Miriam K. Rosenthal

Out-of-home Child Care Research: A Cultural Perspective

This paper analyses the cultural context of inquiry and research into the effects of out-of-home child care on children’s development. In particular, it attempts to show how the study of such child care has been shaped by a Western world view in which white, middle class values and social ideology are particularly salient. The effects of this cultural context can be seen in the basic assumptions of studies on out-of-home child care, in the questions these studies pose for investigation, and in the motivation of the investigators engaged in this line of research. These in turn determine the research designs, the units of analysis for the examination of children’s functioning and of the child care environment, the operational definitions of variables, and the statistical procedures employed in many of these studies. The analysis begins by examining cultural variations in societal attitudes to out-of-home child care as a function of cultural context and basic assumptions concerning childhood, development, and the role ascribed to the family and the community at large in children’s development. The paper then proceeds to examine the relationship between cultural context and its valued developmental goals and the developmental outcomes studied in child care research. The relationships between goals set for child care, cultural beliefs concerning child-rearing practices, the definition of “quality of care” and the study of the relationship of home and child care, in child care research, are also examined. It then explores the major research questions and methodology concerning the effect of child care on development in the Anglo-American child care research tradition. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for culturally sensitive routes to studying child care.

Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care: A cultural context

SUMMARY This paper suggests that different cultural communities may hold different definitions of “quality” in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) conforming with their respective, culturally valued educational goals and culturally based beliefs regarding practices that facilitate their attainment. Despite the negative implication of stereotyping socio-cultural communities as “individualist” or “collectivist” (Triandis, 1995), the conceptualisation of cultural variations in educational goals and practices along a continuum between these dichotomous extremes, has a heuristic value in clarifying our thinking about “quality” in ECEC in different cultural contexts. The paper examines valued educational goals (self-identity and motivation, social and emotional behavior and cognitive processes) and valued educational practices (childrens learning environments, learning activities and educator-child interaction) in the context of “individualist” and “collectivist” cultural scripts. In conclusion the implications of this analysis for variations in the understanding of “quality” of ECEC in multi-cultural and rapidly changing societies are discussed.

‘Learning to Live Together’: training early childhood educators to promote socio‐emotional competence of toddlers and pre‐school children

This paper describes a training program – ‘Learning to Live Together’ – for early childhood educators working with toddlers and preschoolers in daycare or nursery schools. The training aims to provide educators with (a) research‐based knowledge on socio‐emotional development, and on social ‘learning opportunities’ offered by daily social and emotional events in the group setting; (b) specific intervention skills that support socio‐emotional development; (c) The program further explores and clarifies the overt and covert attitudes and beliefs educators may hold concerning children’s socio‐emotional development, and concerning their own role in promoting this development. The training program consists of 12 workshop meetings guided by an early childhood expert. These are followed by four small‐group consultation meetings that offer video‐observation of challenging children. The program is divided into four units: (1) understanding young children’s group experience; (2) toddlers learn empathy; (3) toddlers learn to play together; (4): toddlers learn to resolve conflicts. RÉSUMÉ: Cet article porte sur le programme de formation – ‘Apprendre à vivre ensemble’ – destinés aux éducateurs travaillant avec des jeunes enfants en crèches et jardins d’enfants. Le but de la formation est de mettre à la disposition des éducateurs : (a) une connaissance, fondée sur la recherche, du développement socio‐émotionnel et des ‘occasions d’apprentissage’ offertes par les événements sociaux et émotionnels quotidiens; (b) des capacités d’intervention spécifiques qui soutiennent le développement socio‐émotionnel; (c) en outre, le programme explore et clarifie les attitudes et croyances, implicites et explicites, des éducateurs sur le développement socio‐émotionnel des enfants et sur leur rôle dans la promotion de ce développement. Le programme de formation se compose de 12 rencontres en ateliers animés par un spécialiste de la petite enfance, suivies de 4 rencontres de consultation en petits groupes offrant des observations en vidéo d’enfants problématiques. Le programme est divisé en quatre unités: (1) Comprendre l’expérience des groupes de jeunes enfants. (2) Les jeunes enfants apprennent l’empathie. (3) Les jeunes enfants apprennent à jouer ensemble. (4) Les jeunes enfants apprennent à résoudre des conflits. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Dieser Beitrag beschreibt das Trainingsprogramm ‘Lernen sich zu vertragen’ für Fachkräfte, die Klein‐ und Vorschulkinder in Kindergarten und Krippe betreuen. Das Programm informiert Fachkräfte (a) über forschungsbezogenes Wissen zur sozio‐emotionale Entwicklung des Kindes sowie über die täglichen sozialen Lernmöglichkeiten bei sozialen und emotionalen Ereignissen im Gruppenkontext; es vermittelt (b) spezifische Präventionsmaßnahmen zur Unterstützung der sozio‐emotionale Entwicklung des Kindes und (c) untersucht und klärt die offenen und verdeckten Haltungen und Einstellungen der Fachkräfte in diesem Prozess. Das Trainingsprogramm wird von einem Frühpädagogen geleitet und besteht aus 12 Workshops sowie nachfolgenden Kleingruppen‐Konsultationen, die videogestützte Beobachtungen an kritischen Einzelfällen einbeziehen. Das Programm besteht aus vier Einheiten: (1) Gruppenerfahrungen des Kindes verstehen, (2) Wie Kleinkinder Empathie entwickeln, (3) wie sie miteinander spielen und (4) wie sie Konflikte lösen lernen. RESUMEN: Este estudio describe un programa de entrenamiento – ‘Aprendiendo a vivir juntos’ – destinado para educadores pre‐escolares que trabajan con niños pequeños, en guarderías infantiles, o con niños en edad preescolar en jardines de infantes. El entrenamiento está destinado a proveer a los educadores con (a) conocimiento basado en investigación acerca del desarrollo socio‐emocional y acerca de las ‘oportunidades sociales de aprender’ ofrecidas por eventos diarios, sociales y emocionales, que se crean en los los grupos infantiles; (b) habilidades de intervención específicas que apoyan el desarrollo socio‐emocional; (c) El programa igualmente explora y clarifica las actitudes y creencias, abiertas y cubiertas, que educadores puedan tener acerca del desarrollo socio‐emocional de los niños y acerca de su propio rol en la promoción de este desarrollo. El programa de entrenamiento consiste de 12 encuentros de taller, guiados por un experto en Educación Preescolar. Estos encuentros son seguidos por 4 encuentros de consultación, en grupos pequeños, que ofrecen observación por video de niños problemáticos y desafiantes. El programa está dividido en cuatro unidades: (1) Entendimiento de experiencias grupales de niños pequeños; (2) Niños pequeños aprenden empatía; (3) Niños pequeños aprenden a jugar juntos; (4) Niños pequeños aprender a resolver conflictos.

