important) 1 2 3 4 5 (Very important) 4. How important is it to you that the provider’s discipline and guidance styles match yours?

(Not at all important) 1 2 3 4 5 (Very important) 5. How important is it to you that your child spends time outside?

(Not at all important) 1 2 3 4 5 (Very important) Would you like to provide further detail on any of the questions above? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ 6. How important is it to you that your child’s food be considered “organic”?

(Not at all important) 1 2 3 4 5 (Very important) 7. How many organic meals does your child eat a day? (Place an X next to the most accurate number) 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Would you like to provide further detail? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ 8. How important to you is a financial aid option (for those who qualify) in order to help with the cost of childcare?

(Not at all important) 1 2 3 4 5 (Very important) 9. What is your ideal child to teacher ratio?

Infant (8 weeks-18 months) 4:1 3:1 2:1 Toddler (18-30 months) 8:1 7:1 6:1 5:1 Preschool (30 months to 3 years) 10:1 9:1 8:1 PreK/Kindergarten (4-6 years) 10:1 9:1 8:1

7:1

6:1

7:1

6:1

Would you like to provide further detail? ________________________________________________________________________

16

________________________________________________________________________ ____________ 10. How important to you is it that your child to be involved in group activities with other students?

(Not at all important) 1 2 3 4 5 (Very important) Would you like to provide further detail? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ 11. About how much do you usually spend in total on childcare per week for all of your children under the age of 5 (or not yet in kindergarten)? (Round to whole dollars; please enter 0 if there is usually no weekly expenditure). a. ________________ 12. How much do you agree with the following statement: “The cost of childcare has prevented me from getting the kind of care I want” (Strongly disagree) 1 2 3 4 5 (Strongly agree) Would you like to provide further detail? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ Part 2 Open-Ended The questions in this section of the survey are aimed at gaining a deeper understanding about your thoughts in regards to different aspects of child day care.

Please feel free to take up as much space as you need to articulate your thoughts and opinions.

1. In terms of the location, what do you look for in terms of the day care facility itself and in the surrounding area as well? (For example, do you look for a daycare center that is within a certain distance of your residence? Do you prefer the daycare center to be located in a more residential or metropolitan setting?)

2. What programs do you look for when researching child care centers for your child?

(Examples: philosophy, curriculum, food/nutrition, language programs, physical activities/sports etc.)

Follow up: Why those programs?

17

3. How important is it to have DHS/government assistance available to your family through your child’s child care center?

Follow up: Why? 4. What turnover rate of teaching/instructing staff at your child’s day care is acceptable to you?

5. How important is it that your child is surrounded by familiar faces everyday?

6. Do you find a center-based care or a home-based care more important to you? Please explain why below.

Center-based care has educated/trained caregivers and has a pool of substitutes if a teacher is unable to teach a class. It is often felt like an institution and usually located in large facilities. Center-based care centers may be exposed to an educational rigid curriculum that is exposed to literacy and language development.

Home-based care typically has fewer children per adult, smaller group sizes, and more mixed interactions between age groupings. It is regarded as a more natural environment with similar surroundings to a child’s home. Home-based care centers are also generally more flexible with schedules.

7. How important is it to have diversity within the teaching staff and class groups at your child’s child care center and why?

8. What characteristics do you expect a child care center to foster in your child? (e.g. social skills, respect, responsibility, safety, etc.)

9. Lastly, what three things would immediately deter you from choosing a child care center? Please explain why.

DEMOGRAPHICS 1. What is your gender? a) Male b) Female c) Other, please enter your gender identification: ____________________ d) Do not wish to answer 2. What is your age? a) 18-24 years old b) 25-34 years old c) 35-44 years old c) 45-54 years old d) 55-64 years old e) 65-74 years old f) 75 years or older 3. Do you currently receive government child care subsidies? a) Yes b) No 4. What is your current marital status? a) Single b) Married c) Divorced d) Living with significant other e) Separated f) Widowed g) Other 5. What is the highest level of education you have completed? a) Less than high school b) High school/ GED c) Some college d) 2- Year college degree (associates) e) 4- year college degree (BA/BS) f) Master’s degree g) Doctoral degree h) Professional degree (MD,JD) 6. What is your current employment status? a) Employed for wages b) Self-employed c) Out of work and looking for work d) Out of work but not currently looking for work e) A homemaker f) A student

18

19

g) Military h) Retired i) Unable to work 7. How many children are in your family? a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4+ 8. What age range does your child or children fall under? Please mark all that apply if you have more than one child. a) 0 - 6 months b) 7- 12 months c) 1-2 years old d) 2-3 years old e) 3-5 years old f) 5-8 years old g) 9+ years old 9. Is your child/children currently enrolled in daycare? a) Yes b) No 10. My primary use of a child care center would fall in this set of hours. Please mark all that apply.

