Is everybody happy? Exploring the predictability of parent satisfaction with childcare in Flanders.

Janssen, J., B. Spruyt, M. Vandenbroeck (2021): Is everybody happy? Exploring the predictability of parent satisfaction with childcare in Flanders. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55, (Second Quarter): 97-106 - TOR 2020/37.

Abstract

Investing in childcare provision makes good economic sense. Yet, conventional and behavioral market failure theory suggest that the benefits of childcare may fail to materialize because parents are irrational childcare consumers. The current study examines whether parent satisfaction with childcare is symptomatic of this imperfect rationality. Data were drawn from the MeMoQ project, the first rigorous baseline study of childcare quality in Flanders (Dutch-speaking Community of Belgium). Classroom quality was assessed in 380 infant/toddler childcare settings and survey data were collected from 2650 parents. Findings from multilevel models indicate that parent satisfaction is only modestly associated with classroom quality, as well as with childcare type. On a more personal level, parent satisfaction is predicted by partner status, frequency of attendance, migrant status, and how parents perceive their options in childcare. The results demonstrate that while the question of parent satisfaction with childcare has a glaringly obvious answer, it is less predictably irrational than commonly anticipated. The explanatory power of our models is limited and warrants further inquiry into the more complex nature of parent-childcare relations.