Empowering the Parent–Child Relationship in Homeless and Other High-risk Parents and Families

High quality parent–child relations are essential to healthy development and learning in children. Homeless families experience many barriers to realizing the needed bonding and nurturance for having healthy relationships. This article explores the obstacles to the development of nurturing parent–child relations and offers strategies for addressing these issues.     

The Cartographic Eye in Children’s Picturebooks: Between Maps and Narratives

This article examines the place occupied by maps in children’s picturebooks. After a brief overview of the different roles that are assigned to maps in children’s books, the article considers five French picturebooks—Warja Lavater’s Le petit chaperon rouge (1965), Olivier Douzou and Isabelle Simon’s L’autobus numéro 33 (1996), Véronique Vernette’s Cocorico poulet Piga (1999), Rebecca Dautremer and Arthur Leboeuf’s Le loup de la 135 ^ème (2008) and Kochka and Fabienne Cinquin’s Dans ma ville, il y a… (2011)—in order to focus on how the narrative, whether enclosed, superimposed or linked to the text in some other way, is evoked by the geographic shape of the maps. It is argued that the particular use and function of a map depends on its shape or placement in a book, distinguishing between the incorporation of maps only as a significant picture (its use) from the subject within the whole narrative (its function). Thus the article articulates what uses a map can have within a narrative. It also explores the mechanics of the iconotext, showing that a cartographic picture fulfils a precise, rather than a general, function of spatialisation. Hence three main functions of spatialisation in maps and mapping are distinguished, whereby an author could use maps to help a character discover, conquer, or organise a space.     

Parents’ Participation in Their Child’s Schooling

The present study set out to survey Finnish parents’ participation in their child’s schooling and related experiences. The subjects were a nationally representative group of academically and vocationally educated fathers and mothers (N = 391) who had a child on the fifth grade. A great majority of the parents reported that they attended the parent evenings and saw them in a positive light. Most parents helped their child in her/his schoolwork, though some of them were doubtful of their own competence for it. The choice of schools, which was considered mainly by urban parents and academically educated parents, seemed to introduce a new private element into parental participation without changing the existing communal forms of participation.     

Investigating Bidirectional Links Between the Quality of Teacher–Child Relationships and Children’s Interest and Pre-Academic Skills in Literacy and Math

This study investigated bidirectional links between the quality of teacher–child relationships and children’s interest and pre-academic skills in literacy and math. Furthermore, differences in the patterns of bidirectionality between boys and girls were explored. Participants were 461 Finnish kindergarteners (6-year-olds) and their teachers (n = 48). Teachers reported their closeness and conflict with each child twice throughout the kindergarten year. Children rated their interest in literacy and math, and were tested on their pre-academic skills. Cross-lagged path models indicated that teacher-perceived conflict predicted lower interest and pre-academic skills in both literacy and math. Results were similar for boys and girls. Implications for reducing conflictual patterns of relationships, together with promoting other factors, are discussed.     

Cognitive Stimulation at Home and in Child Care and Children’s Preacademic Skills in Two-Parent Families

This paper used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (N = 1,258) to examine the influence of hilevels of cognitive stimulation from mothers, fathers, and childcare providers at 24 months and children’s pre-academic skills at 48 and 60 months in two parent families. Results from path analysis showed direct positive effects of fathers’ early cognitive stimulation on early reading and math skills at 48 and 60 months. There were also two moderated effects: The effects of high levels of maternal stimulation at 24 months on early math and reading skills at 48 months were largest for children also receiving high levels of cognitive stimulation from their childcare providers. Implications for including fathers in studies of the home cognitive stimulation and strengthening the parent-childcare connection are discussed.     

Language Use in a Multilingual Class: a Study of the Relation Between Bilingual Students’ Languages and Their Meaning-Making in Science

In this study, we examine how bilingual students in elementary school use their languages and what this means for their meaning-making in science. The class was multilingual with students bilingual in different minority languages and the teacher monolingual in Swedish. The analysis is based on a pragmatic approach and the theory of translanguaging. The science content was electricity, and the teaching involved class instruction and hands-on activities in small groups. The findings of the study are divided into two categories, students’ conversations with the teacher and student’s conversations with each other. Since the class was multilingual, the class instruction was carried out in Swedish. Generally, when the conversations were characterised by an initiation, response and evaluation pattern, the students made meaning of the activities without any language limitations. However, when the students, during whole class instruction, were engaged in conversations where they had to argue, discuss and explain their ideas, their language repertoire in Swedish limited their possibilities to express themselves. During hands-on activities, students with the same minority language worked together and used both of their languages as resources. In some situations, the activities proceeded without any visible language limitations. In other situations, students’ language repertoire limited their possibilities to make meaning of the activities despite being able to use both their languages. What the results mean for designing and conducting science lessons in a multilingual class is discussed.     