(7:30 am-12:30 pm) Morning (12:30 pm-5:30 pm) Afternoon (7:30 am-5:30 pm) All Day (Before 7:30am) Early Morning Care (After 5:30 pm) Evening Care Thank you for your participation.

Following Up If you have any follow up questions or concerns please email Jacqueline Kokka at jkokka@uoregon.edu.

Data Analysis Observations Pretest Before both group made the survey live, each team member asked friends and family members to complete the survey and provide feedback about what parts of the survey were unclear or confusing. These comments helped direct the changes that were made to the survey in order to produce the most effective survey possible. All participants found the introduction clear and concise. They appreciated the fact that the survey actually did take 20 minutes or less. For the first 5 questions of part 1 of the survey, most pre-test participants said that the ranking system was very clear, but that it was also helpful to have the “Not important” and “Very Important” on either end of the question. Many participants thought that questions 5-6 were similar, but appreciated that they were separate since “organic” food was important to about half of them.

Â

20 Â

There were a few participants who would have liked an option to not answer certain questions due to its sensitive subject, money. Therefore, we gave participants the option to not answer this question. Participants of the pre-test said that all questions were phrased well and were clearly understood. Most of the feedback was fairly positive with most of the negative comments reflecting a desire to have more room to expand on their answers in the first part of the survey. This is easily taken care of once the survey was placed online because the online format allows for an extensive space to expand on answers. We had no issues with demographics questions either. Participants said that the questions were clear and for the most part not too invasive.

Data Collection Part 1 Part 1: Education & Discipline in Child Care 1.1 Importance of a well-Structured Program Figure 1 shows that it is important among respondents that a child care program is well structured. 92% of respondents rated a well-structured program as either important or very important for their child. 8% of respondents believe a well-structured program is not an important aspect of a child care program for their child. When asked to elaborate further, several respondents acknowledged the importance of structure but also stated that child care programs be flexible with the needs of children, especially when dealing with children not yet in kindergarten.

Figure 1: Importance of a well-structured program for your child #

Answer

Response

%

1

1 (Not at all important)

0

0%

2

2

1

2%

3

3

3

6%

4

4

25

51%

5

5 (Very Important)

20

41%

Total

49

100%

1.2 Importance of Early Education in Child Care Respondents were asked whether early education was important for their child.

Figure 2 shows that 90% of respondents believe early education is of importance to their child’s development. 53% of individuals believe early education is very important for their child. 10% of respondents did not find early education as important or unimportant.

When asked for further detail, a respondent stated that as a child became closer to kindergarten age, introduction to basic numbers, colors, and shapes was appropriate.

21

Figure 2: Importance of early education for your child #

Answer

Response

%

1

1 (Not at all important)

0

0%

2

2

0

0%

3

3

5

10%

4

4

18

37%

5

5 (Very important)

26

53%

Total

49

100%

1.3 Importance of Discipline & Guidance Style Individuals surveyed believed that a provider’s style of discipline and guidance towards children should match their own. Figure 3 shows that 84% of respondents find it important. 12% found it neither important nor unimportant and 4% believed it was unimportant.

Figure 3: Importance of a provider’s discipline and guidance style matching your own #

Answer

Response

%

1

1 (Not at all important)

0

0%

2

2

2

4%

3

3

6

12%

4

4

20

41%

5

5 (Very important)

21

43%

Â

22 Â

Part 2: Recreational Activities in Child Care 2.1 Playtime Figure 4 shows respondents’ feelings towards playtime in child care. 98% of respondents surveyed believe playtime was important to very important. 2% of respondents stated it was not at all important. The respondent who answered that playtime was not at all important falsified his or her results throughout the survey, and thus, his or her results cannot be counted as accurate. The results indicate that playtime should be factored into a child care program.

