The Parent-Caregiver Relationship Scale: Rounding Out the Relationship System in Infant Child Care

The Parent-Caregiver Relationship Scale (PCRS) was developed and field tested as a measure of the perceived quality of the relationship between the parent and the child care provider (“caregiver”) of an infant or toddler. PCRS items were based on review of the parent-caregiver relations literature and interviews with parents and caregivers. The parent and caregiver forms of the scale were administered to 217 parents and caregivers in child care centers and family child care homes. Analysis of the scale and its psychometric properties resulted in potentially useful subscales with adequate reliability. The PCRS showed predicted correlations with other child care context variables, providing preliminary support for its validity. The PCRS shows promise as a relationship-level measure for studies of infants, parents, and caregivers in the context of full-time child care.     

Center-Based Evening Child Care: Implications for Young Children's Development

With increasing numbers of women joining the evening/nighttime workforce, there is a need for quality childcare during these hours. This project, conducted in Japan, sought to compare the effects of child day care, child evening care, and child night care on the development and adaptation of young children. Caregivers completed a survey on the childrearing environment at home, their feelings of self-efficacy, and the presence of support for childcare. Childcare professionals evaluated the development of children. The results of the discriminant analysis indicate that factors in the home environment, not type of center-based care, explained developmental variance.     

Infant Neurosensory Development: Considerations for Infant Child Care

Infant brain development is a dynamic process dependent upon endogenous and exogenous stimulation and a supportive environment. A critical period of brain and neurosensory development occurs during the third trimester and into the “fourth” trimester (first three months of life). Disruption, damage, or deprivation in the infant’s social and physical environment can create permanent deficits in the developing neurosensory systems. Implications for infant child care environments are discussed, and a review of quality and standards in infant child care environments leads to a call for improvements to optimize child development.     

Assessing Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care

Evaluating quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) service internationally is increasingly important. Research to date indicates that it is ‘high-quality’ programmes that boost and sustain children's achievement outcomes over time. There is also growing interest in the accountability of public funds used for ECEC programmes and the types of measures that assess ECEC quality. This article reviews eleven existing instruments that were designed to assess global ECEC programmes and examines them in terms of their strengths and weaknesses as quality measurement tools and the adequacy of the measures to sufficiently reflect the context and purposes of the assessment. Through this process the authors identify directions for the development of new measures that are both theoretically and psychometrically sound.     

Quality of Center Child Care and Infant Cognitive and Language Development

The relations between quality of center-based child care and infant cognitive and language development were examined in a sample of 79 African-American 12-month-old infants. Both structural and process measures of quality of child care were collected through interviews with the center director and observation of the infant classroom. Results indicated that quality of infant care positively correlated with scores on standardized assessments of cognitive development ( Bayley Scales of Infant Development ), language development (Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development), and communication skills (Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales). In addition, quality of care in child care centers and at home was positively related. Analyses that adjusted for this association between quality of care at home and in child care suggested that the process measure of quality of child care independently related to the infant's cognitive development, and one structural measure, the infant-adult ratio, independently related to the infant's overall communication skills. Neither child nor family factors was found to moderate the association between child care quality and infant development. These findings, in conjunction with the growing child care literature, suggest that researchers and policymakers should focus on how quality of child care can be improved to enhance, not impair, infant development.     

Infant Care: Evaluation of Pre-Care Differences Hypotheses

189 infants/toddlers and their parents were visited in their homes 2 weeks before starting an out-of-home care arrangement and followed every two weeks until 6 months after care had begun (or its equivalent for parent care groups). At the beginning of the study infant/toddlers ranged in age from 2 to 30 months. In this report, hypotheses examining the role of pre-care family characteristics in determining child care use and later child adjustment were evaluated. Discriminant function analyses reliably separated care type and age of entry groups using pre-care family and infant characteristics as predictors. There were no significant differences in child behavior problems (externalizing and internalizing behavior) as a function of care arrangement type experienced. Mother's pre-care parent stress (PSI parent domain subscale: attachment to child) predicted anxious/withdrawn behavior 6 months later. Aggressive/destructive behavior was related independently to mother's health status and parent stress (PSI parent domain subscale: sense of competence) as measured before out-of- home care was begun. Difficult temperament infants had more behavior problems of all types.     

