Functional outcomes of maltreated children and adolescents in a community-based rehabilitation program in Brazil: Six-month improvement and baseline predictors

This study sought to implement outcomes monitoring and to review outcome data from a community-based rehabilitation program for maltreated children and adolescents in São Paulo, Brazil. Maltreated children and adolescents (N = 452) were enrolled in The Equilibrium Program (TEP), a multidisciplinary community-based rehabilitation program. About half (n = 230) of the participants were successfully evaluated using the Children's Global Assessment Scale (C-GAS) at entry, 3, and/or 6 months later. Analysis of outcomes used hierarchical linear modeling of functional change from baseline. With a baseline C-GAS score of 51.7 (SD = 14.22), average improvement was 2.8 and 5.5 points at 3 and 6 months, respectively (reflecting small to moderate effect sizes = 0.20 and 0.39). Improvement was associated with Problems related to upbringing (p < .02) at entry and absence of Physical abuse (p < .05) and Negative life events in childhood (p < .05) but was not associated with sociodemographics or any specific psychiatric diagnosis. This study showed that outcomes monitoring is feasible in a community-based program in a developing country. Although there was no untreated control group for comparison and specific evidence-based treatments were not used, it is notable that significant improvement, with small to moderate effect size, was observed.     

Critically reflective dialogues in learning communities of professionals

Communities in which professionals share and create knowledge potentially support their continued learning. To realise this potential more fully, members are required to reflect critically. For learning at work such behaviour has been described as critically reflective work behaviour, consisting of six aspects: challenging groupthink, critical opinion sharing, an openness about mistakes, asking for and giving feedback, experimentation and research utilisation. We studied whether and how these aspects can be distinguished in dialogues of seven different communities of veterinary professionals (critically reflective dialogues). Our exploration of the nature of critically reflective dialogues resulted in an analytical framework. Within each aspect four different modes of communication were identified: interactive, on an individual basis, non-reflective and restricted. We assume that professionals use learning opportunities most in the interactive mode of communication. The framework was employed to study the extent to which dialogues showed these modes of critically reflective dialogues. The results demonstrate that in these communities the modes of communication within aspects were largely non-interactive (i.e., individual, non-reflective). The developed framework discriminates between communities in terms of their critically reflective dialogues. Interventions to improve the effectiveness of learning communities should focus on enhancement of members addressing each other's reasons and reflections.     

Family,child and location factors and parents’ reasons for multiple concurrent childcare arrangements in the years before school in Australia

Research suggests that multiple non-parental care arrangements may have adverse effects on young children, yet little is known about their prevalence, factors associated with their use, or parents’ reasons for making these care arrangements. This longitudinal study reports on 677 children and their families recruited from government-regulated child care centers and family child care services in urban and rural New South Wales, Australia. Multiple concurrent care arrangements were relatively common, with one third of children attending at least two child care arrangements per week. Multiple child care was found to be more likely for children who were older, with better health, or with employed mothers, and who were living in rural rather than urban areas. Results suggest that parents’ reasons for using multiple care arrangements were based largely based on preferences that were made in the best interests of the child and on convenience. The deliberate choice by parents to use multiple child care arrangements to benefit their child challenges the assumption in previous literature that mixed care is not the parents’ first choice.     

Implementing an integrated pest management (IPM) program in child care centers: A qualitative study

Pesticide use in and around child care centers is a potential health threat to children and staff. The implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) can reduce these risks yet child care providers receive minimal, if any, education concerning pest management. The objectives of this qualitative study are to: (a) develop a model to describe the process of implementing an IPM program in child care centers, (b) identify the facilitators and barriers to implementing an IPM program in child care centers, and (c) examine congruence between IPM practices identified on an IPM checklist with practices reported in qualitative interviews with child care managers. Interviews and IPM checklist observations were conducted with nine child care center managers in California before and after the introduction of a pilot IPM education intervention program. The qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed a four-stage IPM implementation process, from awareness of IPM, recognizing the importance of IPM and learning how to practice it, motivation and the decision to adopt IPM, to the implementation of IPM. A wide range of facilitators and barriers were identified. There was general congruence between the manager interviews and IPM checklist findings on IPM policies, practices, and management. Understanding the process of how an IPM program was implemented in these child care centers and the facilitators and barriers involved in the process can inform planning efforts for future health interventions in child care.     