Figure 4: Importance of playtime for your child #

Answer

Response

%

1

1 (Not at all important)

1

2%

2

2

0

0%

3

3

0

0%

4

4

9

19%

5

5 (Very important)

38

79%

Total

48

100%

2.2 Outdoor Play In Figure 5, respondents answered similarly as was recorded in the previous graph. 98% of respondents believe that outdoor activity is important for their child. The same individual who responded that playtime was not at all important for his or her child responded that outdoor activity was not at all important either. When asked to elaborate, a respondent stated that outdoor activity rain or shine was what she preferred for her child.

Many parents requested a balance of both a structured academic program and playtime/outdoor activity for their child.

Figure 5: Importance of outdoor activity for your child #

Answer

Response

%

1

1 (Not at all important)

1

2%

2

2

0

0%

3

3

0

0%

23

4

4

10

21%

5

5 (Very important)

37

77%

Total

48

100%

Part 3: Meals 3.1 Importance of Eating Organic As depicted in Figure 6, eating organic ranges widely among respondents. 33% of respondents did not believe eating organic was either important or unimportant in regards to their child’s meals. 31% of respondents believed it was important for their child to eat organic meals. 15% believed eating organic was not at all important, 13% believed it was unimportant, and 8% believed it was very important. Thus, respondents may see eating organic as an added benefit but may not factor it into their decision making when choosing a child care program.

Figure 6: Importance of your child’s food being considered organic #

Answer

Response

%

1

1 (Not at all important)

7

15%

2

2

6

13%

3

3

16

33%

4

4

15

31%

5

5 (Very important)

4

8%

Total

48

100%

3.2 Number of Organic Meals per Figure 7 shows the number of organic meals respondents feed their children per day. 44% of respondents selected 1 meal (or less, several respondents, when asked to expand, stated that they selected 1 meal because 0 was not an available option). 19% responded that their child ate three organic meals per day. 13% fed their child two organic meals per day. 24% of respondents make sure their children eat four or more organic meals per day. Respondents who selected that it was very important that their child’s food be considered organic were more likely to feed their child a high number of organic meals. Meanwhile, respondents who believed that it was neither important nor

Â

24 Â

unimportant, or unimportant, that their child’s food was organic tended to answer three or less meals per day. When asked to elaborate, many parents voiced their approval of food not being processed or unhealthy when offered to children in a child care program rather than food being strictly organic.

Figure 7: Number of organic meals your child eats daily #

Answer

Response

%

1

1

21

44%

2

2

6

13%

3

3

9

19%

4

4

5

10%

5

5

4

8%

6

6

3

6%

Total

48

100%

Part 4: Group Settings 4.1 Group Activities with Other Children In Figure 8, respondents were asked to state the importance of group activities with other children in a child care program. 57% of respondents stated it was very important that their child was exposed to group activities involving other children. 26% believe group activities are important and 15% found it neither important nor unimportant. The individual who marked that group activities were not at all important is the same individual above whose answers were found to be falsified.

Figure 8: Importance of group activities with other children #

Answer

Response

%

1

1 (Not at all important)

1

2%

2

2

0

0%

3

3

7

15%

4

4

12

26%

5

25

5 (Very important)

27

57%

Total

47

100%

4.2 Child/Caretaker Ratios 4.2a Infants (8 weeks – 18 months) In Figure 9a, respondents were asked to state which child/teacher ratio they preferred for infants in the age range of 8 weeks to 18 months. 53% of respondents preferred 2 infants per each caretaker. 45% of respondents preferred 3 infants for every one caretaker. 2% of respondents thought 4 infants for every one caretaker was an acceptable ratio. In regards to infants, parents favor a more individual approach when it comes to their child in order to provide their child with the best quality of care.

Figure 9a: Preferred Child/Caretaker Ratio (Infants) #

Answer

Response

%

1

4:1

1

2%

2

3:1

21

45%

3

2:1

25

53%

Total

47

100%

4.2b Toddlers (18 – 30 months) Figure 9b depicts the preferred child to caretaker ratio in a child care program.

80% of respondents believe five children for every one caretaker is acceptable. 20% responded that six children for every one caretaker is what they prefer. The graph below indicates that parents still favor more individual care when their child is at this age.

