The Effects of Caregivers, Physical Facilities, Environment, and Food
Safety on the Safety Assurance Level at Childcare Centres
YATY SULAIMAN1*, NURUL AIN BINTI MD BASRI2, MOHD YUSRI SHAHRIL ISMAIL3,
ALYSHA ARIF4
1,2School of Business Management, College of Business
Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah
MALAYSIA
3Southern Pipe Industry (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
4577, Mk. 15, off Jalan Chain Ferry
12100 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
MALAYSIA
4Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology and Informatics
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu
MALAYSIA
Abstract:- Safety assurance is crucial for every child placed under the supervision and care of a childcare centre.
This study aims to investigate factors influencing the safety assurance level of childcare centres in Perak, Malaysia.
The scope of this study concentrates on the parents who subscribe to the services provided by licensed childcare
centres and their views towards the safety assurance level provided by the centres. Meanwhile, the state of Perak
was chosen as the research setting following its status as the second-highest population in peninsular Malaysia and
no research to date has been conducted regarding the safety of childcare centres within the state. This research is
important to create awareness among parents and childcare centres on the factors that may influence children’s
safety at childcare centres. Furthermore, having in-depth insights and understanding about the factors influencing
the safety assurance level at childcare centres will minimise any threats and dangers on site, subsequently avoiding
potential injuries, particularly to children.
Keywords:- Safety assurance, Caregivers, Physical facilities, Environment, Food safety
Received: March 10, 2021. Revised: January 17, 2022. Accepted: February 10, 2022. Published: March 16, 2022.
1 Introduction
The increasing statistic of child injuries every year
has developed a greater concern among parents [1],
particularly when childcare centres are no longer
regarded as a safe place for their children. As a
result, there is a pressing need to re-evaluate the
present enactment in the attempt to improve the
services offered by childcare centres. Hence,
important features of safety and quality should be
inspected so that authorities can concentrate on the
essential aspects that must be given additional
attention [2] [33]. In this regard, well-treated
employees provided with benefits, reward systems,
and trainings will create a higher level of job
satisfaction and responsibilities among them [3].
The aim of this study is to identify the effects of
caregivers, physical facilities, environment, and food
safety on the safety assurance level in childcare
centres in Perak, Malaysia. The study gives some
contributions to the literature related to the Total
Quality Management (TQM) theory by investigating
the relationships between physical facilities,
environment and food safety and safety assurance
level in child care centres. This study differs from
previous studies on child care centres by incorporated
TQM elements in child care setting. The rising
number of working mothers within the workforce has
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boosted the demand for childcare centres from time
to time. The majority of parents have taken a shortcut
by sending their children to unregistered childcare
centres and their neighbours. In this regard, the
operational compliance aspect of childcare centres is
extremely important to guarantee the development
and safety of children. In 2017, there was a case
reported in Bangi, Selangor where a childcare centre
owner and two of her workers were charged for being
violent and abusive towards two toddlers and a baby.
Not only that, the child care centre was also found
running with no license. Such case which is
repeatedly happening among childcare centres
subsequently increases the parents’ scepticism
concerning their children’s safety at childcare
centres.
2 Literature Review
2.1 Childcare Centres
Childcare centres offer supervision and care for
newborns, toddlers, preschoolers, and young children
that do not go to full-time school [4]. According to
the Child Care Act 1984 (Act 308), a childcare centre
in Malaysia refers to a building that cares for four or
more children less than 4 years old with a certain
payment and salary [5]. It categorises childcare
centres into four types, namely home-based centres
that accommodate less than 10 children, office
childcare centres that operate at the parents’
workplace and accommodate 10 or more children,
community childcare centres that receive funds from
the government, accommodate 10 or more children,
and operate in a certain permissible area, as well as
childcare institutions that accommodate 10 or more
children [5].
A competent and well-maintained childcare centre is
an ideal arrangement for working parents [6]. The
principal criteria of an excellent childcare centre is
the guaranteed ability to provide appropriate
childcare along with a child-friendly surrounding [6].
