Child care for preschoolers with autism: An exploration of mothers' beliefs,decision-making,and knowledge

Forty mothers of preschoolers with autism were interviewed about their children's child care programs and about factors that influenced program selection. Mothers also rated the importance of program features, their knowledge of the care settings, and their frequency of involvement in their children's settings. These mothers of children with autism had many of the same concerns as mothers of typically-developing children: they valued safety; warm, loving, and competent caregivers; and cleanliness. However, these mothers were also concerned about program features that might be especially important for their special-needs children, such as a focus on adaptive skills, the availability of special services, and an individualized program. In spite of relatively low levels of search behavior (e.g., visiting settings before making a decision) and uncertainty about some characteristics of their children's programs, mothers reported high involvement in activities such as field trips, parent-teacher conferences, and observing in the classroom. We highlight the need for additional research in this area.     

Child Care Changes,Home Environment Quality,and the Social Competence of African American Children at Age 3

Research Findings: Recent work has demonstrated that the changes young children experience in their child care settings before age 5 may be related to subsequent development, especially social development. Several of these studies have included samples of middle-class children, with almost no emphasis on understanding these processes for low-income and/or African American children. This study examined a rural African American sample of children from birth to 3 years of age to understand not only the role of child care changes in children's social development but, in addition, the role played by children's home environment quality. Results suggested that more changes in child care up to age 3 (defined as “big changes” in provider, location, or quantity of care) were associated with lower child care provider ratings of children's social competence. Furthermore, this link appeared to be stronger for children whose home environment was of low quality. Practice or Policy: Policy, practice, and research implications are discussed.     

Children's Behavioral Adjustment in Pre-Primary Schools in Tanzania: A Multilevel Approach

Research Findings: The present study concerns children's behavioral adjustment in the context of pre-primary schools in Tanzania. Twenty teachers and 320 children from 20 pre-primary schools participated in the study. Teacher–child relationships, children's behavioral adjustment, and teachers' cultural beliefs were reported by teachers; classroom emotional support was measured through classroom observation. The multilevel findings revealed that high-quality teacher–child relationships and high-quality teacher sensitivity were related to children's prosocial behavioral adjustment. In contrast, observed low-quality teacher–child relationships and low-quality teacher sensitivity were found to be related to children's aggression and anxiety. In addition, teachers' cultural beliefs, concerning play in particular, were found to be related to children's anxiety. The findings support the ecological theory regarding the importance of child characteristics and classroom context in shaping a child's behavioral adjustment in schools. Practice or Policy: The results have implications for pre-primary school teachers in Tanzania, to consider their relationships with children and their sensitivity to children as important aspects for children's behavioral adjustment in schools. They also inform policymakers about the role of pre-primary school teachers in the country.     

Does war contribute to family violence against children? Findings from a two-generational multi-informant study in Northern Uganda

After 20 years of civil war in Northern Uganda, the continuity of violence within the family constitutes a major challenge to children's healthy development in the post-conflict era. Previous exposure to trauma and ongoing psychopathology in guardians potentially contribute to parental perpetration against children and dysfunctional interactions in the child's family ecology that increase children's risk of maltreatment. In order to investigate distal and proximal risk factors of child victimization, we first aimed to identify factors leading to more self-reported perpetration in guardians. Second, we examined factors in the child's family environment that promote child-reported experiences of maltreatment. Using a two-generational design we interviewed 368 children, 365 female guardians, and 304 male guardians from seven war-affected rural communities in Northern Uganda on the basis of standardized questionnaires. We found that the strongest predictors of self-reported aggressive parenting behaviors toward the child were guardians’ own experiences of childhood maltreatment, followed by female guardians’ victimization experiences in their intimate relationship and male guardians’ posttrautmatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol-related problems. Regarding children's self-report of victimization in the family, proximal factors including violence between adults in the household and male guardians’ PTSD symptom severity level predicted higher levels of maltreatment. Distal variables such as female guardians’ history of childhood victimization and female guardians’ exposure to traumatic war events also increased children's report of maltreatment. The current findings suggest that in the context of organized violence, an intergenerational cycle of violence persists that is exacerbated by female guardians’ re-victimization experiences and male guardians’ psychopathological symptoms.     