Examining Associations Between Effortful Control and Teacher–Child Relationships in Relation to Head Start Children's Socioemotional Adjustment

Research Findings: The current project examined the unique and interactive relations of child effortful control and teacher–child relationships to low-income preschoolers' socioemotional adjustment. One hundred and forty Head Start children (77 boys and 63 girls), their parents, lead teachers, and teacher assistants participated in this study. Parents provided information on child effortful control, whereas lead teachers provided information on their relationships with students. Teacher assistants provided information on children's socioemotional adjustment (emotional symptoms, peer problems, conduct problems, prosocial behaviors) in the preschool classroom. Both teacher–child closeness and conflict were significantly related to low-income preschoolers' socioemotional adjustment (i.e., emotional symptoms, peer problems, conduct problems, and prosocial behaviors) in expected directions. In addition, teacher–child conflict was significantly associated with emotional symptoms and peer problems among children with low effortful control; however, teacher–child conflict was not significantly associated with socioemotional difficulties among children with high effortful control. Teacher–child closeness, on the other hand, was associated with fewer socioemotional difficulties regardless of children's level of effortful control. Practice or Policy: Results are discussed in terms of (a) the utility of intervention efforts focusing on promoting positive teacher–child interactions and enhancing child self-regulatory abilities and (b) the implications for children's socioemotional adjustment.     

Chinese Parents’ Expectations and Child Preacademic Skills: The Indirect Role of Parenting and Social Competence

Research Findings: This study examined how parenting styles and child social-emotional functioning may help explain the indirect relations between Chinese parents’ expectations for their preschool-age children’s social-emotional development and their children’s preacademic skills. A total of 154 parents with preschool-age children were recruited from 7 preschools located in northeastern China. The results showed that when parents expected their child to master social-emotional skills at a younger age or when they placed more value on social-emotional skills, they were more likely to adopt authoritative parenting, their children had better social competence, and finally their children showed better preacademic skills. The findings not only provided support for the interconnections between Chinese young children’s social-emotional functioning and preacademic skills but also revealed parenting styles and child social competence as potential pathways through which parents’ social-emotional expectations relate to children’s preacademic skills. Practice or Policy: The findings can be used to facilitate parent education efforts to help contemporary Chinese parents reflect on and even adjust their developmental expectations for young children. Parental expectations can also be an important element to consider in prevention and intervention programs that are designed to improve young children’s social-emotional and preacademic skills.     

Parents’ Metacognitive Knowledge: Influences on Parent–Child Interactions in a Science Museum Setting

Despite science learning in settings such as science museums being recognized as important and given increasing attention in science education circles, the investigation of parents’ and their children’s metacognition in such settings is still in its infancy. This is despite an individual’s metacognition being acknowledged as an important influence on their learning within and across contexts. This research investigated parents’ metacognitive procedural and conditional knowledge, a key element of their metacognition, related to (a) what they knew about how they and their children thought and learned, and (b) whether this metacognitive knowledge influenced their interactions with their children during their interaction with a moderately complex simulation in a science museum. Parents reported metacognitive procedural and conditional knowledge regarding their own and their children’s thinking and learning processes. Further, parents were aware that this metacognitive knowledge influenced their interactions with their children, seeing this as appropriate pedagogical action for them within the context of the particular exhibit and its task requirements at the science museum, and for the child involved. These findings have implications for exhibit and activity development within science museum settings.     

Families in need of domestic violence services reported to the child welfare system: Changes in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being between 1999–2000 and 2008–2009

This study aimed to determine if identification of intimate partner violence (IPV) has improved by caseworkers that investigate reports of child maltreatment and if mothers who are victims of IPV are more likely to report receipt of services. The study data were drawn from the two cohorts of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW I and II), the first in 1999–2000 with a sample of 5,501 children reported for maltreatment and the second in 2008–2009 with a sample of 5,872 children reported for maltreatment. The analyses focused on IPV victimization of 3,625 mothers in NSCAW I and 3,351 mothers in NSCAW II whose children remained in home after the maltreatment investigation. Multiple group logistic regression was used to compare NSCAW I and II. A significant decrease in mother-reported IPV victimization (28.9–24.7%) was observed, representing a 15% decline. There were no significant changes in caseworker identification of history of domestic violence or active domestic violence. In both cohorts, substance abuse by the secondary caregiver was associated with a lower likelihood for the caseworker to miss a history of active domestic violence, while substantiation reduced the likelihood that the caseworker will miss active domestic violence. There were no changes in caseworkers’ service referral, or service receipt among victims. The next decade of efforts to reduce IPV and child maltreatment should focus simultaneously on increasing caseworkers’ ability to identify IPV and on funding needed services for families impacted by IPV and child maltreatment.     

