Exploring the Lived Experiences of Homeless Families with Young Children

This study researched the experiences of homeless families with young children between the ages of four and eight. Many families experience homelessness every year; therefore, it is important for early childhood educators to have an understanding of how homelessness affects families with young children so that educators can effectively serve the needs of homeless families as they seek to find more permanent situations for themselves and their young children. Many early childhood educators may not understand how homelessness affects young learners. This research sought: (1) to understand reasons families with young children become homeless; (2) to become aware of beneficial resources available to families and their perceptions of the resources; (3) and to examine the developmental effects that homeless living situations can have on young children. The outcomes of this study will be used to inform early childhood educators about practices as they seek to serve young children ages four to eight living homeless. Research suggested common themes as to why and how parents and young children are affected by homelessness.     

Portraits of Partnership: The Hopes and Dreams Project

This article describes an innovative practice in family involvement developed by one early care and education center engaged in professional development. The Hopes and Dreams Project documented family involvement in children’s lives and education through the pairing of pictures and narratives about their lives, histories, priorities, goals, and responsibilities with the school community. Narrative inquiry was a powerful method for increasing understanding of complexity of family involvement. Findings showed that families’ priorities in forming partnerships included the importance in belonging to the community, being involved in their children’s lives and education, experiencing diversity, and experiences in childhood for children’s futures. This research supports the importance of redefining family partnerships in early care and education in a manner that is inclusive of family values and priorities. The implications are that early care and education providers have an important role in developing and defining involvement practices that empower families and educate professionals.     

Sustaining the Family: Meeting the Needs of Families of Children with Disabilities

A dramatic rise in the survival rates of children born with disabilities (particularly those born prematurely) has been reported in the last decade. The nature of their disabilities is, at times, significantly different from that previously reported, posing problems for the families attempting to nurture the development of these children. Barry Carpenter, Chief Executive of Sunfield, considers the needs of the self-defining family, the implications for interdisciplinary practice, and the changing pattern of early childhood disability. He asks a fundamental question: 'How can professionals sustain the family of a child with disabilities?'     

离婚叙事与家庭关系对离异家庭子女心理的影响

父母离异会对子女的心理发展造成负面影响这一结论已经被国内外众多研究所证实.相对于离异事件本身,消极的离婚叙事与不良的家庭关系对于离异家庭子女心理的负面影响更加严重.消极的离婚叙事通过建构研究者与研究对象的心理放大了父母离异对子女的负面影响,并通过"内化"使离异家庭子女的心理问题得到了强化.不良的家庭关系增强了离婚事件的负面作用,使子女在相当长的时间里甚至是一生都生活在父母离婚的阴影中.如果离婚已经不可避免,可以通过两种途径减少父母离异对于子女的负面影响:首先,建构温和的离婚叙事以取代消极的离婚叙事,给予家庭成员更多的理解与接纳,避免子女产生消极的自我认识与评价而出现心理问题;其次,父母在互相尊重的基础上选择和平友好的方式离婚,同时仍尽力承担作为父母对子女应尽的抚养与教育的责任.     

Television and Families: What Do Young Children Watch with Their Parents?

A sample of 271 3- and 5-year-olds and their families participated in a 2-year longitudinal study of television viewing patterns. 5 1-week diaries for all family members were collected at 6-month intervals. Programs were categorized as: (1) child informative, (2) child entertainment, (3) news and informative, (4) sports, (5) comedy, (6) drama, (7) action-adventure, and (8) variety-game. The majority of child programs were viewed without parents, while the majority of adult programs were watched with parents. Coviewing patterns of adult programs were predicted from parents' individual viewing habits, but not from the child's. Coviewing declined with age. Parental encouragement and regulation of viewing were orthogonal. Children whose parents encouraged viewing watched more child informative programming; children of restrictive parents watched less entertainment programming. Encouraging parents coviewed more than nonencouraging parents. Results support the assertion that parental viewing preferences, habits, and orientations toward television influence children's viewing, both with and without parents.     

流动幼儿的家庭嘈杂度与情绪调节之间的关系研究

本研究以河南省郑州市5所民办幼儿园随机抽取中班、大班各5个班级,共310名幼儿家长为研究对象,其中流动幼儿161名,非流动幼儿145名。通过家庭嘈杂度量表、幼儿情绪调节策略量表进行测评,比较流动与非流动幼儿家庭嘈杂度及情绪调节发展的实际情况,并且详细研究了家庭嘈杂度和情绪调节之间的相关关系。结果显示,流动幼儿的家庭嘈杂度显著高于非流动幼儿家庭,流动幼儿在认知重建策略维度上显著低于非流动幼儿,在其他情绪调节维度上有显著差异;家庭嘈杂度与积极情绪调节策略中认知重建策略呈显著的负相关,与消极情绪调节策略(发泄和被动应付策略)呈显著的正相关。     

Digital Technology Usage of Young Children: Screen Time and Families

Early Childhood Education Journal - This study aimed to explore the digital environments of 3–6-year-old children within the home setting. A total of 537 children aged...     