Social policy and its effects on the daily experiences of infants and toddlers in family day care in Israel

Abstract Eighty-two infants and toddlers, their mothers, and their caregivers participated in this study. Mothers and caregivers were interviewed, caregiver and child interaction was observed, and the caregiving environment was rated in 41 family day care (FDC) homes. The data were used to assess the effects of social policy decisions for standards and criteria underlying the FDC program on the daily experiences of infants and toddlers in these services. The findings show that, while on average the standards were maintained, individual homes varied sufficiently to allow an examination of the effects of policy. Standards requiring individual supervision of caregivers were the best predictors of quality of care, which then determined the childrens behavior. Caregiver selection criteria had relatively little effect on childrens daily experiences. Criteria that determined group composition had an effect on the quality of care as well as on the behavior of children. The study highlights the effects of a group care environment on experiences which contribute to the social and cognitive development of young children and points to the need for further study on the contribution of specific environmental conditions to certain aspects of development. The study suggests that, with adequate training and individual supervision, the quality of care in family day care could be significantly improved.

Family Day Care in Two Countries: Parents, Caregivers, and Children in Canada and Israel

The results of two studies of family day care conducted in two different countries, Israel and Canada, are reported and compared. In both studies, the quality of family day care was found to range from poor to excellent. Childrens activities in the day care setting were found to be associated with specific aspects of day care environment. In Israel, the caregiving style was found to contribute to the nature of childrens activities and behaviors. In Canada, the quality of the learning and physical environments was correlated with the frequency of developmentally facilitative activities engaged in by the children. Both studies revealed strong linkages among caregiver education and background, the quality of the day care setting, and the childrens daily activities while in care.

The relation of peer interaction among infants and toddlers in family day care to characteristics of the child care environment

Abstract Much research has pointed to the importance of the quality of child-care for child development. However, comparatively little research has focused on family day care. This paper examines evidence concerning the relationship between characteristics of family day care and peer interaction. Results indicate that the nature of toddler-interaction can be understood better by considering both childrens child-care history and parent-child interaction as well as characteristics of current childcare.

Mothers and newborns: dyadic interactions in different socio-economic groups in Israel

The interactive behaviour of 61 mother-neonate pairs of different socio-economic status (SES) were examined. Very few SES-related differences were found. The overall frequency of maternal and neonate behaviour was similar in both SES groups. Low SES pairs were more likely than high SES pairs to act simultaneously whenever the infant was vocalizing. Country of origin of mothers was found to be correlated with their SES. Western mothers were more likely than Middle-Eastern mothers to vocalize when the infant was silent and quiet, a pattern which seems to be in accord with their belief in their ability to influence the development of speech. This exploratory study suggests that the cultural background of mothers may manifest its effects on very early interactions, mostly on the timing and responsiveness of the pairs behaviour. A modified design and observation procedure is required to answer further questions raised by this exploration.