A preliminary description of nonschool-based friendship in young high-risk children

This study explored friendships in a sample of 51 high-risk preschool-aged children. Thirty-eight children were placed in foster care (25 placed with their siblings and 13 separated from their siblings). Thirteen children, receiving preventive services, were living at home with their biological parents and siblings. Chi-square, ANOVA, and paired t-tests were used to test for between-group and within-subject differences in the target children's friendships. The results demonstrated that the majority of the high-risk children had a “best friend.” However, the foster children all had friends who could be described as quasi-siblings. The results suggest that foster care placement and the presence of siblings may influence the nature of a child's interactions with nonrelated peers.     

FACT — Families and children together

Following is a project sketch of a day program for adjudicated, abusive^* and high risk families with babies 8–18 months of age.In order to broaden understanding and treatment of the battered child, four major agencies coordinated efforts to design a network of services under one administration, titled the Parental Stress Center, which houses a residential treatment center for babies 0–12 months. The FACT program is a very recent addition to the Parental Stress Center. This day program may be a transitional placement for families leaving the residential program but in need of continued support and further training, or an initial placement by court mandate.The goals of the program are to insure growth and development of the child and the parent; to assist in establishing more scientific and legally acceptable criteria for court determination and disposition, and to research the effectiveness of the program plan.The FACT program is both diagnostic and therapeutic in nature. The modality simulates a home environment — living, dining, play, nursery, kitchen and bathroom — with an interdisciplinary approach to parent and child, alleviating frustration and stress. By use of materials and affective behavior, a creative learning environment is established. In the church converted apartment parents and children experience a “typical” day's routine alongside teachers who are surrogate, model mothers. Each set of parents are given one day off per week. This “normalizing” factor aids the family in developing a routine which can easily be transferred to their own homes and lives. Simultaneously judicious use of social services helps remove environmental frustrations. In addition case conferences allow other ancillary services to assist in evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis and implementation. Joint conclusions are submitted to the courts quarterly or biannually for further jurisdiction. Although the program is relatively new, emotional and behavioral changes are quite evident in the initial program participants.Pre-service and in-service staff training, based on the program plan and program evaluation, are an integral part of the program.Areas are being explored for further in-depth study. “Effective ways to care for and educate stressful toddlers” or “Methods of transferring modes of parenting from institution to the home” could be areas proposed to the Parental Research team for exploration.     

Reading Between The Pixels: Parent-Child Interaction While Reading Online Storybooks

To examine whether parent-child reading of online storybooks might elicit the same sorts of interaction that have been observed for joint reading of traditional books, an exploratory study was conducted with seven parent-child dyads. Each dyad was observed while reading two online storybooks that presented branching stories that incorporated “choice points” at which readers chose the path that the story would follow. Results indicated that parents and children engaged in many of the same behaviors found in past literature involving traditional storybooks, and that utterances involved similar levels of abstraction. When choice points were reached in the stories, it was typically the preschool children who selected the path that the story would take, either by themselves or with their parents. In this way, children not only saw and heard the stories, but also helped to determine the course of events, with implications for emergent literacy.     

A training technique for improving the parent-child interaction skills of an abusive-neglectful mother

Several recent investigations have shown that abusive and neglectful parents exhibit deficits in skills for interacting with their children. In the current study, an inattentive and neglectful parent was taught to provide positive verbal and physical attention towards her 4-year-old child. Training was accomplished using a “bug-in-the-ear” microphone device while the parent interacted with her child in a clinic playroom. After use of the device was discontinued, the parent continued to use the newly trained skills at rates higher than during baseline. Four month follow-up and at home observations were suggestive of skill maintenance. Training of this kind may prove useful for parents who lack skills for effective interaction with their children.     

Parents’ and teachers’ beliefs about children’s school readiness in a high-need community

This study compared the beliefs of preschool teachers, kindergarten teachers, and parents in one mostly Hispanic and Black high-need urban school district to learn their views of what children should know and be able to do at kindergarten entry. Beliefs regarding the importance of 12 school readiness “resources” were assessed with the CARES survey designed for this study. Parents held remarkably similar beliefs, regardless of ethnicity or education. Parents and teachers also agreed that children must be healthy and socially competent, and be able to comply with teacher authority, although parents rated this latter resource higher. However, parents rated all classroom-related readiness resources as more important than teachers did. They believed it was necessary for a child to be able to communicate in English and to have basic knowledge and skills, which was more important than a child’s approach to learning. Preschool teachers also believed that knowledge was more important than kindergarten teachers did. Directions for further research and implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Neglected fathers: Limitations in diagnostic and treatment resources for violent men

In its examination of violent activity within the family, current literature assumes a “pecking order” exists: Larger and stronger family members attack those who are smaller and weaker. Adult males are usually studied as primary maltreaters of spouses, while females are considered mainly responsible for physically abusive behavior with children. Use of this perspective has led to neglect of male abusers, who injure half of the mistreated children in the United States. Through assessment of 66 studies of child abuse published during a 5-year period, this paper documents the lack of attention abusive fathers have received. Twenty-eight of these studies included only mothers, while two dealt exclusively with fathers. Most of the 36 remaining two-parent studies did not discuss sex differences. No diagnostic categories consistently differentiated male from female abusers. No study discussed specialized treatment needs of women and men. This survey suggests that the therapeutic field considers the child's mother the primary responsible parent, even though she may not be the perpetrator of violence in the family. As a result, inadequate treatment resources have been made available to maltreating fathers. The survey points to the need for much more comprehensive research comparing male and female maltreaters.     