In addition, a licensed child care centre should follow
a set of established regulations and policies, possess
skilled and caring workers, provides secured and
clean amenities, cares for the children’s well-being
and hygiene, and encompasses a stimulating and
organised setting [6]. Every childcare centre should
be registered with the Social Welfare Department of
Malaysia to ensure that they possess the prerequisite
requirements by the Fire and Rescue Department,
Health Department, and resident committee [6].
Moreover, childcare centres have been measured as a
place for parents to leave their children whilst they
are at work [7]. Due to strong competition in the
childcare business, child care centres need to
innovatively change their concept and offer extra
services as an alternative to solely childcare services
[7].
2.2 Safety Assurance
According to the Commission Regulation (2018),
safety assurance can be defined as arranged and
organised activities required to give ample trust for a
product, service, organisation, or functional system to
accomplish satisfactory or adequate safety. Whereas,
the Federal Aviation Administration (2018) defines
safety assurance as a threat control action that is
intended to increase self-belief for successful Safety
Risk Management.
2.2.1 Children Injuries
The first three years in children’s life is essential
especially to create their personalities, motor skills,
and intelligence [8]. Therefore, a quality childcare
centre is essential for their early education as existing
evidence shows that children’s early life experience
is interconnected with their improvement [9]. From
the well-being perspective, child mistreatment
constitutes all forms of physical abuse and/or
emotional ill-treatment resulting in real or possible
injury to the child’s well-being, endurance, and
growth. Under the Child Act 20011, relevant parties
including doctors, relatives, and caretakers are
obligated to report suspected cases of child
mistreatment. Statistic on child abuse is compiled
yearly by the Department of Social Welfare, Royal
Malaysian Police, and hospitals. Moreover, efforts to
set up a synchronised system of statistics collection
between agencies are still progressing among various
organisations.
2.2.2 Causes of Injuries
Agent factors of injury refer to the means by which
injuries can take place [10]. It includes environment,
physical and thermal forces, physical conflicts, as
well as elements like pointed edges
(toys/furniture/objects), high/low temperature, and
effects of gravity such as falls. Altering the design of
manufactured goods can efficiently change these
agent factors, thus avoiding potential injuries [10].
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Numerous studies highlighted that playground
injuries prone to happen due to the imbalance
between the height of playground equipment and
shock absorbing underneath the equipment [11]. A
study by [12] showed that 74% of injuries among
children commonly happen at playground followed
by 81% of injuries that happened during free-play.
Furthermore, 40% of injuries that occurred at day-
care centres are due to falls [12]. As time progresses,
[13] found that many centres are no longer
considering the balance between playground
equipment heights and the surface.
2.3 Children Injuries Prevention
Earlier literature that investigated the connection
between childcare centres with rates of injury
reported that sending children to a childcare centre,
particularly one with a large size, increases their
probability of contacting with pathogens carried by
other children. In this regard, children exposed to
prolonged childcare early in life may build on
immunities that prevent sickness throughout the
school-age duration. For that reason, having further
investigation on this subject is crucial to establish the
gaps in harmful practices for future intervention [14].
This will assist the effort to standardise childcare
centres and offer a safe environment for children.
2.4 Caregivers
Caregivers refer to individuals who hold the
accountability of caring for children in the
nonappearance of their parents or guardians. In this
regard, childcare centres can be regarded as
caregivers to a small group of children [6].
According to [15], the main prevention to avoid
injuries is by having supervision from the right
caregivers. For this to happen, it is important for
caregivers to be capable, prepared, and eager to
conduct their duties at any time. These factors are
dependent upon numerous variables including the
caregivers’ wisdom where the children’s well-being
may be compromised if caregivers are half-heartedly
or reluctant to do their task properly. Therefore,
caregivers’ cognition, wisdom, way of life, attitudes,
and perceptions are made as the current focal point of
this study. Cognitions often construct the caregivers’
behaviours by providing an outline on how they
picture, observe, and exercise care for the children
[15]. Moreover, caregivers frequently appear to
possess limited understanding regarding injury
morbidity and mortality rates; thus believing that
they are unaccountable to avoid such injury [15]. In
other words, caregivers seem to have difficulty in
determining when and how to implement their
supervisory practices if the injury occurs repeatedly.
