Regulatory Compliance Ceiling Effect/Diminishing Returns, Regulatory Compliance and Quality Indicators Scales

This database contains the results of a study conducted in a Canadian Province as part of a five year project to design, implement and validate a differential monitoring approach. This database contains the quality indicators and regulatory compliance data of this project. The results clearly demonstrate the ceiling effect/diminishing returns effect between regulatory compliance and program quality (quality scores either plateau out or decrease as one moves from substantial to full regulatory compliance with standards) and validates the new Regulatory Compliance Scale and the Quality Indicators Scale for infant, toddler and preschool child care. Please contact Dr Fiene at [e-mail] for the codebook and the final report.

This validation study involved 30 programs, 90 classrooms and 180 observations of infant, toddler, and
preschool classrooms utilizing the ECERS/ITERS and the SKECPQI instruments. Six trained observers
collected the data over a two-month period. The analyses clearly demonstrated that the new SKECPQI
instrument is a valid and reliable measure of program quality. PQI #2 clearly showed it predictive power
in this study. The SKECPQI and PQI #2 correlated very highly with the ITERS and ECERS. The SKECPQI
appears to correlate more highly with regulatory compliance violations than the ECERS or ITERS. The
ceiling/plateauing effect is not as evident with the SKECPQI as it is with ECERS/ITERS. The Regulatory
Compliance Scale (RCS) is a better sorter for regulatory compliance than the violation data. There is a
good deal of internal consistency within the SKECPQI Tool just as it is with the ERSs. The Regulatory
Compliance Theory of Diminishing Returns was validated in comparing RCS with ECERS/ITERS. Both the
SKECPQI Scale and the Regulatory Compliance Scale are introduced as new improvements to measuring
quality and regulatory compliance.