Mathematical language and mathematical abilities in preschool: A systematic literature review

It is well established that early general language during preschool is critical for children's mathematical abilities. In an attempt to further characterize this association between language and mathematics, an increasing number of studies show that one specific type of language, namely mathematical language or the key linguistic concepts that are required for performing mathematical activities, is even more critical to children's mathematical abilities. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize the evidence on mathematical language and mathematical abilities. We focus on preschool children as nearly all of the existing work has been done at this age. We first explain how mathematical language has been defined across studies, and report how it has been evaluated in studies in preschool. Next, we present the results of our systematic review. Following the PRISMA guidelines and after a critical appraisal, we ended with a set of 18 papers that were all of sufficient methodological quality. In these studies, mathematical language was defined as terms that are about numbers and operations on numbers (e.g., nine), but also included linguistic terms that do not directly refer to numbers, yet are important to understand mathematical concepts (i.e., quantitative and spatial terms such as fewest and middle, respectively). Some of these studies evaluated children's performance on mathematical language tasks, while others evaluated the mathematical language input provided to the child by their (educational) environment (teachers/parents/interventionists). Mathematical language correlated positively with children's mathematical abilities, concurrently and longitudinally. It also directly affected children's mathematical abilities, as was shown by intervention studies. We discuss potential directions for future research and highlight implications for education, arguing for more support for teachers and parents to improve the use of mathematical language in the classroom and in home settings.     

Minor Illnesses,Temperament, and Toddler Social Functioning

Research Findings: Minor illnesses, such as upper respiratory infections, stomachaches, and fevers, have been associated with children's decreased activity and increased irritability. This multi-method investigation of 110 day care–attending children examined whether experience with recurrent, minor illnesses and negative emotionality worked together to predict young children's social functioning. Minor illness experience was assessed via weekly health screenings conducted by nurses. Toddlers' negative emotionality and social behavior were assessed using mothers' and fathers' reports. The two dimensions of negative emotionality and minor illness experience operated in different ways to predict children's functioning. Toddlers rated as more temperamentally angry displayed less social competence, especially when they also experienced high proportions of minor illness. Temperamentally fearful children exhibited more externalizing problems when they experienced a higher frequency of illness, whereas fearfulness was not associated with externalizing problems for children who were not frequently ill. Practice or Policy: Children's frequent experience with minor illnesses combined with negative emotionality appears to place toddlers at a heightened risk for exhibiting behavior problems. These findings have implications for child and family well-being as well as interactions with child care providers and peers within child care settings. Interventions could be developed to target “at risk” children.     

Factors discriminating among profiles of resilience and psychopathology in children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV)

ObjectiveTo evaluate the social and emotional adjustment of 219 children in families with varying levels of intimate partner violence (IPV) using a model of risk and protection. To explore factors that differentiate children with poor adjustment from those with resilience.MethodologyMothers who experienced IPV in the past year and their children ages 6–12 were interviewed. Standardized measures assessed family violence, parenting, family functioning, maternal mental health, and children's adjustment and beliefs.ResultsUsing cluster analysis, all cases with valid data on the Child Behavior Checklist, Child Depression Inventory, General Self-Worth and Social Self-Competence measures were described by four profiles of children's adjustment: Severe Adjustment Problems (24%); children who were Struggling (45%); those with Depression Only (11%); and Resilient (20%) with high competence and low adjustment problems. Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed children in the Severe Problems cluster witnessed more family violence and had mothers higher in depression and trauma symptoms than other children. Resilient and Struggling children had mothers with better parenting, more family strengths and no past violent partner. Parents of children with Severe Problems were lacking these attributes. The Depressed profile children witnessed less violence but had greater fears and worries about mother's safety.ConclusionFactors related to the child, to the mother and to the family distinguish different profiles of adjustment for children exposed to IPV who are living in the community. Resilient children have less violence exposure, fewer fears and worries, and mothers with better mental health and parenting skills, suggesting avenues for intervention with this population.Practice implicationsFindings suggest that child adjustment is largely influenced by parent functioning. Thus, services should be targeted at both the child and the parent. Clinical interventions shaped to the unique needs of the child might also be tested with this population.     