This is because caregivers who do not have the
expertise in doing their tasks will result in poor
commitment. [36] Hence, factors like salary, working
conditions, and benefits are necessary to attract and
retain committed caregivers. However, many
childcare centres fail to provide their caregivers with
these factors, thus adding more adverse impact to the
situation.
2.5 Physical Facilities
Physical facilities describe a conducive environment
that emphasises on the cooperation and openness
between two parties [16]. It imposes significant
importance to ensure excellent functional ability of
services [17]. In this regard, the physical facility of a
licensed childcare centre must serve several
functions, clean, and harmless to perform as a key
component of children’s general learning experience
(Afreen, 2011). Furthermore, the physical facilities of
a licensed childcare centre should be comfortable,
attractive, and offer a variety of playing and learning
opportunities [6]. Physical positioning at the right
place and time is important for an organisation [18].
Physical facilities also have a function in sustaining
the value of childcare centres [19]. It is claimed that
child care settings should guarantee a high quality of
health and safety at all times [20]. In this regard, the
legislations, policies, and guiding principles on early
childhood care and education in Malaysia provide
additional priority to cognitive, social, and emotional
growth rather than the physically designed
environment [19]. Environmental consciousness
involves every action which is significant to the use
of environmental resources [21]. It is recommended
that further research on physical facilities should be
conducted [22] as it possesses a strong impact on
young children’s knowledge and growth. Many
organisations in Malaysia are advised to engage with
technological advancement [23].
2.6 Environment
Environments that are planned with safety in mind
will allow children to explore and move about freely.
This provides more opportunities for caregivers to
interact with the children rather than spending all of
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their time observing their safety. A safe environment
includes developing suitable equipment and a
sufficiently organised open room for children to
explore and gain knowledge about the world around
them. Due to the individualised method in group
surroundings, caregivers strive to supply the children
with a constant welcoming environment [6]. The
open-door policy and emphasis on the group method
in childcare centres thus makes parental contribution
crucial. This is because the cooperation between
childcare providers, caregivers, and parents helps to
prepare a supporting and stimulating environment for
the children.
Childcare centres that place a great emphasis on
children perceiving pleasure and having fun from
exercises are good for initial learning and growth.
Therefore, having a variety of age-appropriate toys in
childcare centres will support children’s growth as
well as helping them to stimulate imaginative and
creative activities [6]. Therefore, various authorities
ad stakeholders aim to establish a safe play setting
for children, subsequently resulting in a significant
raise in strict risk-managing procedures across many
countries. These procedures consist of regulations on
the physical features of children’s playing
environment [24].
The findings by [25] reported that most parents are
highly concerned about protecting children as they
interact with outsiders who enter the childcare centre
area. Every childcare centre has its policies and
procedures that must be followed by anyone who
wishes to take a child from the care centre aside from
the child’s parents. Thus, childcare providers should
emphasise on the curriculum aspect to make
decisions about children’s care and education, which
contain five basic components namely knowing the
children, creating a responsive environment, what the
children are learning, caring and teaching, as well as
building partnerships with their families [37]. Among
the curriculum provided to children is supporting
their development, cultural relevance, spiritual
practice, education strategy according to their
respective age, and promote the development of their
mind. This shows that child care providers are aware
about the importance of curriculum and its impact on
children [34] [35].
2.7 Food Safety
Nutritional factor is one of the indicators that reflect
the quality of services offered by a childcare centre.
In this regard, the quality of foods and dietary
programme impose both direct and indirect
reflections on the level of service satisfaction offered
by childcare centres as a whole. Organisations’
priority towards quality practices is important to
develop a quality culture [26]. The safe handling and
provision of foods, personal hygiene practices,
proper cleaning of equipment, and disposal of waste
will prevent children from having food poisoning and
diarrhoea. In line with the rising demand for
childcare centres, many researchers intend to expand
the investigation by looking at its influence towards
childcare caregivers’ practices [27]. Childcare
centres are mostly related to the increase of
overweight threat during childhood [27]. In contrast
to children’s nutritional eating and drinking, physical
activities and inactive behaviour can be attributed to
the respective childcare centres [28].
