Fatal child neglect: Characteristics,causation, and strategies for prevention

Research in child fatalities because of abuse and neglect has continued to increase, yet the mechanisms of the death incident and risk factors for these deaths remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the types of neglect that resulted in children's deaths as determined by child welfare and a child death review board. This case review study reviewed 22 years of data (n = 372) of child fatalities attributed solely to neglect taken from a larger sample (N = 754) of abuse and neglect death cases spanning the years 1987–2008. The file information reviewed was provided by the Oklahoma Child Death Review Board (CDRB) and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Children and Family Services. Variables of interest were child age, ethnicity, and birth order; parental age and ethnicity; cause of death as determined by child protective services (CPS); and involvement with DHS at the time of the fatal event. Three categories of fatal neglect – supervisory neglect, deprivation of needs, and medical neglect – were identified and analyzed. Results found an overwhelming presence of supervisory neglect in child neglect fatalities and indicated no significant differences between children living in rural and urban settings. Young children and male children comprised the majority of fatalities, and African American and Native American children were over-represented in the sample when compared to the state population. This study underscores the critical need for prevention and educational programming related to appropriate adult supervision and adequate safety measures to prevent a child's death because of neglect.     

‘People are suspicious of us’: a critical examination of father primary carers and English early childhood services

Positive father involvement and investment in the early years is of importance for children's later emotional, cognitive and social well‐being. This article critically examines the multiple motivations and barriers experienced by the growing number of father primary carers. The small‐scale research study presented suggests that for a ‘positive culture shift’ towards fathers in the UK to occur, early childhood services need to question the extent to which they are ‘father friendly’. Research suggests that policy initiatives such as a ‘Daddy month’ (found in Canada and most Nordic countries) may encourage much needed attitudinal shifts towards fathers by legitimising their caring activities. Other initiatives that encourage father primary carers in their role may include the recruitment of professional male early childhood workers.     

Using action research in middle level teacher education to evaluate and deepen reflective practice

The study examined the role of action research in promoting critical reflective thinking among twenty preservice teachers engaged in a year-long middle level program. Data from collaborative discussions, final written documents, presentations, and follow-up surveys revealed that conducting action research (a) engaged them in inquiry into their own practice, (b) was a means to reflect upon and determine ways to change their teaching practices, and (c) promoted critical reflection in a collaborative learning environment. Results underscore the importance of preservice teachers critically reflecting to gain insights into teaching and student learning as they are engaged in action research.     

Community violence exposure, social cognition, and aggression among urban elementary school children

The effects of witnessing community violence on aggressive cognitions and behavior were investigated in an ethnically diverse sample of 4,458 children living in urban neighborhoods. Prior violence exposure had a significant effect in increasing aggression, normative beliefs about aggression, and aggressive fantasy. Although exposure to violence predicted aggressive behavior both in Grades 1 through 3 (ages 5-8) and Grades 4 through 6 (ages 9-12), the effects on social cognition were only evident in the later grades. Furthermore, the effect of violence exposure on aggression in the later grades was partially mediated by its effect on social cognition. These findings suggest that witnessing community violence has an effect on children's aggressive behavior through both imitation of violence and the development of associated cognitions as children get older.     

The place of religion in public education

There is a legitimate place for genuine religious education within publicly supported schools in western pluralist democracies. The idea of the single common school is dead or dying in the densely populated parts of the western, English-speaking democracies. Once choice of school is conceded, then the religious school should be a central offering.Religion has a traditional place in most western democracies, eitherde jure orde facto. Further, there is evidence that religious adolescents make at least as good, and probably better, citizens than do those without religion.Finally, the idea of a consensually acceptable secular alternative based on high moral values is no longer tenable. Anything approaching a common school must be bound by minimal values not a high-level set, because there is simply no large set that is universally acceptable and agreed upon. In practice, urban, public schools serving heterogeneous clients rely heavily on exactly such a minimal set.