The influence of model infant—toddler group care on parent-child interaction at home

The effects of day care participation on parent-child interaction at home were assessed using a university-based, half-day model infant—toddler program. Hypotheses concerned whether “child-centered” features of the physical and social environment were carried over by parents to the home. Nineteen matched pairs of center and noncenter children (ages 2 to 24 months at start) were followed for 8 months. All had employed student mothers. Methods included brief parent-reported “spot” observations, a videotaped observation of a bathing or feeding routine, and home environment assessments. Parents showed few group differences during the first half of the study period. At study end, however, center homes were more child-centered with respect to play, safety, and dinner arrangements. Center parents scored higher in proximity and warmth and lower in “teacher-avoided” behaviors. Noncenter parents at study end scored higher in authority (limit setting) and communicating values and labels. The findings are interpreted as supporting an ecological model of substantial intersection and cross-influence between home and day care settings.     

Tests, test scores and teachers of young children: Reflections on two case studies

Meet Melanie. She's a first-grader who's just taken her first standardized test. Melanie is a bright and happy child; but she's just been branded “below average” by the people who make tests--because she didn't feel well the morning of the test and it was hard to concentrate. … Yesterday, a bright child. Today, “below average.” (NEA, 1980)     

Circle house residential treatment program

In summary, the Circle House Residential Treatment Program for abusive families did meet its goals of protection of the child without separation from the family. The program was also effective in making and executing permanent plans for children in a relatively short period of time, but at huge financial cost.Residential care tor abusive families may be feasible if planned for 12–18 families at a time, thus utilizing staff fully. Also, in the Circle House program the single-parent families were clearly able to utilize the program to deal with their child-care techniques. Because the program was primarily geared to improving child-rearing patterns, some fathers in two-parent families, who viewed themselves as only occasional disciplinarians, never really participated in the program. Some were successful in learning new techniques, others were not.Residential care may also be more feasible if utilized as a diagnostic and prognostic facility with enhanced opportunity for long-term relationships to be formed, rather than as a primarily treatment facility, with the expectation of improvement and “cure.” Treatment of abusive families then becomes long-term supportive care no matter how intense the initial intervention. Even with the multitude of services of Circle House at the beginning phase of diagnosis and treatment of a family, this does not reduce or remove the need for ongoing long-term services. The true results of present intervention will be measured in future generations.     

Counselling migrant persons concerning their children

Five groups of Greek migrant children 8–10 years old, living with or without their parents in Greece and Germany, were compared to a control group on: a) A behavioural questionnaire concerning child's behaviour on different spheres of life and b) A parents/caretakers' attitudes questionnaire concerning child's behaviour.Results showed that the most high risk children according to their parents/caretakers judgement are those who have recently moved to join their parents in Germany followed by the children who have always lived in Germany with their parents. Children who have recently moved to Greece with or without their parents appear to have less difficulties across the same variables.Results from the attitudes questionnaire showed that problems identified in children of the return group seem to be connected with parental attitudes which is not the case for the other groups. Within this context a framework for counsel ling is proposed.     

浅析儿童英语教学

儿童英语教学已成为当今英语教学和研究的热点和重点,也是学校、老师和家长关心的焦点。教师搞好儿童英语教学应遵循儿童英语教学的原则,同时在教学中要使用行之有效的方法。     

Treating abused children: Some clinical and research aspects of work carried out by the national advisory centre of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in the United Kingdom

A study of the initial phase of intensive work with families indicated that whilst outreach techniques had dramatically reduced physical injury there was long-term distortion in the child's relationship with mother (parent) less amenable to change. The most recent phase of work has concentrated on direct treatment for the abused child, using a multidisciplinary team that includes a play specialist and child psychotherapist in addition to the social workers involved. Out of a total number of 66 children seen between April 1977 and December 1979 it was alarming to find that almost all were emotionally disturbed; even if the abuse did not reoccur they remained with considerable problems. The study highlights the degree of emotional disturbance suffered by these abused children and how they can be helped by focusing on their particular treatment needs. It is important to assess all children in the family situation and not to miss the quiet, depressed, withdrawn child who might not have been the subject of the initial referral. In some instances the needs of the child may outweigh those of the family and the focus of treatment must be on the child.     

