This article presents the findings from a review of ethnographic approaches to child
care research. Ethnographic research has enhanced researcher and practitioner
understandings of the child care environment by providing entry into the child care
center as an important site not only of development and education, but also of
social reproduction and enculturation. The extant research is summarized by
identifying four dominant perspectives for viewing non-parental child care: (1)
caregiver-centered, (2) mother-centered, (3) child-centered, and (4) societal. This
article argues that studying the perspectives of caregivers, mothers, and children
in isolation limits understandings of child care experience, since experience is
shaped by continuous interactions among participants. We suggest that a more
holistic ethnographic approach could enhance child care practice by increasing
understanding of the relationships among caregivers, mothers, and children, and how
these relationships influence children’s social and emotional development.
The article concludes with a proposed agenda for ethnographic research on child care.
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