Figure 9b: Preferred Child/Caretaker Ratio (Toddlers) #

Answer

Response

%

1

8:1

0

0%

2

7:1

0

0%

3

6:1

9

20%

4

26 5:1

37

80%

Total

46

100%

4.2c Preschool (30 months – 3 years) As their children mature, parents were more likely to respond in favor of higher child to caretaker ratios, as depicted in Figure 9c. 47% of respondents favored six children for every one caretaker while 22% favored eight children for every one caretaker. 18% found seven preschool aged children to every one caretaker was acceptable. 7% found a ratio of nine to one acceptable as did those who found a ratio of ten to one. Overall, there was a strong indication that parents favor individual attention for their child which may not be given in group settings with more children. Respondents may feel comfortable with ratios of five to one or four to one, but may have simply selected six to one because it was the lowest ratio available.

Figure 9c: Preferred Child/Caretaker Ratio (Preschool) #

Answer

Response

%

1

10:1

3

7%

2

9:1

3

7%

3

8:1

10

22%

4

7:1

8

18%

5

6:1

21

47%

Total

45

100%

4.2d PreK – Kindergarten (4 – 6 years) Figure 9d depicts a wider range of acceptable ratios by respondents. 37% still found smaller groups more favorable, choosing a ratio of six to one. 28% of respondents found a ratio of ten to one acceptable and 17% favored a ratio of eight to one. 9% of individuals found nine to one and seven to one to be acceptable ratios. Parents continue to favor individual care for their children over large groups, but there appears to be more leniency as their child gets older.

Â

27 Â

Figure 9d: Preferred Child/Caretaker Ratio (PreK – Kindergarten) #

Answer

Response

%

1

10:1

13

28%

2

9:1

4

9%

3

8:1

8

17%

4

7:1

4

9%

5

6:1

17

37%

Total

46

100%

Part 5: Childcare Costs 5.1 Financial Aid Availability Figure 10 depicts the results of the importance of financial aid if applicable. 68% of respondents believe financial aid is either important or very important when considering child care programs. 14% stated financial aid availability was neither important nor unimportant and 28% stated it was not important. The data supports the conclusion that parents in need of help with the cost of child care are more likely to pursue programs with financial aid availability in order to aid with these costs.

Figure 10: Importance of financial aid options, if applicable #

Answer

Response

%

1

1 (Not at all important)

6

14%

2

2

3

7%

3

3

6

14%

4

4

8

18%

5

5 (Very important)

21

48%

Total

44

100%

28

5.2 Childcare cost vs. Quality of Care Respondents were asked how much they agreed with the following statement, “Has the cost of childcare prevented you from receiving the type of care you want.”

Figure 11 shows the wide variety of responses recorded. 22% said they neither agreed nor disagreed with the previous statement while 40% disagreed with the statement. 38%, however, agreed with the statement. There was an equal distribution of individuals disagreed, neither agreed nor disagreed, and individuals who strongly agreed with the statement. This depicts that those in need of financial aid to help with the cost of care have been impacted and unable to receive the care they want for their child.

Figure 11: Has the cost of childcare prevented you from receiving the type of care you want #

Answer

Response

%

1

1 (Not at all important)

8

18%

2

2

10

22%

3

3

10

22%

4

4

7

16%

5

5 (Very important)

10

22%

Total

45

100%

5.3 Average Weekly Expenditure for Childcare Figure 12 depicts the average weekly expenditure of child care costs. The y-axis reflects the price range based on each respondent’s answer. The x-axis reflects each individual respondent (numbered 1 to 45). The average appears to be between $0 and $500 as a weekly expenditure. The outliers, at $1000 and $2000 may be based on several factors. The question specified weekly expenditure for all children rather than per each child. Therefore, respondents who wrote down high expenditure costs may have factored more than one child’s care in their response.

29

Figure 12: How much do you spend per week on child care

Data Collection Part 2 Open-Ended Questions Analysis The following analysis is comprised of a breakdown of the trends found from the answers participants provided in the open-end question section of the survey under Part 2.

Under each question we have provided an analysis of the common trends found about that specific question.

Question #1: In terms of the location, what do you look for in terms of the day care facility itself and in the surrounding area as well? (For example, do you look for a daycare center that is within a certain distance of your residence? Do you prefer the daycare center to be located in a more residential or metropolitan setting?, etc.)

