Enhancing or impeding nutrition and physical activity best practice in early childhood education centers : an exploratory study

Unger, Donald G.Following is an exploratory investigation of factors that promote or hinder implementation of nutrition and physical activity best practices in early childhood education (ECE) centers. It is hypothesized that there may be layers of systemic and structural factors that have to be in place in order for ECE centers to be capable of building their capacity for higher quality nutrition and physical activity practices. Analysis is based largely on data collected during the 2011 calendar year as part of the Child Care Learning Collaborative (CCLC), a 12 month professional development intervention attempting to increase quality of nutrition and physical activity practices in 25 ECE centers throughout the state of Delaware.Follow-up qualitative interviews were conducted in May 2012 with the technical assistants who supported the centers during the CCLC year. Cumulative analysis of findings indicate various factors that appear to support the nutrition and physical activity capacity building abilities of ECE centers including: staff time, prioritizing, motivation, administrator buy-in, staff buy-in, parent involvement, problem solving barriers, bond with technical assistant, consistent staff, knowledge growth, licensing compliance, center-level control of nutrition policies, administrator leadership skills, creativity, center culture of healthful improvement, center-level system for staff training, and advocacy outside the center. The layered, cumulative nature of these structural building blocks appears to be supported by existing data, but further confirmatory analysis is necessary. These factors should be the targets of future investigations, and could possibly be useful to take into consideration in designing future professional developments.University of Delaware, Department of Human Development and Family StudiesM.S