The development of the learning environment checklist for assessing the adequacy of learning environments in day care centers

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale to evaluate the adequacy of learning environments in day care centers that would be easily administered by professionals and nonprofessionals. The Learning Environment Checklist (LEC) that was developed consists of fifty yes-no questions that can be answered during a half hour observation of a day care center. The LEC was administered 182 times in 27 day care centers by day care personnel, students, parents, and licensing agents. The KR-20 estimate of reliability was computed to be .82. The standard error of measurement was 3.05. Construct validity was established through the internal consistency aspect of the KR-20 and through analyses of variance. Highly significant differences among centers were established by licensing agent observers. Less sUbstantial differences were found by nonagent observers.