Variation in children's classroom engagement throughout a day in preschool: Relations to classroom and child factors

This study examined sources of variability in preschool children's positive and negative engagement with teachers, peers, and tasks, and how that variability was related to both classroom activity settings (e.g., teacher-structured time, outdoor time, transitions) and child factors (age, gender). Participants were 283 socioeconomically and linguistically diverse children drawn from 84 classrooms, 34–63 months old (M = 50.8, SD = 6.5). Each child's engagement was observed and rated multiple times within a single day. Results suggested that children's engagement varied significantly across the preschool day. Activity settings that provided children with a greater degree of choice (free choice and outdoor time) were associated with more positive engagement with peers and tasks, while teacher-structured activities were associated with more positive engagement with teachers. Transitions emerged as a difficult part of the day, associated with less positive engagement with teachers and tasks. Older children were rated higher on peer and task engagement. These findings, together with previous research, suggest that both characteristics of the classroom setting and child factors are associated with children's classroom engagement throughout a day in preschool.     

An investigation of the stability and variability in young children's self-regulated learning behaviors in kindergarten

The authors examined the relative stability and variability of self-regulated learning (SRL) in kindergartners across various contexts (teacher-directed activities, small-group work, and independent work). They assessed the role of temperament and context on children's use of SRL while seeking to identify if there are optimal contexts for promoting SRL in particular children. The results revealed that although temperament was not related to SRL, children's regulation strategy usage was heavily dependent on context, contradicting the idea that children are either high or low self-regulators. The relative stability of SRL varied by child, with some children showing more sensitivity to context than did others. Optimal contexts for eliciting SRL also differed by children, with some children exhibiting elevated regulation during small-group activities and others during teacher-directed activities.     

Community perceptions of home environments that lead children & youth to the street in semi-rural Kenya

Research with street-involved children and youth (SICY) in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past three decades has established a complex web of both micro and macro-level factors that simultaneously "push" and "pull" children and youth to the street. There is still little research with adult family and community members in communities from which SICY originate. Forty men and women from five semi-rural villages in Meru County, Kenya participated in a Rapid Rural Appraisal utilizing a fishbone diagram to explore main and underlying reasons for why children may be or may feel unwelcome in the home and thus migrate to the street. Responses were analyzed in terms of ecological levels, child or parent perspective, and the push/pull framework. Overall, community members identified families and households experiencing stress and lacking the necessary resources to successfully adjust and adapt. Four ecological levels of influence were proposed as main reasons, with parent and caregiver factors mentioned most often, followed by household factors, children’s intrapersonal factors, and interpersonal (family) factors. Community and environmental level factors were also proposed as underlying factors. Analysis by gender revealed that both men and women emphasized push factors over pull factors, though men proposed more pull factors (from peers and street life) than women did. Men placed more responsibility on the children than women did, citing children's negative behaviors, dissatisfaction with home, and a desire for independence and work/income. Women, in contrast, emphasized children's feelings of being unloved and the experience of harsh punishment or abuse from caregivers. Findings suggest that interventions to reduce street involvement should support economically, medically, and psychologically vulnerable families and households through comprehensive family strengthening programs that build financial capacity, improve parenting and communication skills, and promote education over child work and labor.     

Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Children's Development

Fathers are more than social accidents. Research has demonstrated that fathers matter to children's development. Despite noted progress, challenges remain on how best to conceptualize and assess fathering and father–child relationships. The current monograph is the result of an SRCD-sponsored meeting of fatherhood scholars brought together to discuss these challenges and make recommendations for best practices for incorporating fathers in studies on parenting and children's development. The first aim of this monograph was to provide a brief update on the current state of research on fathering and to lay out a developmental ecological systems perspective as a conceptual framework for understanding the different spaces fathers inhabit in their children's lives. Because there is wide variability in fathers’ roles, the ecological systems perspective situates fathers, mothers, children, and other caregivers within an evolving network of interrelated social relationships in which children and their parents change over time and space (e.g., residence). The second aim was to present examples of empirical studies conducted by members of the international working group that highlighted different methods, data collection, and statistical analyses used to capture the variability in father–child relationships. The monograph ends with a commentary that elaborates on the ecological systems framework with a discussion of the broader macrosystem and social-contextual influences that impinge on fathers and their children. The collection of articles contributes to research on father–child relationships by advancing theory and presenting varied methods and analysis strategies that assist in understanding the father–child relationship and its impact on child development.     