Child Temperament and Total Diurnal Cortisol in Out-of-Home Center-Based Child Care and in At-Home Parental Care

The association between child temperament characteristics and total diurnal saliva cortisol in 84 children (M = 2.3 years, SD = 0.6) attending out-of-home, center-based child care and 79 children (M = 2.0 years, SD = 0.5) attending at-home parental care was examined. Saliva samples were collected during two consecutive days, that is, Sunday and Monday, with four samples taken per day. While children higher in surgency had higher total diurnal cortisol production, we did not find evidence that temperament moderated the associations between child-care context and total diurnal cortisol. Negative affectivity and effortful control were not related to cortisol output. Our findings suggest that temperamental surgency may be associated with higher total cortisol production in early childhood across child-care settings.     

Infant Care: Evaluation of Pre-Care Differences Hypotheses

189 infants/toddlers and their parents were visited in their homes 2 weeks before starting an out-of-home care arrangement and followed every two weeks until 6 months after care had begun (or its equivalent for parent care groups). At the beginning of the study infant/toddlers ranged in age from 2 to 30 months. In this report, hypotheses examining the role of pre-care family characteristics in determining child care use and later child adjustment were evaluated. Discriminant function analyses reliably separated care type and age of entry groups using pre-care family and infant characteristics as predictors. There were no significant differences in child behavior problems (externalizing and internalizing behavior) as a function of care arrangement type experienced. Mother's pre-care parent stress (PSI parent domain subscale: attachment to child) predicted anxious/withdrawn behavior 6 months later. Aggressive/destructive behavior was related independently to mother's health status and parent stress (PSI parent domain subscale: sense of competence) as measured before out-of- home care was begun. Difficult temperament infants had more behavior problems of all types.     

模糊综合评判模型在幼儿教育评价领域的运用——一种从分项评价到综合评价的计量模型

幼儿教育评价的理念、目的以及评价的方法技术日益科学合理。幼儿教育评价强调将分项评价与综合评价相结合,从分项评价到综合评价的数据处理,还需要把各单项评判结果合理地综合起来。模糊综合评判模型就是一种常见地用于计量最终测评结果的数学模型。     

A Scale for Assessing Counseling-Orientation Preferences

This article discusses the development, field test, and uses of the counseling-orientation scale (COS), a scale for assessing relative preferences for seven major counseling orientations. The procedures used to develop and validate the COS are presented. The COS field test and technical information such as reliability and normative data are then described. Finally, the field test results and uses of the COS are discussed.     

金猪瘦身

农历丁亥是猪年。圆滚滚,肥溜溜,憨态可掬的猪,体现了丰腴,象征着富裕。因此,人们对猪的印象颇好,进而有猪年出身的小孩富贵、吉祥、好养之说。许多年轻父母便千方百计把小孩的出生时间选在猪年。然而,膘肥肉厚的猪,也会令人食之口感不爽;也会导致血脂升高;甚至还会遭遇“注水”。于是,人们又强烈希望肥猪瘦身,以保证健康的饮食。同样,小孩过于肥胖,也会     

中芬幼儿园保育教育质量评估指南的比较与启示

全面提升保教质量是我国新时代学前教育发展的政策导向和重点要求,而有效评估保教质量是提升工作的重要环节。分析和比较中国《幼儿园保育教育质量评估指南》与芬兰《早期教育与保育评估指南与建议》的异同,发现两国保教质量评估体现出相同的教育与评估理念、原则和方式,芬兰侧重于系统的评估组织架构和多元角色的参与。我国应完善国家学前教育监测系统、建立地方管理系统、重视多种角色合作。     

Student Performance in Research Methods Classes: Assessing the Predictive Validity of the DRAMA Scale

A recent study appearing in this journal argued that student anxiety concerning research methods classes in criminology and criminal justice is characterized by three separate but related concepts: Disinterest, Relevance Argumentation, and Math Anxiety (DRAMA). The current study extends the previous work by presenting a modified version of the DRAMA scale and assessing its ability to predict student performance among a sample of students enrolled in an introductory research methods class at a university located in the southeastern United States. In support of the main hypothesis, the composite DRAMA scale was a significant, negative predictor of student grades. Subsequent analysis indicated that the effect of DRAMA was largely the result of the Math Anxiety subscale.     