Teacher–Student Conflict and Preschoolers’ Adjustment in the Transition to Primary School: The Role of Child Self-Regulation and Parents’ Positive Relations With Others

Research Findings: This study examined the contribution of teacher-student conflict at kindergarten to the child’s school adjustment in primary school using a Hong Kong sample. It investigated self-regulation as a mediator and parents’ positive relations with others as a moderator in that transition. At Time 1 (T1), kindergarten teachers reported their levels of conflict with individual children (N = 324, 168 girls), whereas children’s self-regulation was assessed with a Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Task. Fathers and mothers also rated their positive relations with others. At Time 2 (T2; 8 months later), when children were enrolled in primary school (N = 247, 126 girls), primary school teachers rated how well they adjusted to the new school. Moderated mediation analyses showed that although the direct effect of T1 teacher-student conflict on T2 school adjustment was not significant, the indirect effect of self-regulation was. T1 teacher-student conflicts were negatively related to children’s self-regulation, which in turn predicted subsequent school adjustment. Interestingly, this indirect effect was significant only when parents’ positive relations with others were low rather than high. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the importance of both a warm and caring relationship in the home and self-regulation to successful school transition.     

Families Created by Egg Donation: Parent–Child Relationship Quality in Infancy

Increasing numbers of children are being born through egg donation and thus do not share a genetic relationship with their mother. Parent–infant relationship quality was examined in 85 egg donation families and a comparison group of 65 in vitro fertilization families (infant M = 11 months). Standardized interview and observational measures were used to assess mother–infant and father–infant relationship quality at the representational and behavioral levels. Few differences were found between family types in parents’ representations of the parent–infant relationship. Differences were found between family types in the observational assessment of mother–infant relationship quality, indicating less optimal interactions in egg donation families. Findings suggest that egg donation families function well in infancy overall, but there may be subtle yet meaningful differences in mother–infant interaction quality.     

Mother–Child Relationships and Children’s Psychosocial Functioning: The Specific Roles of Attachment Security and Maternal Behavior

Objective. This paper aimed to examine the contributions of a second assessment time point of attachment security, along with assessments of maternal behavior (sensitivity and autonomy support), to the prediction of children’s behavior problems. Design. Maternal behavior and mother–child attachment were assessed in 73 mother–child dyads when children were between 15 months and 26 months old. Children’s internalizing and externalizing problems were reported by their teachers in kindergarten and first grade. Results. Each assessment time point of attachment security, as well as maternal behavior, explained comparable portions of the variance in children’s anxious/depressed behavior, jointly predicting more than three times the variance explained by either measure of attachment alone. Conclusion. Researchers should consider a multidimensional approach to the assessment of the quality of mother–child relationships, at least when attempting to explain the development of child internalizing problems.     

Students’ Occupational Aspirations: Can Family Relationships Account for Differences Between Immigrant and Socioeconomic Groups?

Immigrant background and disadvantaged socioeconomic background are two key predictors of poorer school achievement in Europe. However, the former is associated with higher while the latter is associated with lower aspirations. This study asks whether family relationships account for this difference. Data come from 5,926 students in Germany and Sweden, eliciting indicators of family background and relationships at age 14–15 years (2011) and occupational aspirations 1 year later. High aspirations were found among students of non-European background and students with higher parental occupational status. Structural equation models showed that while immigrant families had greater parental aspirations and encouragement, family cohesion, and parental monitoring, only parental aspirations mediated the effects of family background.     

Teachers’ Perceptions of Teacher–Child Relationships: Links With Children’s Observed Interactions

Research Findings: The present study examined associations between children’s classroom interactions and teachers’ perceptions of teacher–child relationships during 1 year of preschool. Teachers (n = 223) reported their perceptions of closeness and conflict in their teacher–child relationships in the fall and spring. Children’s (n = 895) positive classroom interactions with teachers, peers, and learning activities and their negative interactions were observed midyear. Children’s positive interactions with teachers and learning activities predicted teachers’ perceptions of more closeness in the spring when we accounted for fall closeness. Children’s negative interactions predicted teachers’ perceptions of more relational conflict in the spring when we accounted for fall conflict. Children’s positive peer interactions did not predict spring closeness or conflict. Implications regarding teachers’ perceptions of teacher–child relationships and children’s independently observed classroom interactions are discussed. Practice or Policy: Findings provide empirical evidence for an aspect of Pianta, Hamre, and Stuhlman’s (2003) conceptual model of teacher–child relationships. Results indicate that children’s classroom interactions may be a factor related to how teachers report on their relationships with children across 1 year of preschool. Findings point to links between a range of children’s positive and negative interactions during typical instruction and teachers’ relationship perceptions.     