Most caregivers stated that the quality of foods
served for the children under their care is based on
the menu certified by the Ministry of Health
Malaysia. These foods must be nutritious and
appropriate to the children’s age, stored at a
designated food storage area, and constantly checked
for its expiration date. When involved in food
preparation, children often eat more fruits and less
sugary snacks [27]. In addition, all foods provided at
childcare centres should come from permitted
sources such as grocery shops or authorised food
sellers while no home-canned foods or unpasteurized
dairy products and fruit juices should be served in
child care centres. In addition, it is essential not to
serve honey to infants and toddlers as it might
contain bacterial spores that are hazardous to their
health.
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Theoretical Framework
Fig. 1 shows the research model that was developed
and illustrated based on the research hypotheses. The
model comprises five elements which include
caregivers, physical facilities, environment, and food
safety as the independent variables and safety
assurance as the dependent variable.
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Fig. 1: Theoretical Framework of Safety Assurance
Level in a Childcare Centre
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were developed to test the
theoretical framework of the study:
H1: Caregivers have a significant relationship with
the safety assurance level in childcare centres.
H2: Physical facilities have a significant relationship
with the safety assurance level in childcare centres.
H3: Environment has a significant relationship with
the safety assurance level in childcare centres.
H4: Food safety has a significant relationship with the
safety assurance level in childcare centres.
3.2 Research Design
This quantitative study aims to investigate the factors
influencing the safety assurance level at licensed
childcare centres. It examined the relationship
between four independent variables (i.e., caregivers,
physical facilities, environment, and food safety)
with safety assurance level as the dependent variable.
The research design comprises a cross-sectional
method as it is simple, inexpensive, and the data can
be collected within a short time.
3.3 Sampling Technique
Simple random sampling was used to select the
respondents of this study. According to Bougie et. al.
(2010), this method is efficient since it provides the
most generalisability and low biases.
3.4 Sampling Procedure
The sampling frame of this study was focused on
parents who subscribe to the services provided by
licensed childcare centres in Perak. For this purpose,
probability sampling was employed to attain the
findings.
3.5 Sampling Size
According to the official portal of the Department of
Statistics Malaysia, the total population in Perak in
2017 was 2.5 million. Based on Table 3.2 proposed
by [29], a population of 2 million people can be
represented by a 384 sample size. Therefore, a total
of 384 parents who use the services provided by
licensed childcare centres were selected as the
respondents in this study.
3.6 Sampling Method
Simple random sampling was used in this study to
obtain a wide range of responses from the
respondents. This is because the population in simple
random sampling was heterogeneous and contained
different groups related to the topic under
investigation.
3.7 Target Population
A population refers to the entire group of people or
elements with common characteristics or purposes.
The population of this study involved parents who
use the services provided by licensed childcare
centres in Perak.
3.8 Data Collection Procedure
The data in this study were collected using a
questionnaire. Tables 1 to 5 show the items used in
the questionnaire to measure the variables under
investigation.
Table 1. Measurement Items of the Safety Assurance
Scale
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Table 2. Measurement Items of the Caregivers Scale
Table 3. Measurement Items of the Physical
Facilities Scale
Table 4. Measurement Items of the Environment
Scale
Table 5. Measurement Items of the Food Safety Scale
3.9 Data Analysis
Basic descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation)
and frequency distribution were used to analyse the
data of this study. It was achieved using the
Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS)
software version 24.0.
3.10 Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, and standard
deviation) were used to describe the respondents’
characteristics.
3.11 Reliability Test
Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was used to test the
reliability of the questionnaire instrument. It is
suggested that a coefficient value that exceeds 0.80
indicates good reliability, 0.70 is considered as
acceptable, while a value less than 0.60 is considered
to be of poor reliability.