Safety appeared to be the greatest concern of most parents when looking for a daycare center. They wanted the surrounding environment to be safe for their children to learn and play in. For example one participant said, “I like a daycare center that is close to activities outside and has safe surroundings. Also a place that is easy for quick pick up and drop off.” Also, proximity to whoever is responsible for picking up and dropping off the child was critical to parents. They want the center’s location to be convenient for pickup and drop off to and from work. For example, “Local to work so that pick up and drop off is easier between parents/grandparents etc.” Furthermore, neighborhood settings and park settings were most preferred due to the calmer and safer environment they offer.

“A safe neighborhood away from busy streets. Close to my home.” However, some participants said if the care was exceptional then convenience of location could be compromised. For example, “Distance is a factor. However, I would drive further for an exceptional school.” There were a total of 34 responses.

Question #2: What programs do you look for when researching child care centers for your child? (Examples: philosophy, curriculum, food/nutrition, language programs, physical activities/sports etc.) Please explain why each of these programs matter to you.

30

All 33 of the parents who answered this question stated that at least one of the given examples of programs were important to them. Besides philosophy, curriculum, food/nutrition, language programs, physical activities and sports, parents stated that a safe and clean environment is a must. One parent stated that, “I look for a well rounded curriculum, teachers and aids that have appropriate credentials and a facility that is clean and safe.” From this question, we can conclude that having a well-rounded childcare center that is safe and clean is important to the parents responding to this survey.

Question #3: How important is it to have DHS/government assistance available to your family through your child’s childcare center? Why? 25 out of 33 participants said it was not important to them to have government assistance offered through their daycare program. This is mostly because these participants did not fall under the category of those who qualify for assistance. For those who did say it was important emphasized how necessary it is to have in order to have their child go to daycare. “It is very important. Childcare is expensive and being a single mom it helps to have government assistance so I can provide for my family.” There was not much expansion on why government assistance was or was not important mostly likely due to the sensitivity of this issue since it is related to income. There were a total of 33 responses to this question.

Question #4: How important is it to have diversity within the teaching staff and class groups at your child’s child care center and why?

23 out of 34 participants not only said it was important, but very important to have diversity within their child’s daycare center. Many said it was essential and healthy for a child’s development, “I think it’s important for children to see things and different people that they don’t see on a daily basis.” Furthermore, “It’s very important because diversity is a key component of true learning.” For those who said it was not important it was mostly because they expressed being more focused on ensuring their child was placed under good care regardless of diversity. For example one participant answered this question stating that diversity was, “Not important, [I] just want good care for my child.

Doesn’t matter the race, gender etc. of the provider.” There was a total 34 responses to this question.

Question #5: What turnover rate of teaching/instructing staff at your child’s day care is acceptable to you?

The majority of parents who participated in this survey concluded that the smaller the turnover rates the better. Many participants expressed how consistency is very important for developing young children. Having a consistent and dedicated staff is important to these parents because they see is as a critical element of a daycare facility that effects their child’s optimum development. One parent stated that, “Low turnover is important, especially with younger children. We tried using outside daycare but the staff turnover really had an impact on our younger son. I think if it was understood that a variety of caregivers were visiting it would be ok, but when continuity is assumed, when it is not achieved, the children can feel the disruption.” The reputation of a daycare center

31

will be better if there is a low turnover rate so that parents can trust the facility and know their child is being taken care of by a dedicated and committed staff. In total there were 33 responses to this question.

Question #6: How important is it that your child is surrounded by familiar faces everyday?

31 of our 34 respondents said that it was important that familiar faces surround their child or children on a daily basis. This mostly had to do with making sure the child is comfortable at the daycare center. Two examples include; “Very. It makes them comfortable. They learn what is expected of them.” And “I think it is vitally important as they are getting to know a new group of people outside their family.” Only 2 participants said it wasn’t important because they thought it was helpful to be exposed to different faces to help their child learn important social skills. For example one participant said having familiar faces around was, “Not to important it’s good to meet new faces and make new friends. Makes for good people skills.” There was a total 34 responses.

Question #7: Do you find a center-based care or a home-based care more important to you? Please explain why below.

Center-based care has educated/trained caregivers and has a pool of substitutes if a teacher is unable to teach a class. It is often felt like an institution and usually located in large facilities. Center-based care centers may be exposed to an educational rigid curriculum that is exposed to literacy and language development.

