Nutrition and Physical Activity Practices in Childcare Centers Versus Family Childcare Homes

Obesity rates among preschool-aged children have doubled in the past 10 years, and 60 % of these children spend the majority of their day in childcare facilities. Few studies have examined the quality of nutrition and physical activity practices in childcare centers as compared to family childcare homes. The purpose of this study is to determine if a pattern of differences exist in these two settings. As part of a CDC-funded study to reduce the obesity epidemic in young children, directors of 1,140 childcare facilities (842 out-of-home and 298 in-home) in one large county completed a survey that detailed their practices related to child nutrition and physical activity. Results showed that compared with out-of-home facilities, in-home facilities were more likely to report excellent indoor physical activity (87.2 vs. 85.5 %, p = 0.059), less likely to report excellent outdoor physical activity (92.8 vs. 96.5 %, p = 0.018), more likely to serve fruit (80.3 vs. 51.2 %), and less likely to serve 1 % milk (45.2 vs. 55 %). This study’s present findings revealed that ample opportunity exists to significantly improve the health of young children in both in-home and out-of-home facilities.     

日本保育政策改革的新进展:基于对《保育所保育指针》第四次修订的分析

《保育所保育指针》是日本保育工作中必须遵循的重要法规。截止到2018年4月,日本对《保育所保育指针》已进行了四次修订,它的每一次修订都反映了所处历史时期日本保育政策改革的新方向。从历史的视角分析《保育所保育指针》四次修订过程,梳理五十年来日本保育政策改革的特点,特别是以第四次的修订内容为核心,考察日本保育政策改革的新进展,可以发现其特征主要包括:为保障全体幼儿入学前的基本素质,制定了幼儿期应培养的核心素质与能力的目标;启动0~3岁婴幼儿教育,实现0~6岁全程"幼小衔接"的教育变革;为全面提升社区婴幼儿的保教质量,发挥保育所在社区育儿中的支援功能;完善职员研修制度,促进保育士的专业化发展。     

Childcare,children and capability

Empirical research focused on women studying childcare in an English further education college found the participants strangely contented despite demanding lifestyles. They were intent on integrating their family, work and educational commitments rather than actively seeking future gain, an understanding that led to the development of an original model of integrated lives, later recast as an example of a capability set. This paper describes how Sen’s capability approach was customized to make further sense of the empirical findings, and, in particular, how common interview themes were developed into capability indicators and grouped into capability chains to enable comparison between otherwise disparate narrative accounts. The women’s biographies emphasize the importance of fostering early capability in young children and reveal how, frequently, this is overlooked. The paper argues that educational policy should accord people the freedom to choose their own lives before reiterating how the capability approach can support such choices.     

Quality Childcare and Joint Attention

This study examined the experiences of infants and toddlers in New Zealand child care centres to evaluate whether they provided opportunities for learning in the context of shared attention. One hundred childcare centres througough New Zealand comprised the centre sample. Running records were carried out on 200 under 2‐year‐old children (99 boys and 101 girls, two children from each centre) for 20 minutes each. Two hundred and thirty six episodes of sustained joint attention were observed during running records, most commonly during object/toy related play, but also at a relatively high level during caregiving routines, book/picture related activities, messy creative activities and large motor play. A third of all children in the study participated in no joint attention episodes at all. Just over half (51.3%) of episodes were child‐initiated and just under half were adult‐initiated. Centres with no joint attention episodes scored significantly lower on the Assessment Profile Infant Score and centres with smaller group sizes and some Diploma level trained staff had more episodes of joint attention. Qualitative data provided evidence of staff sensitivity and responsiveness, close relationships between staff and children, reciprocity between staff and child, the central importance of language and shared meaning and the richness of joint attention episodes as a context for learning.     

Immigrants Families and Childcare Preferences: Do Immigrants’ Cultures Influence Their Childcare Decisions?

The author examines childcare preferences of African immigrant parents living in the United States. Based on interviews with eighteen parents with preschool-aged children and working within Bryman, Lewis-Beck, and Liao’s (2004) narrative inquiry, the author demonstrates that although many of the African immigrants surveyed for the study preferred family members to take care of their children in their own homes to instill African cultural identity in their children, the majority of their children were in childcare centers. The author demonstrates further that although putting children in childcare centers is not their topmost choice, in spite of their precarious financial situation, and despite the high cost of putting children in childcare centers, the immigrants were still happy to put their children in childcare centers because of their busy schedules. The immigrants’ collective nature of child upbringing contributed to their choice. The author recommends that centers must take the immigrants’ culture into consideration during their operations.     

母亲的文化程度与母亲对幼儿的关注程度的调查研究

本研究采用个别访谈方法对北京海淀区六所幼儿园的60名大班幼儿的母亲进行了访谈，访谈的内容有：（1）母亲对孩子目前在幼儿园的表现满意程度；（2）母亲对幼儿上小学的潜力估计；（3）母亲对幼儿六种 能力的估计；（4）母亲对幼儿的两种个性品质－－毅力和动机的评价；（5）母亲给孩子购买学习资料的情况；（6）母亲对幼儿知识来源的评估。我们按照被访谈母亲的化程度差异，将被调查的母亲分为三类。结果发现：（1）化程度不同的三类母亲对幼儿目前在幼儿园的表现满意程度没有差异。（2）三类母亲对孩子的能力评估差异显。（3）三类母亲给孩子购买学习资料方面差异显。（4）三类母亲对幼儿坚持做一件事的毅力评估得分差异显。     

Assessment of Early Childcare Programs in Jordan

Research Findings: Forty-five child caregivers and 120 parents participated in this study to examine perceptions of childcare programs in Jordan. The researchers developed a questionnaire that consisted of 6 dimensions: health, education, parent–caregiver relationship, facilities, building/landscape, and playground. Moreover, interviews with 10 child caregivers and 20 parents were conducted. Results indicated that child caregivers expressed moderate satisfaction with the programs. In contrast, parents expressed lower satisfaction with the childcare programs. The results also revealed that caregivers and parents perceived the playground area as effective but found health and the parent–caregiver relationship ineffective. Practice or Policy: This study highlights the need to supervise childcare programs effectively and the importance of fostering a strong partnership between child caregivers and parents.     