The Education of Students with Immigrant Background in Iceland: Parents’ and Teachers’ Voices

In recent years Icelandic schools have seen an increase in students with immigrant background. These changes require schools and teachers to respond to the educational needs these students may have. The aim of this article is to examine these changes by looking at the experience of teachers and parents of immigrant students regarding their education. As part of this qualitative research, 38 teachers were interviewed in focus groups with a view to the challenges and experiences of teaching immigrant students. Ten parents were also interviewed individually about their experiences of Icelandic schools and their children’s education. The findings revealed that teachers are unsupported in their quest for understanding and managing multicultural education and that the Icelandic school system challenges foreign parents’ understanding of school as a traditional place for learning. It is suggested that addressing the lack of collaboration and discussion between both parties on students’ needs and parents’ expectations could improve the education of immigrant students.     

Naïve Empiricism and the Nature of Science in Narratives of Conflict Between Science and Religion

Scientific inquiry is both theoretical and empirical. It succeeds by bringing thought into productive harmony with the observable universe, and thus, students can attain a robust understanding of the nature of science (NOS) only by developing a balanced appreciation of both these dimensions. In this article, I examine naïve empiricism, a teaching pattern that deters understanding of NOS by attributing to observation scientific achievements that have been wrought by a partnership of thought and empirical experience. My more specific concern is the naïve empiricism promoted when teachers illustrate NOS through historical anecdotes about conflict between science and religion. Since the religious actors depicted in such accounts appear to reject evidence, these narratives lead readers to suppose that scientists draw their conclusions in exactly the opposite way, from empiricism alone. I illustrate this pattern by examining two representative treatments of the Copernican revolution. My methods are historical and critical.     

Emotional Support Consistency and Teacher–Child Relationships Forecast Social Competence and Problem Behaviors in Prekindergarten and Kindergarten

Teachers' ratings of conflict and closeness as well as observed emotional support are known predictors of children's social functioning. Consistency in emotional support represents an emerging line of research. The goal of the present study is to understand whether the relation between the consistency of teachers' emotional support and children's behavior is mediated by teacher–child relationships. The role of gender is also considered. Using MPlus, the present study examines the indirect effect of emotional support consistency in prekindergarten on children's social competence and problem behaviors. Outcomes are extended to kindergarten to test the lasting association between the prekindergarten social environment and child behavior in the kindergarten year. Multigroup models examine gender differences. Research Findings: Observations of 694 prekindergarten classrooms revealed that teachers' emotional support consistency had an indirect effect on social competence and problem behavior through conflict in the teacher–child relationship in prekindergarten and kindergarten. The indirect effect on prekindergarten problem behaviors through conflict was stronger for boys. For closeness, all outcomes were significant with the exception of the indirect effect on problem behaviors in the kindergarten year. Practice or Policy: Consistency in prekindergarten teachers' emotional support has an indirect effect on children's behavior in prekindergarten and the following year in kindergarten through teacher–child relationships. Improving teachers' emotional support consistency may be 1 avenue for strengthening teacher–child relationships.     

Fathers’ perpetration of intimate partner violence and parenting during early childhood: Results from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study

BackgroundExperiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization negatively impact maternal parenting. However, little is known about the association between fathers’ perpetration of IPV and paternal parenting.ObjectiveTo examine associations between fathers’ IPV perpetration against the child’s mother and fathers’ stimulation and spanking practices with their young child.Participants and SettingWe used two waves of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study in the United States. The analytic sample comprised of 2,257 biological fathers who had been in a romantic relationship with the child’s mother.MethodsFathers’ IPV perpetration at year 1 and 3 was measured based on maternal report. Fathers were categorized into: never perpetrators (no IPV at either year), persisters (IPV at both years), desisters (IPV at year 1 only), and emergers (IPV at year 3 only). Fathers’ parenting at year 3 was measured based on self-reported stimulation (e.g., reading books, playing games, telling stories) and spanking.ResultsApproximately one-third of fathers never perpetrated IPV, 35.8% were persisters, 14.4% were desisters, and 16.9% were emergers. For stimulation, persisters (β=-0.16, 95% CI: -0.25, -0.06) and emergers (β=-0.25, 95% CI: -0.36, -0.14), but not desisters (β=-0.02, 95% CI: -0.14, 0.11), were less engaged in stimulation than fathers who never perpetrated IPV. However, for spanking, there were no differences in the associations by father IPV profiles.ConclusionsFindings suggest that fathers’ perpetration of IPV is related to their stimulation practices. Partner-abusive men and their children may benefit from parenting programs that promote engagement in stimulation and improve the quality of parent-child relationships.