Home-based care typically has fewer children per adult, smaller group sizes, and more mixed interactions between age groupings. It is regarded as a more natural environment with similar surroundings to a child’s home. Home-based care centers are also generally more flexible with schedules.

There were only 20 respondents to this question and while some were in favor of home-based care, but there was a significant amount of people that preferred center-based care. Also, there were a few people who said they have tried both and liked both, “My son has been in both and I like both for different reasons. I like the smaller home-based a lot because I feel he could get more one on one time with the provider as well as forming a bond with the other few children that go there day to day. I like the center based one because it’s more structured and scheduled. My son may have a couple care givers he can form bonds with and a lot more children to play with.” Those who favored center-based care seemed to like the structure and resources that were available through a center-based daycare facility. For example, “I chose center-based care because of reliability and accountability.”

Those who favored home-based care liked the individual attention and familiarity that tends to follow a home-based daycare facility, “I prefer home based care because in my experience the child to teacher ratio is smaller. In addition, the overall size of the child care is smaller which means less spreading of sickness, and more of a chance to receive one on one attention.” Furthermore, most said home-based care is best for younger children or toddlers, “Home-based care is best for babies and small toddlers.

Preschool age and older center has a lot to offer.” However, there was a trend in responses that stated they either wanted references or some kind of proof of qualification

32

on the home-based center’s part. “I prefer home-based care, but do require they provide references, etc. I need to be able to a background check, history etc. on the individual, and would also like to spend a few hours as a visitor in his/her home, to watch how she interacts with and disciplines the children.” Overall there were a total of 30 responses.

Question #8: What characteristics do you expect a childcare center to foster in your child? (e.g. social skills, respect, responsibility, safety, etc.)

12 of the parents specifically mentioned that they feel the instilment of social skills is important for their children. 5 respondents included social skills in their answers as well by replying “All of the above” in our survey. Many participants expressed that they want a center to teach their children skills what they are teaching their children themselves. One parents “expects a center to reinforce what I’ve taught at home.” Parents want their children to learn how to interact with others by learning to share, care for one another, respect each other, exhibit politeness, practice patience and understand responsibility. The main trend we found from this question was that a well-rounded development of social skills is the most important characteristic to parents. It is very important for parents to have their children be in a group settings and learn how deal with other children and work through situations. An academic setting is not necessarily what they are looking for in a childcare center, rather building the foundation for a welladjusted child. This may be due to the fact that they see their child’s school fulfilling the academic learning of their young children and find it more important for daycare facilities to focus on the social environment their child is placed it. There were a total of 31 respondents.

Question #9: Lastly, what three things would immediately deter you from choosing a childcare center? Please explain why.

The general consensus for this question was that a dirty center was the main deterrent for most participants. Parents want an environment that is clean and feels welcoming. One response that sums this up was, “Unfriendly staff, dirty or disorganized, unsafe location, poor communication with parents and lack of discipline.” Another important factor participants mentioned was that having background checks for all the staff and having staff with all the required certifications is necessary. Parents want a welcoming environment from the moment they walk in the door. They don’t want to see utter chaos or facilities appear dirty or unsanitary. They look for a clean center, in a safe location with staff that is friendly. There were a total of 30 responses to this question.

Demographics The following analysis is comprised of a breakdown of the trends found from the answers participants provided in the demographics section of the survey in the order in which they were taken. Under each question we have provided an analysis of the common trends found about that specific question. #1: What is your gender?

31 participants out 35 are female. We can conclude that our sample size is mainly consisted of mothers who are most knowledgeable about childcare.

33

#2: What is your age?

The most popular age range in our participants was between 35 and 44 years old.

Out of the 33 respondents who answered this question, 39% were in this age range.

Although 36% of the parents were under the age of 34, it clear that the 35 to 44 age range is more likely to take a survey about childcare. #3: Do you currently receive government childcare subsidies?

With an overwhelmingly 94% of responses, most of our sample size does not receive government assistance. The college educated, income-earning parents know that they want their children to have the very best; therefore they work hard in order to provide for their children’s daycare. #4: What is your current marital status?

Out of the 35 who answered this question, 27 respondents shared that they were married. The next most popular answer was “living together”, which only made up 14% of the sample size, but still reinforces the fact that two parent households are still in demand of childcare services. #5: What is the highest level of education?