Assessing ADHD Symptoms in Preschool Children: Use of the ADHD Symptoms Rating Scale

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood disorder that is typically diagnosed during the school years, although features of the disorder can be identified in early childhood. As more children enter into preschool programs, there are increasing opportunities for professionals to identify and treat ADHD prior to school entry. This may increase the likelihood that children will have successful academic and social experiences. Unfortunately, diagnosing ADHD in preschoolers is difficult, in part because few assessment instruments are designed and validated for this age group. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric and normative properties of the ADHD-Symptoms Rating Scale (ADHD-SRS) in preschool children. Results shed light on normative levels of ADHD behaviors in preschool children and suggest that preschoolers may present with a somewhat different symptom pattern than school-age children. Further, findings reveal that parents are more likely to endorse ADHD symptoms in their children than are teachers. Given this disparity, the current data emphasize the need for cross-informant assessment in the preschool population.     

Can Quality of Family Day Care Provision in England Be Assessed Accurately Using the Family Day Care Rating Scale? A report on reliability

The Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS; Harms & Clifford, 1989) was developed in the USA. The scale attempts to define quality in family day care for pre‐schoolers and to provide a standardised way of assessing it. The FDCRS has been shown to have good reliability and validity in the USA and Canada. However, the rating scale has never been used to assess quality of family day care in the UK. This paper describes data collected from 104 family day care providers (childminders) in England using the FDCRS. It reports on the internal consistency of the FDCRS subscales and the validity of aggregating the subscales to derive one single measure of quality. Analyses suggest that the scale may provide a useful global measure of quality. However, not all subscales yielded good internal consistency. Recommendations are made as to how the FDCRS could be modified for effective use as a research tool in England.     

The Effects of Infant Child Care on Infant-Mother Attachment Security: Results of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care NICHD Early Child Care Research Network

The aims of this investigation were to determine whether Strange Situation attachment classifications were equally valid for infants with and without extensive child-care experience in the first year of life and whether early Child Care experience, alone or in combination with mother/child factors, was associated with attachment security, and specifically with insecure-avoidant attachment. Participants were 1,153 infants and their mothers at the 10 sites of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Mother were interviewed, given questionnairies, and observed in play and in the home when their infants were from 1 to 15 months of age; infants were observed in child care at 6 and 15 months and in the Strange Situation at 15 months. Infants with extensive Child Care experience did not differ from infants without child-care in the distress they exhibited during separations from mother in the Strange situation or in the confidence with which trained coders assigned them attachment classifications. There were no significant main effects of Child Care experience (quality, amount, age of entry, stability, or type of care) on attachment security or avoidance. There were, however, significant man effects of maternal sensitivity and responsiveness. Significant interaction effects revealed that infants were less likely to be secure when low maternal sensitivity/responsiveness was combined with poor quality child care, more than minimal amounts of child care, or more than one care arrangement. In addition, boys experiencing many hours in care and girls in minimal amounts of care were somewhat less likely to be securely attachment.     

Assessing Marital Conflict from the Child''s Perspective: The Children''s Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale

Guided by Grych and Fincham's theoretical framework for investigating the relation between interparental conflict and child adjustment, a questionnaire was developed to assess children's views of several aspects of marital conflict. The Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPIC) was initially examined in a sample of 222 9-12-year-old children, and results were cross-validated in a second sample of 144 similarly aged children. 3 factor analytically derived subscales (Conflict Properties, Threat, Self-Blame) demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The validity of the Conflict Properties scale was supported by significant relations with parent reports of conflict and indices of child adjustment; the Threat and Self-Blame scales correlated with children's responses to specific conflict vignettes. The CPIC thus appears to be a promising instrument for assessing perceived marital conflict, and several issues regarding its interpretation are discussed.     

我国高等教育发展：规模与质量

在大众高等教育阶段,高等教育分化为高低不同的层次,要有适合不同层次教育的质量标准,不能以精英型高等教育的质量标准或某一种统一的质量标准衡量全部高等教育。处于不同层次的、适合不同质量观和质量评价标准的高等教育机构之间,教育目标不同,教育要求不同,在教育水平、教学质量、教学效果甚至学生质量等方面,都不存在可比性。无论处于高等教育的哪一个层次,只要教学活动能体现其教育价值观,实现其教育目的,就是高水平的教育、高质量的教学和高质量的学生。当前我国大众型高等教育机构面临的真正问题,不是学生整体质量相对于精英阶段明显下降,而是要根据适合自己学生实际需求的质量观制定有别于精英高等教育质量观的质量标准。