Prospective classroom teachers’ metaphorical images of selves and comparing them to those they have of their elementary and cooperating teachers

Currently, it is strongly suggested that our thought processes are largely metaphorical in nature. Indeed, the metaphors we use not only represent the way we perceive the world and reality but also shape our professional ideas, attitudes, and practices. This study employs metaphor as a means of research to provide insights into the images prospective classroom teachers have of themselves as future teachers (i.e., professional self-images), their elementary teachers (i.e., former classroom teachers), and their cooperating teachers (i.e., supervisors of student teaching practices). Data for this study were gathered through the administration of a Likert-style questionnaire consisting of 20 metaphorical images of “classroom teacher” to 363 exit level elementary teacher education students enrolled in the Faculty of Education of Selcuk University in Turkey during the 2002–2003 academic year. Results indicate that the teacher candidates in this study appear to be less teacher-centered and more student-centered than their both elementary and cooperating teachers. Also, female teacher candidates appear to be less teacher-centered and more student-centered than their male peers. Implications for preservice teacher education and further research are discussed.     

Tasks and activities. A parent-child interaction analysis

The present study is framed within an ecological and sociocultural approach to interaction. It intends to answer three main questions: (a) Is there any influence of the content of the task on the interactions engaged in by parents and children? (b) Does any cross-situational consistency exist despite the contextual influences? (c) Can different activities be developed with the same task? With these questions in mind, we studied sixty-eight 22 month-old children interacting at home with their parents on three different tasks: constructing a figure, reading a picture book and playing with household objects. Our data confirm, first, the influence of the task itself: parents modify their behaviour adapting themselves to the demands of different tasks. Secondly, they confirm the existence of a certain cross-situational consistency among those tasks that share common characteristics. This consistency is probably related to the fact that parents transfer the same way of understanding interactions to the different situations in which they take place. This leads to different parent-child interaction styles. These styles reflect the parents' different sensitivity to children's actual and potential competence levels. It is argued that these differences are related to the way in which parents interpret the meaning of the task and the roles of those interacting. It is also postulated that the diversity in styles is related to the different “zone of proximal development perceived” in the children.     

Correspondence between maternal and paternal parenting styles in early childhood

The goal of the present study was to investigate perceived similarities and differences in parenting styles between mothers and fathers in the same family. The 56 parents of 28 preschool children independently completed the parenting styles and dimensions questionnaire (PSDQ) [Robinson, C. C., Mandleco, B., Frost Olsen, S., & Hart, C. H. (2001). The parenting styles and dimensions questionnaire (PSDQ). In B. F. Perlmutter, J. Touliatos, & G. W. Holden (Eds.), Handbook of family measurement techniques. Vol. 2: Instruments and index (p. 190). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage]. Results reveal only modest similarity in parenting styles used by two parents within the same home. Permissive (and to a lesser extent, authoritarian) parenting was somewhat positively associated across parents but no cross-informant association was found for authoritative parenting. Fathers perceive their spouses to be more authoritative, more permissive, and less authoritarian than themselves, whereas mothers only perceive themselves to be more authoritative than fathers. Parents who share similar parenting styles are more accurate at reporting on their spouses’ parenting styles than are parents with differing styles. Correspondence in parenting style across both parents in the home is important as are parental perceptions of similarity and differences in styles. Independent assessment of both mother's and father's parenting styles, and each parent's perception of their spouse's parenting appears needed in research and practical settings.     

Social understanding in the first years of school

This study focused on the nature of interpersonal understanding in 4- and 5-year-olds. Early childhood constitutes a critical transition period during which children become able to understand their own and others’ “inner world” as it relates to actions. A neo-Piagetian theoretical and analytic framework was used to study children’s understandings of interpersonal dynamics in the classroom context and their conceptions of roles and intentions of peers and teachers. Forty-two children responded to eight tasks that were designed to elicit their conceptions of peer and teacher intentions. These tasks were in the form of picture stories focused on nurturance, care, protection, and teaching events, followed by a semi-structured interview. Children also engaged in the “classroom model activity”; this activity focused on children’s understandings of their own and others’ social relationships and activities in the classroom. Hierarchical regression analyses showed level of understanding of others’ intentions to be a significant predictor of ability to analyze classroom experiences, and increased prediction with the addition of an interaction term for intentional understanding and use of verbs of intention.     

Education returns of wage earners and self-employed workers: Response

This is a response to [Jordahl, H., Poutvaara, P., & Tuomala, J. (2009). Comment on education returns of wage earners and self-employed workers. Economics of Education Review 28]. We acknowledge that econometrics have improved since the time our original paper was written, so that the choice of accurate instruments is now more deeply founded. However, in this note, we argue that the differences in the estimates obtained by Jordahl et al. (2009) has been generated not only because the “sensibility of HT estimators to the choice of instrumental variables”, but also to the estimation metholology followed by them, in which rarely changing variables are considered to be time-varying.