With 40% of the 35 who answered the question, the majority of respondents have received a bachelor’s degree from a 4-year college. This information tells us that educated parents believe that childcare services are vital and an important program that many take part in. 26 out 35 stated that they attended some sort of college, whether receiving a degree or not. These parents did attend higher education and want to childcare programs to help their children develop into smart students who could also potentially reach higher education. #6: What is your current employment status?

Almost half (49%) of our respondents are working for wages. We can conclude that parents are working to supply for their children including high quality day care. It is also clear that the low number of homemakers (9%) show that childcare is necessary because stay at home parenting is not a popular profession in Eugene. #7: How many children are in your family?

The most popular answer (46% of responses) stated that families had a 2 children household. The fact that the respondents have had multiple experiences with childcare services tells us that they have done their research enough to put both children in childcare programs. These parents know what they want and what they do not want in a childcare program. #8: What age range does your child fall under?

The most popular child age range in our survey is age nine and older. With 53% of the respondents who selected this answer, we can see that parents, who don't use the services of childcare currently, are still passionate about quality childcare. Also with the data we found from the previous question, we can see that many of the families with multiple children tend to have an older sibling that has been the “guinea pig” of childcares to help select the exact type the parents prefer for future children as well. #9: Is your child currently enrolled in daycare?

Although 46% of our respondents do currently use a childcare program, the majority of our respondents (54%) tell us that they do not currently use it. Through our evidence in the previous question, we can conclude that most of the children are too old to use daycare services now.

34

#10: My primary use of a childcare center would fall in this set of hours. Please mark all that apply.

All times of day the most popular answer with 16 respondents out of 34 choosing this time frame. Through the use of our data, we can conclude that the parents who work for wages all day need a childcare program to take care of their children all day while they earn income for their family.

Limitations It is widely accepted that no market research is perfect; the hopes are that your research firm can reach the largest sample size within the time allotted, hopefully receiving accurate data from each specific individual. Creative 4 Kids and The Dream Team have learned that when sampling parents with children in or potentially in childcare, we must allow for a longer period of data collection. Parents have multiple kids and were juggling the priorities and responsibilities of having a family, just as we were pushing for more results in our window of data collection. To increase the sample size, a longer time period of data collection must be allotted. This allows for an increased frequency, because rather than forcing it as a priority, parents choose to inform us of their feelings regarding childcare.

This being said, we believe that the survey could have been structured in a more appealing manner for a parent. A multiple-choice survey with easily, understandable questions will increase your sample size. Rather than trying to encompass all of a parent’s feelings regarding childcare, by focusing on only a few, a person is then able to test those with simple and easily understood questions. Ultimately the best possible outcome may be a handful of surveys, each detailing a specific feeling and all bundled to actually understand a parent’s feelings regarding childcare. Rather than giving you 35-40 min of undivided attention with a long survey—which many parents don’t have— they have given you 10 min of free time four different times. This is much more appealing to a parent who has a soccer practice, band recital, and a t-ball game that night.

The second issue we at C4K and The Dream Team ran into was answering the “why?” Beyond simply being a helpful participant, why does a parent who already is happy with their childcare need to be a participant for C4K and The Dream Team survey?

We believe that those participants must be a part of our sample size, allowing us to generate more accuracy. By making the survey more simple and truly easier we are capable of including these parents in our sample size. This allows us to get an idea of what parent’s look for and appreciate in a childcare service. A change in approach and a sense of patience to allow each survey to be circulating for 2-3 months will give you the most accurate data one could find regarding childcare in no more than 15 months.

In the end, we at C4K and The Dream Team believe that accurate feedback regarding childcare is necessary for any childcare center, but just as the development of a child is a process—and one that shouldn’t be rushed—we believe that the search for feedback should be the same.

Â

35 Â

Conclusions Overall, the Creative 4 Kids and The Dream Team compiled one total survey with a quantitative part, part 1, and a qualitative part, part 2. The EWEB Child Development Center wanted a close-ended and an open-ended survey. This allowed participants answers to be assigned number ratios in part 1, while, part 2, allowed participants the opportunity to expand on their answers and provide feedback on their wants and needs in a day care service. The research conducted seeks to provide a better understanding of the value parents in Lane County place on various aspects of their child development centers.

