Observing and Reflecting on Quality - PITC PARS
The Program for Infant/Toddler Care Program Assessment & Reflection System (PITC PARS) is a resource to use for observing, documenting, and reflecting on the essential aspects of infant/toddler group care—from caregiving interactions to the physical environment to program policies and administrative structures.
The Program for Infant/Toddler Care Program Assessment & Reflection System (PITC PARS) is appropriate for anyone who wants to:
- Learn about quality indicators. All users can learn about the key components of high-quality infant/toddler care that make up the PITC PARS.
- Observe and reflect. Family child care educators, infant/toddler care educators, program staff, coaches, and others can use the PITC PARS to guide them in observing and reflecting on infant/toddler care practices and settings.
- Assess quality. Reliably trained observers can utilize the PITC PARS to collect objective information for observing and documenting the quality of infant/toddler programs to inform research and evaluation efforts.
Audiences:
- Family Child Care Providers
- Infant and Toddler Care Educators
- Program Administrators, Education Coordinators
- Coaches, Trainers
- Researchers, Evaluators
- College Faculty
PITC PARS resources consist of the Instrument Guide, five Subscale Guides, and training – all available in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Together, these resources provide a strengths-based approach to observing, measuring, and reflecting on the quality of infant/toddler care.
The PITC PARS is appropriate for use with family child care homes and centers serving children ages birth to 36 months. It’s content is rooted in child-development research and the core philosophy and foundational concepts of the PITC professional learning system.
Recognizing the multifaceted nature of early care, the PITC PARS measures primary components of child care quality for infants/toddlers within five subscales listed below. Each subscale may be used alone or in conjunction with other subscales. Together, the five subscales provide a comprehensive look at infant/toddler care program quality.
- Quality of Adult’s Interactions with Children (Subscale I)
- Family Partnerships, Cultural Responsiveness, and Inclusive Care (Subscale II)
- Organization of Group Care (Subscale III)
- Physical Environment (Subscale IV)
- Routines and Record-Keeping (Subscale V)
The PITC PARS promotes care practices that are responsive, respectful, relationship-based, and reflective.
It considers care from the perspective of infants and toddlers and supports users to…
- Learn about how caregiving behaviors, features of the care environment, and program policies and systems relate to high quality care and promote positive development and well-being for infants, toddlers, and their families.
- Develop strategies for gathering evidence, documenting observations, reflecting on the information gathered, and planning learning and development goals.
- Become proficient in collecting objective information for research and evaluation and determining ratings by comparing the evidence gathered with the rating criteria in the PITC PARS Subscale Guides.
PITC PARS Subscale Guide Two-Day Training
Prerequisite: PITC PARS Instrument Training
PITC PARS Reliability Training
Prerequisite: PITC PARS Instrument Training and Subscale Guide Training
PITC PARS Informational Webinar
What people are saying...
“I work as a coach and would like to use this tool to reflect with teachers about their practice and how quality indicators show up in our programs or what areas we could improve.”
“We are a college lab setting. The [PITC] PARS is clear and able to transfer to individuals conducting observations. I would start with one area and share interest with the classroom staff.”
“This is so well written and accessible for coaches and providers.”