Contemporary approaches to the study of the effects of day care on young children’s development: critical analysis of theoretical models
Studies of early social experience, and especially the effects of day care, often neglect interactionist models in efforts to account for developmental outcomes. Following a brief discussion of conceptual preoccupations in past research, this review examines four contemporary models that underscore how interaction shapes developmental trajectories. We argue that future studies on the impact of early experience must surpass normative assessments of preselected variables, and provide idiographic, or person centered analyses of individual modes of adaptation. Studies on the impact of early experience must address mediation of purported effects through interaction processes shaping both short and long-term development outcomes.