In furthering their understanding of Lane County parent values, EWEB Child Development Centers seeks to improve their own facilities.

References Works Cited "About Our Reader." Advertising Rate Card. The Register-Guard, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

"American FactFinder - Community Facts." American FactFinder - Community Facts.

United States Census Bureau. Web. 24 May 2014.

Bureau, U.s. Census. "Oregon:2012 Summary Population and Housing." (2012): 1-208.

Census.gov. US Census, Dec. 2012. Web. 5 May 2014.

"Center for Early Childhood Education." Adult: Child Ratios -. Emporia State University, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. <http://www.emporia.edu/teach/cece/ratios.html>.

"Churchill Childdevctr | Facebook." Churchill Childdevctr | Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <https://www.facebook.com/churchill.childdevctr?fref=ts>.

"Eugene CreativeCare | Facebook." Eugene CreativeCare | Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <https://www.facebook.com/eugene.creativecare?fref=ts>.

"EUGENE, OR 97403." ZIP Code 97403 IRS Income Tax Statistics EUGENE, OR. ZipCodes.com, 2013-14. Web. 26 May 2014.

"EWEB Child Development Center." Eweb Cdc. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.ewebcdc.com/our_staff>.

"EWEB Child Development Center | Facebook." Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <https://www.facebook.com/pages/EWEB-Child-DevelopmentCenter/107506842630843>.

Guard, Register. "The Register-Guard." Advertising Rate Card. The Register-Guard.

Web. 26 May 2014. <http://projects.registerguard.com/pages/advertising/ratecard/>.

36

Guard, Register. "The Register-Guard." Breaking Local News, News Updates, Sports, Business and Weather. The Register - Guard. Web. 26 May 2014. <http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/rg/news/index.csp>.

"KinderCare, Chambers - Eugene, OR - Eugene, Oregon - Day Care & Preschool | Facebook." Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <https://www.facebook.com/KinderCare.Chambers.Eugene>.

KLCC. "What Is KLCC?" Www.klcc.com. KLCC. Web. 10 May 2014. <http://klcc.dev.projecta.com/files/UW-whatisklcc.pdf>.

"KVAL." Media Kit. Fisher Interactive Network, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

"New Dream Child Care Center - Eugene, Oregon - School, Child Care | Facebook."Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Dream-Child-CareCenter/124509384293139>.

"Newspaper Readership by Age." Pew Research Journalism Project. Pew Research Center, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

"Oak Street Child Development Center - Eugene, OR - Education, Child Care | Facebook."Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <https://www.facebook.com/oakstreetcdc>.

Oregonians, Npr For. "Connect with the People Who Shape Western and Central Oregon." Connect with the People Who Shape Western and Central Oregon.

Www.klcc.com. KLCC. Web. 10 May 2014. <http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/klcc/files/KLCC_Marketing_Informat ion.pdf>.

"Parkside Community Preschool - Eugene, OR - Education | Facebook." Facebook.

N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <https://www.facebook.com/ParksideCommunityPreschool>.

"Twitter: History." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 May 2014. Web. 10 May 2014.

Twitter. "Twitter: History." Twitter. Twitter.com. Web. <www.twitter.com>.

United States Census Bureau. "How Do We Know?" Child Care: An Important Part of American Life. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

"What Parents Look for in a Child Care Center." Childcare Education Institute. Teacher Enrichment Training Solutions, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. <http://www.cceionline.com/newsletters/May_09.html>.

37

Appendices Appendix A Register Guard

KVAL

Average Age of Viewer/Reader

~35 - 65+

25 - 54

Household Income

Reach 80% of households with income of $50,000+

$40,000+

Since the EWEB Child Development Center appears to be on the more expensive side of child care centers, it is important that the correct audience is targeted.

For 5 full days at EWEB Child Development Center, a standard fee applies: $1,107 for infants, $1,044 for toddlers, $874 for toilet-trained preschoolers, $840 for non-toilettrained preschoolers and $799 for pre-kindergarteners (EWEB Monthly Tuition). In the table above, a comparison is shown between the average age of the viewer and reader as well as the average household income. Based on the above data, it would be in EWEB’s best interest to run advertisements in both print and on television in order to reach every aspect of their target audience while also allowing for some amount of overlap.