Do early care and education services improve language development for maltreated children? Evidence from a national child welfare sample

Young children under 6 years old are over-represented in the U.S. child welfare system (CWS). Due to their exposure to early deprivation and trauma, they are also highly vulnerable to developmental problems, including language delays. High quality early care and education (ECE) programs (e.g. preschool, Head Start) can improve children's development and so policymakers have begun calling for increased enrollment of CWS-supervised children in these programs. However, it is not a given that ECE will benefit all children who experience maltreatment. Some types of maltreatment may result in trauma-related learning and behavior challenges or developmental deficits that cause children to respond to ECE settings differently. The current study uses data from a nationally representative survey of children in the U.S. child welfare system, the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II, to assess whether young CWS-supervised children (N = 1,652) who were enrolled in ECE had better language development outcomes 18 months later than those not enrolled in ECE. We also explore whether the type of maltreatment that brought children to the CWS’ attention moderates the relationship between ECE and children's language development. After controlling for children's initial scores on the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-3), type(s) of maltreatment experienced, and child and caregiver demographics, we found that ECE participation predicted better PLS-3 scores at follow-up, with a positive interaction between ECE participation and supervisory neglect. ECE seems to be beneficial for CWS-involved children's early language development, especially for children referred to the CWS because they lack appropriate parent supervision at home.     

African American Father Involvement and Preschool Children's School Readiness

A developmental ecological model was used to identify child attributes, father characteristics, and familial factors associated with multidimensional father involvement with preschool children enrolled in Head Start. The relations between father involvement and children's school readiness were also investigated. Eighty-five African American fathers and father figures were surveyed about their involvement in child care, home-based educational and school-based educational activities. Children's school readiness competencies were evaluated via teacher report or direct assessment. Father involvement in child care and home-based educational activities were predicted by different contextual factors and child attributes. Fathers were more involved in child care activities when they lived in a child's home and when a child was highly emotional. Fathers who perceived the existence of a strong parenting alliance reported more involvement in home-based educational activities. Father involvement in child care and home-based educational activities was associated with higher levels of children's emotion regulation. Findings are consistent with a contextual, multidimensional perspective of African American fathering and hold policy implications for fatherhood initiatives in the early childhood education field. Efforts to increase father involvement may be most effective when addressing the multitude of influences on fathering behavior and focusing on father-child activities that occur outside of the preschool setting.     

Parents' and Children's Perceptions of Parental Behavior: Associations with Children's Psychosocial Adjustment in the Classroom

Objective. We examined correspondence in parents' and children's perceptions of parenting and associations between these perceptions and children's social adjustment in the classroom. Design. The sample included 214 children (M age = 9) from third to fifth grades and their parents. Children and parents reported on parenting behavior. Results. Parents' self-reports and children's reports about parents showed systematic differences, with parents perceiving themselves as more supportive than children perceived them to be. Direction of discrepancy between child and parent reports appeared to be more important than size of discrepancy in predicting child outcomes. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that parents' self-perceptions of parenting and children's perceptions of parenting were predictive of different measures of child psychosocial adjustment. Conclusions. The results of this study support the assumption that parents' self-perceptions and children's perceptions of parenting provide unique views of the family and unique relations to children's psychosocial adjustment.     

Is combining child labour and school education the right approach? Investigating the Cambodian case

The paper considers whether letting children combine work and school is a valid and effective approach in Cambodia. Policy makers’ suggestions that child labour should be allowed to some extent due to household poverty appear ungrounded as no significant relation between children's work and household poverty is found while arranging school timetables flexibly in order to accommodate households’ perceived need for children's labour may increase problems of insufficient teaching hours if schools conduct their timetables unreliably. Considering these issues, the paper suggests the need for a more diversified approach to dealing with the impact of child labour on their school education.     