3.12 Pearson’s Correlation Test
Table 6 shows the scales used to interpret and explain
the relationship between the independent and
dependent variables:
Table 6. Interpretation of the Strength of Correlation
4 Findings
4.1 Survey Return Rate
Table 7. Survey Return Rate
The questionnaire was distributed to 380 parents who
use the services provided by licensed childcare
centres in Perak. The respondents were allotted a
week to complete the questionnaire. However, only
358 questionnaires were returned on time by the
respondents and 2 questionnaires were rejected due
to incomplete responses. Therefore, the response rate
of this study is 93.7% as shown in Table 7.
4.2 Analysis of Respondents
Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to
analyse the demographic information of the
respondents.
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4.2.1 Respondents’ Gender
Table 8. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by
Gender
Table 8 shows the gender distribution of all
respondents involved in this study. A total of 356
respondents had provided their responses to the
questionnaire with 178 respondents (50.0%) were
male and 178 respondents (50.0%) were female. This
indicates a similar distribution across both genders.
4.2.2 Respondents’ Number of Children at
Childcare Centres
Table 9. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by
Number of Children at Childcare Centres
Table 9 indicates that 30 out of 356 respondents are
sending 2 children to childcare centres. This is
mainly because either the children are twins or the
age gap of the children is near. Whereas, the majority
of parents only have one child who is sent to
childcare centres.
4.2.3 Respondents’ Family Income
Table 10. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by
Family Income
Table 10 indicates the frequency distribution of
family income among the respondents. It can be seen
that the majority of their family (60.4%) earns around
RM3001 to RM4000 followed by the family income
ranging between RM2000 to RM3000 (36.5%) and
those who earn RM4000 and above (3.1%).
4.2.4 Respondents’ Total Hours of Leaving
Children at Childcare Centre
Table 11. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by
Hours of Leaving Children at Childcare Centres
Table 11 shows that the majority of respondents
(99.4%) sent their children to childcare centres
between 5 to 10 hours. There were only 0.6 % of
parents who sent their children to childcare centres
for more than 10 hours per day.
4.3 Descriptive Statistics
This section describes the information about the
factors or elements that influence the safety
assurance level of childcare centres. The variable was
measured using the descriptive statistics of mean (M)
and standard deviation (SD).
Table 12. Descriptive Statistic of Variables
Table 12 shows the descriptive statistics for each
variable investigated in this research. The highest
mean was obtained by food safety (M = 4.4417, SD =
0.47167). whereas, the second highest mean was
recorded by caregivers (M = 4.4230, SD = 0.46175)
followed by environment (M = 4.4136, SD =
0.47258) and physical facilities (M = 4.4096, SD =
0.45505). Finally, the lowest mean was obtained by
safety assurance (M = 4.3199, SD = 0.44431).
4.4 Correlation Analysis
According to [30], correlation analysis is a statistical
test that measures the strength of a relationship
between two variables. For this purpose, [31]
suggested that the Pearson’s Correlation Analysis is
one of the effective methods to determine the
direction, strength, and significant relationship
between variables.
Table 13. Pearson’s Correlation Analysis
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Table 13 presents the correlation analysis results of
this study. Based on [32], a Pearson’s Correlation
value of less than 0.30 indicates a weak relationship,
between 0.30 to 0.50 indicates a moderate
relationship, and any value greater than 0.50
indicates a strong relationship between the variables.
The results confirmed that safety assurance has
significant positive correlations with all variables. In
this regard, strong relationships can be seen with
caregiver (0.560), environment (0.619), and food
safety (0.525) while physical facilities demonstrate a
moderate relationship with safety assurance (0.455).
4.5 Multiple Regression Analysis
Table 14 shows the results of multiple regression
analysis used to test the hypotheses of this study.
Table 14. Model Summary
Table 15. ANOVA Results
Table 16. Multiple Regression Analysis
Based on the results in Tables 14, 15, and 16, the
coefficient showed by R is 0.175 and F is 91.957
with a significant level of less than p < 0.05. It
suggests that all independent variables in this study
significantly influence the safety assurance level of
childcare centres. This is evident by caregivers (β =
0.190, p < 0.050), physical facilities (β = 0.138, p <
0.050), environment (β = 0.357, p < 0.050), and food
safety (β = 0.189, p < 0.050). Thus, it can be
concluded that caregivers, physical facilities,
environment, and food safety are the strongest factors
that influence the safety assurance level in childcare
centres.
