ABSTRACT
SERIOUS economic conditions, an increasing percentage of singleparent families, and rising rates of maternal employment have resulted in larger numbers of children entering day-care centers than ever before (Belsky & Steinberg, 1978). Concomitant with this rise in day-care center attendance is a growing concern on the part of social scientists, educators, and parents over the effects of the day-care experience on children’s social, cognitive, and communicative development (Clark-Stewart, 1977) as well as the effects of children’s competencies on their subsequent experiences within the day-care center (see Keller & Bell, 1979).