幼儿园保育员专业化成长的策略浅析

幼儿园保育员专业化成长的策略应把握三点，即重新认识保育内涵，形成保育新理念：完善的园本培训体系，提高保育员业务素质；建立科学的评估体系，加强管理力度。     

Promoting Positive Social Development in Family Childcare Settings

The quality of experiences in childcare has significant, lasting impact on children&s social development. With the growing number of young children being served in family childcare settings, it is imperative that the care provides a quality environment that nurtures children&s social development. Empirically supported interventions that specifically target family childcare, however, are lacking. The development and evaluation of a video-based program aimed at training family childcare providers in setting up their childcare environment to promote social development in young children is described. Forty-two family childcare providers were randomly assigned to an intervention group and a wait-list control group. A majority of the participants felt they learned some to very much new, practical information and said they found the interactive discussions particularly helpful. This study illustrates the feasibility of doing training and evaluation research in family childcare settings.     

A Cultural Perspective on Professional Beliefs of Childcare Teachers

Preschool is an institution for cultural preservation, which responds to social change. Guided by this assumption, this study used a recent video of Chinese preschool in conjunction with the questionnaire from Preschool in Three Cultures, a study by Joseph Tobin and his colleagues in the 1980s, to examine the cultural and professional beliefs of three groups of U.S. early childhood educators (preservice, inservice non-Head Start, and inservice Head Start). We examined participants’ cultural beliefs, critical comments on the preschool, and group differences in their comments. Results show that participants’ beliefs about necessary qualities for a teacher remained stable from the 1980s in the U.S. But a shift occurred in beliefs about why society needs preschools. More education and longer employment were linked significantly to more critical comments of Chinese practice. There was a marked difference in professional and cultural beliefs by educators’ group affiliations.

Promoting Early Literacy Through Professional Development For Childcare Providers

This study investigated the potential benefits of offering childcare providers professional development to promote preliteracy skills in young children. It was hypothesized that direct instruction to providers, through rigorous training and mentorship, would increase children's opportunities for reading success and thus, enhance their preliteracy skills. The BUILDING BLOCKS for Literacy program followed recommendations made by the National Research Council, which included shared book reading, phonological awareness, and relationships between speech and print. Sixty-seven providers from 44 settings were trained and mentored over six months. Preliteracy skills of 88 children from those settings were assessed before and after the training. A control group of children was also assessed during the same time frame. Results demonstrated that target children showed significantly greater preliteracy gains than did controls. More importantly, a larger proportion of target children rose from below to above a level considered at risk for reading failure. Implications and recommendations are discussed.     

The Role of Family Childcare Providers in Early Intervention

In family childcare, the program of services is situated within in the providers' own homes. The purpose of this inquiry is to review the literature from special education in light of current practices in family childcare. In addition, key characteristics unique to the provider's care giving program will be examined in relation to the needs of children with disabilities and their families. Finally, recommendations for establishing coordinated efforts among professional support systems and providers on behalf of such children will be defended.     

依托社区的家庭互助式托育模式初探

随着全面二孩政策的实施,婴幼儿托育服务需求日益增长。而当前我国学前教育的工作重心还是提升幼儿入园率,各类托育服务机构的发展和服务还远远无法满足家庭的托育需求。在分析各类托育模式发展面临状况的基础上,提出依托社区的家庭互助式托育模式,以解决当前托育服务的困境。家庭、社区及政府在该模式中扮演不同的角色,共同支撑家庭互助式托育模式,形成一个完整的托育系统。该模式具有互助性、便利性、可及性及自主性的鲜明特性。但依托社区的家庭互助式托育模式还需要从服务水平、质量监管、政策资金及服务宣传等方面拓展发展路径。     

Quality Management Procedures Influence the Food Safety Practices at Childcare Centers

Childcare in the United States (US) has become a necessary part of life for most working parents with the increased use of center-based childcare over the past three decades. Approximately 13 million preschoolers attend some form of childcare. Literature indicates the main predictors of quality childcare programs are adequate experience and specialized training of childcare staff. A growing concern among researchers, however, is the limited training among childcare professionals in the area of food safety. Children have minimal control of food safety risks because other people prepare their meals. A questionnaire was developed and mailed to childcare center directors in Texas and Iowa to identify the demographic, food safety and other practices that influence the training and decisions made by childcare center directors. Results indicate the need of continual management and food safety training for both directors and staff in order to provide a safe environment for young children.     

论日本保育思想的形成、发展及其现状

近代以来,日本的保育事业逐步发展,保育思想也不断发展。今天其《幼儿园教育要领》和《保育所保育指针》的基本思想,就是重视孩子自身的各种感受,重视孩子的嬉戏和生活体验。从"健康"、"人际关系"、"环境"、"语言"和"表现"五个领域规定了比较具体的目标和内容,以确保孩子在各个方面都能够"体验"、"感受"和"享受"各种各样的事情。嬉戏作为孩子的自发的活动,是培养其身心协调发展的基础的重要的学习。日本学前教育机构的工作就是从五个领域指导孩子通过嬉戏和生活体验逐步形成生存的基础,逐步为生存能力的形成奠定基础。