4.5 Hypotheses Findings
The hypotheses testing procedure was conducted in
order to determine whether to approve or reject the
research hypotheses. Table 17 shows the findings of
the tested hypotheses.
Table 17. Hypotheses Findings
5 Discussion
The data collection process of this study was
conducted within one week via a questionnaire which
was distributed to the respondents selected among
parents who subscribe to the services offered by
licensed childcare centres in Perak. Based on the
sample size of 377 parents, a total of 380 sets of
questionnaire were distributed to the respondents and
358 questionnaires were retrieved within the duration
of time given, with 2 questionnaires were rejected
due to incomplete responses. Thus, a total of 356
questionnaires were used for further analysis,
constituting to a response rate of 93.7%.
All data were analysed using the SPSS 24.0 software.
The questionnaire was found to have acceptable and
good reliability. Results of the Pearson’s Correlation
Analysis further indicate significant positive
relationships between the independent variables (i.e.,
caregivers, physical facilities, environment, and food
safety) with the dependent variable (i.e., safety
assurance level of childcare centres). The research
hypotheses were tested using multiple regression
analysis to determine whether to accept or reject each
hypothesis. The following section discusses about the
findings in line with the research objectives.
Research Objective 1: To identify the influence of
caregivers towards the safety assurance level at
childcare centres.
Results from the multiple regression analysis indicate
that there is a significant positive relationship
between caregivers and the safety assurance level at
childcare centres (β = 0.190, p < 0.050). Thus,
Hypotheses 1 is accepted.
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Research Objective 2: To identify the influence of
physical facilities towards the safety assurance level
of childcare centres.
Results from the Pearson’s Correlation Analysis
showed that there is a moderate relationship between
physical facilities and the safety assurance level at
childcare centres. The multiple regression analysis
also posits a positive significant correlation (β =
0.138, p < 0.050) between the two variables.
Research Objective 3: To identify the influence of
environment towards the safety assurance level at
childcare centres.
The findings indicate that there is a significant
positive relationship between environment and the
safety assurance level at childcare centres (β = 0.357,
p < 0.050). Thus, Hypotheses 3 is supported.
Research Objective 4: To identify the influence of
food safety towards the safety assurance at childcare
centres.
Results from the Pearson’s Correlation Analysis
showed that there is a strong relationship between
food safety and the safety assurance level at childcare
centres. The multiple regression analysis further
indicates a positive significant correlation (β = 0.189,
p < 0.050) between the variables.
6 Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to determine whether
caregivers, physical facilities, environment, and food
safety influence the safety assurance level at
childcare centres. The results indicate that three
factors (i.e., caregivers, environment, and food
safety) have strong and significant relationships with
safety assurance. Whereas, although physical
facilities have recorded a positive and significant
relationship with safety assurance, the correlation
between these variables was found to be moderate.
Acknowledgement:
This research was supported by the Ministry of
Higher Education (MoHE) Malaysia through the
Fundamental Research Grant Scheme
(FRGS/1/2017/SS03/UUM/02/14).
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Mohd Yusri Shahril Ismail, Alysha Arif
E-ISSN: 2224-3496
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Mohd Yusri Shahril Ismail, Alysha Arif
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Contribution of Individual Authors to the
Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting
Policy)
Yaty Sulaiman was responsible for the
conceptualisation, funding acquisition, project
administration, resources, and supervision.
Nurul Ain Md Basri was responsible for data
curation, formal analysis, methodology, validation,
and writing the original draft.
Mohd Yusri Shahril Ismail was responsible for
reviewing the article.
Alysha Arif was responsible for editing the article.
Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a
Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself
This research was supported by the Ministry of
Higher Education (MoHE) Malaysia through the
Fundamental Research Grant Scheme
(FRGS/1/2017/SS03/UUM/02/14).
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_
US
WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT
DOI: 10.37394/232015.2022.18.37
Yaty Sulaiman, Nurul Ain Binti Md Basri,
Mohd Yusri Shahril Ismail, Alysha Arif
E-ISSN: 2224-3496
381
Volume 18, 2022
