This article aims at describing the judgement of day care centers' caretakers about factors that cause or influence the babies' temperament and performance. Twenty-one caretakers were interviewed about each of the ninety babies under their care, who were 4 to 24 months old, using a semi-structured guide. The results show that the caretakers' beliefs are predominantly environmental, i.e., they attribute significant influence of the environment upon the babies' temperament and performance. They also underestimate their role as promoters of child development. It is argued for the necessity of having a deeper understanding of caretakers' beliefs in order to develop efficient training programmes for them.
beliefs; educators; daycare center; child development; temperament