Family Influences on Adaptive Development in Young Children with Down Syndrome

In this study we investigated the extent to which the family environment predicted differences in trajectories of adaptive development in young children with Down syndrome. The sample was comprised of 54 children with Down syndrome and their families who were studied from infancy through the age of 5 years as part of a longitudinal study of children with disabilities. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to estimate the parameters of hierarchical growth models in domains of adaptive development. Results indicated that growth in communication, daily living skills, and socialization domains were predicted by measures of the family environment (i.e., family cohesion and mother-child interaction) above and beyond that predicted by maternal education. Further, Bayley MDI measures during infancy did not predict changes in adaptive development in any of the domains. The results are discussed in terms of implications for service provision and for expanding theoretical frameworks to include the development of children with disabilities.     

Starting School: Welcoming Young Children and Families into Early School Experiences

Throughout the world, young children and their families anticipate the start of school with expectations and hopes, as well as concerns. Although the approaches and customs differ from one nation, region, or culture to another, one constant is the recognition that a collaborative effort is needed to welcome young children and their families into formal schooling experiences. The transition process should be proactive and responsive to the children’s needs. This article addresses four key components of appropriate support for young children who are starting school: (1) a consideration of the developmental characteristics of young children, (2) a recognition of factors that affect adjustment to new situations, (3) the establishment of relationships with families, and (4) the implementation of strategies that assist young children in making this important transition. Strategies for assisting children who are beginning their school careers are shared.     

流动学前儿童家庭教育问题的研究——基于25户流动家庭的访谈调查

流动学前儿童家庭教育问题值得关注。本研究采用深度访谈、实地观察等研究方法,对已入园的流动学前儿童家庭教育进行了微观层面的研究。研究结果表明：流动学前儿童家庭在家庭教育意识、内容、方式、亲子互动和环境条件上存在多方面问题。在探讨这些问题存在的原因基础上,提出以下整改意见：家长需提高自身素质;幼儿园和社区应提供家教帮助和指导;政府应提供优惠政策和采取措施改善流动学前儿童生活环境,共同为流动学前儿童提供良好的家庭教育。     

Latino Mothers’ Responsiveness and Bilingual Language Development in Young Children from 24 to 36 Months

Early Childhood Education Journal - This longitudinal study examined the role maternal responsiveness had on shaping Spanish and English language development in bilingual 2-year-old children. Eight...     

农村家庭子女数量对家庭教育投资目的与期望的影响研究

选取农户家庭进行抽样问卷调查,进一步探讨农村家庭子女数量对农村家庭教育投资目的与期望的影响。结果表明：随着农村家庭子女数量的增多,农村家庭通过教育投资实现子女考上大学以及社会流动的愿望越迫切;子女少的家庭,受现代生育文化的影响,对子女的教育期望无性别偏好;而子女多的家庭,受传统生育文化潜移默化的影响,对子女的教育期望存在显著的性别差异。     

Technology in the Home and the Achievement of Young Children: Findings From the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study

Because technology in the home is becoming ever more available, understanding the role of technology in early childhood development is increasingly an opportunity and a concern for educators. This report examines data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, to provide an overview of the role of technology in the home and its impact on reading and math achievement in the early grades. The results show that access and use of technology influence children's academic achievement. Although the results show that having access to technology can contribute significantly to the achievement of young children, mere access is unlikely to be sufficient for all young children to benefit from technology in the home. Adults will need to mediate the use of these potential learning tools for children. Based on the findings of this report, policymakers should support increasing the availability of computers for low-income families and continue to discourage extensive viewing of TV, and researchers should focus on the specific methods that parents can enact to realize the learning potential of an increasingly ubiquitous resource: computers and the Internet in the home.     

Stress in Families of Young Children with Down Syndrome, Williams Syndrome, and Smith-Magenis Syndrome

This study examined whether stress levels differ in families of young children with three different genetic etiologies of mental retardation, and whether child characteristics associated with those genetic etiologies may help explain these differences. Participants were sixty families of young children with Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and Smith-Magenis syndrome. All children were between the ages of 3 and 10 years. Parents completed Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist, the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress-Friedrich edition, and a demographic questionnaire. Families of children with Down syndrome experienced significantly less Pessimism than the other two etiology groups and significantly less Parent and Family Problems than families of children with Smith-Magenis syndrome. The strongest predictor of Parent and Family Problems was maladaptive behavior in Smith-Magenis syndrome, younger age in Down syndrome, and both maladaptive behavior and younger age in Williams syndrome. Maladaptive behavior predicted Pessimism in families of children with Smith-Magenis syndrome, but none of the variables examined significantly predicted Pessimism in the other two syndromes. The importance of behavioral phenotype research is discussed for practitioners working with young children with mental retardation and their families.     

Family Predictors of Maternal and paternal Involvement in Programs for Young Children with Disabilities

The study of family variables has become increasingly critical in understanding outcomes typically considered program driven. Research linking family variables to parental involvement in early intervention programs for young children with disabilities is generally lacking. The purpose of this study was to determine the combined influence and predictive ability of family characteristics on maternal and paternal involvement in early intervention programs. Service providers rated mothers' and fathers' involvement in early intervention programs Mother and fathers completed a battery of self-report questionnaires related to a variety of constructs, such as family functioning, marital adjustment, social supports, stress, coping, and parental involvement. Structural equating modeling was used to test the predictive ability of family variables. Two different models were developed for mothers and fathers. Results indicated significant outcomes for both group, largely supporting the proposed model. The coping variable emerged as a significant predictor of maternal and paternal involvement as well as a mediator variable between family functioning and parental involvement.