School functioning of children in residential care: The contributions of multilevel correlates

ObjectiveThis study, using an ecological approach, examines the relationships between problems in school functioning (including academic and behavior problems) of children in residential care with a number of variables describing the child and the care setting.MethodsThe study reports on 4,061 children and youth (ages 6–20) in 54 Israeli residential care facilities supervised by the Ministry of Welfare. It is based on data derived from an ongoing system of monitoring care based on annual reports by social workers on children in care settings. Additionally, data on the characteristics of the settings were collected through a structured questionnaire completed by the supervisors at the Ministry of Welfare. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was utilized to examine how characteristics of the individual children and the care settings were related to problems in school functioning among the children.ResultsMost of the children (about 62%) had at least one problem in school functioning. The most vulnerable children were boys, children who were taken from parental homes by court decree, children with problems in quality of contact with their biological parents, and children who stayed in the care setting for shorter periods. The settings’ characteristics most associated with poor performance at school are group structure (vs. mixed and family home structures), higher levels of peer violence, fewer after-school activities, and settings in which children tend to stay for shorter periods of times.ConclusionsThe findings demonstrate the need for an ecological perspective in addressing children's problems in school functioning within the care system. The results help to identify the types of placements that should benefit from additional resources in order to promote adaptive performance in school among the children.Practice implicationsSocial workers in residential care should give high priority to children's positive academic involvement. The study demonstrates the need for identifying the intersection of the individual, familial and institutional contexts in which problems in school functioning are more prevalent. Therefore, it is important to allocate sufficient resources to care settings which serve these children. The study suggests some priorities and directions for policy and practice with children in residential care.     

“Unpacking my Library”: Children's Literature in the Writings of Walter Benjamin

In recentyears as the works of Walter Benjamin, the German‐Jewish cultural critic and philosopher, have become more widely available in translation commentaries have emerged which focus on what his writings have to offer current practices of cultural history. Benjamin was an avid collector of children's books. He also wrote extensively on children's literature, forgotten children's stories, the compulsion and cultures of book collecting and about his own childhood experiences in Berlin. This essay concerns itself with Benjamin's relationship with children's literature, both a child and as a collector, and his insights into the process of engaging with the internal world of the child. In doing so consideration is given to his innovative approach to memory‐work and the relationship between “remembering”, memory, artefacts and history. In this sense, this essay is about the book and education and the writing of cultural history.

     

Associations between teacher–child relationships and children's writing in kindergarten and first grade

When children experience conflict in relationships with their teachers during early education, they perform more poorly on measures of language development and overall academic competence. Whereas children who have close relationships with teachers, often perform better on these measures. A close teacher–child relationship may be important for children learning to write, given the complex and personal nature of writing. Yet, scholars have not examined associations between teacher–child relationship quality and children's early success in writing. The current study examined associations between quality of the teacher–child relationship (defined as teachers’ perceptions of closeness and conflict and children's feelings about teachers) and children's writing quality in kindergarten and first grade. Children's receptive language was also investigated as a moderator of these associations. Results indicated teacher–child conflict was significantly associated with children's writing quality, after accounting for grade level, initial reading status, and type of instruction. Findings of the study have important implications for future research and practice. Attention to the importance of conflict in teacher–child relationships and its’ influence on children's literacy learning and development should be included in future research studies.     

Group Size and Storybook Reading: Two-Year-Old Children's Verbal and Nonverbal Participation With Books

Storybook reading in child care classrooms typically occurs in one large group, a context that does not provide opportunities for each child to talk about the book. Two-year-old children, in particular, need individual support to facilitate their language participation, and they want to touch the book and be close to the teacher. The purpose of the present study was to determine if reducing group size would increase 2-year-old children's engagement and verbal participation during storybook reading, and to describe their nonverbal participation. Fifteen 2-yearold children and six teachers in two classrooms participated. A multiple baseline across settings time-series experimental design was used. Videotapes were transcribed and coded for children's engagement, comments and questions, and nonverbal participation. Observations of book use were conducted during freeplay. The average number of comments and questions per child approximately doubled when reading occurred in small groups. Children participated nonverbally by actions such as pointing, handling books, moving close to the teacher, interacting with peers, and pretending. The results indicate that reducing group size can be an effective method for increasing the verbal participation of 2-year-old children during storybook reading in child care classrooms. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of ecological context, and ways of including small group storybook reading in the daily schedule are suggested.