Date of Conferral

7-18-2025

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Patricia Anderson

Abstract

NAEYC accreditation is a hallmark of quality in early learning and lack of accreditation suggested a gap in practice. The problem that was the focus of this research is that only 12% of early childhood center-based programs in the United States are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the study was to explore perspectives of childcare center directors regarding NAEYC accreditation. Knowles’s adult learning provided the conceptual framework for this study and guided 3 research questions about directors’ perspectives of barriers, benefits, and the necessary support they associated with NAEYC accreditation. A basic qualitative design directed interviews of 7 childcare center directors with at least 1 year experience who worked in 1 state in the western United States. Data were analyzed using open and axial coding. Themes of barriers, benefits, and supports associated with NAEYC accreditation emerged, along with additional findings that suggested lack of awareness of accreditation. Results reflected indifference to the value of accreditation and barriers including limited assistance from NAEYC, high cost of accreditation, time constraints, and the complexity associated with achieving NAEYC accreditation. Some directors described NAEYC accreditation as providing little benefit to successful childcare centers. Recommendations for future research included a larger sample and in different regions of the United States and interviews of directors already engaged in the NAEYC accreditation process. This study contributed to the research literature regarding quality improvement efforts in childcare. When barriers to accreditation are reduced, including increasing the number of fully accredited childcare centers in the United States, families and society will benefit from higher quality care for children, thereby translating to positive social change.

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