The quality of toddler child care and cognitive skills at 24 months: Propensity score analysis results from the ECLS-B

Over half of the toddlers in the US experience routine nonparental care, but much less is known about early care than about preschool care. This study analyzed 2-year-old child care and child outcome data from the nationally representative ECLS-B sample of children born in 2001. At two-years of age, 51% of children experienced exclusive parental care, 18% relative care, 15% family child care, and 16% center care. More children in nonparental care were in medium quality care (61%) than in high quality (26%) or low quality (13%) care. Low-income children were more likely than non-low income children to be cared for by their parents and, when in care, were more often in lower quality care. The impact of toddler care quality on cognitive skills was estimated using propensity score adjustments to account for potential selection confounds due to family and child characteristics. Children's cognitive scores were higher in high or medium quality care than in low quality care, but no evidence emerged suggesting that poverty moderated the quality effects. Nevertheless, this suggests that increasing the proportion of low-income children in high quality care could reduce the achievement gap because low-income children are very unlikely to experience high quality care.     

Teachers' care in higher education: contesting gendered constructions

There is little research on care in higher education, and yet for many of those who teach in higher education institutions, care is an important part of their work. Care in the compulsory education sector has traditionally been linked to the feminine, and this paper considers whether this is also the case in higher education. It investigates how care is conceptualised and gendered in the literature and in narratives of teaching staff from New Zealand universities. It finds that there is much more to care than traditional models offer, and shows how this complexity of care challenges gendered stereotypes. It concludes that a broader understanding of care can help break the link to the feminine and acknowledge the value of care in higher education and beyond.     

社会资本视阈下城市社区居家养老社会支持体系的构建

社区居家养老是家庭养老和社会化养老相结合的一种新型养老模式,较传统家庭养老而言,需具有更多的社会支持系统,同时也具有社会化养老所不具备的感情与精神慰藉功能,在应对未富先老、家庭养老功能退化、社会化养老发展不足等方面具有明显的制度优势。养老资源的产生、供给和有效传递在很大程度上决定着一种养老模式的成败。社区居家养老要想发挥功效,必须构建一个以家庭支持、政府辅助、社会参与、社区执行、社会关系的自我认知与强化的“场阈式”居家养老体系,通过多方参与、优势互补、个人支持网络的挖掘与强化,充分发挥社会资本的优势,创建无“需求偏差”的养老支持系统。     

以人文关怀促进大学生政治认同培养

当代大学生整体的政治意识是积极的,但也存在一些认同危机现象。导致目前大学生政治认同培养效果欠佳的一个重要原因是在思想政治教育管理体制、教育过程、环境影响处理等方面忽视学生个体感受,存在人文关怀缺失的问题。有效促进大学生政治认同培养,需在教育活动、校园文化建设、认同培养工作保障机制等方面加强人文关怀。     

学前教育专业保育实训室建设设计简

保教结合是国家明确提出的幼儿园工作开展原则,针对目前学前教育领域普遍存在的重教轻保现象,以幼儿教师必须掌握保育技能为出发点,结合我校央行支持的保育实训室建设,以建设保育实训室的必要性为出发点,围绕在实训室建设中必须以职业认证要求、幼儿园对从业人员要求及相关课程要求为依据,提出了实训室建设的实训项目设计和具体使用过程中对于设备购置、时间安排、耗材使用的设计.     

新疆高校思想政治教育人文关怀和心理疏导研究

新疆的大学生源于民族传统文化的差异、生活习惯的不同、缺乏包容心等问题,存在多元文化适应性问题,这成为高校思想政治教育面临的新课题。对大学生开展人文关怀和心理疏导是新疆高校思想政治教台科际整合创新范式,是落实中央对大学生“要注重人文关怀和心理疏导,用正确方式处理人际”的文件精神,丰富高校思想政治教育的内涵和实效性;有效地提高新疆大学生心理承受能力、自我调试能力和良好的心理健康,为实现个人梦想创造条件。