Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1971. / Offset from typescript.

On the possibilities of a child the Center for Disease Control says, “Every Child should have the opportunity to reach their full potential”. (CDC) Children who grow up in low-income families are at risk of falling behind in education before they even enter kindergarten. Single parents that struggle to provide food and shelter often lack the time and the resources to provide the early education that their children need. A college education could provide these parents and their children with a better quality of life. University student housing could include built in childcare services, educational assistance and peer support, for single parents working toward their degree. The development of a child is as important as the education of the parent. The home should provide its inhabitants with safety and promote learning and growth. A focus will be place on the shared common spaces. Emphasis will be given to the shared living rooms in order to promote an interaction between the individual families. These shared spaces would be a medium for children from the different families to play together along side spaces for their parents to study. The private family spaces can be minimized to sleeping quarters, a kitchen and a small living space, providing a place for intimate family interaction. The project will also include an inhouse childcare center, for the children living in the facility. The childcare center provides a safe learning environment for the children, while their parents are at school. Garden’s and play spaces throughout the building should stimulate a child’s imagination and encourage their curiosity. Combining a safe learning and living environment, with access to nature will provide both a sense of security of home and school, and the freedom of exploration. “For healthy development, undistorted by fears and worries children need to feel valued and protected. They need both challenge and an ambience of security”(Day, 34). Investing in a child by showing them what they are capable of achieving with education is not a gamble. A child’s potential is a thing that cannot be left to fall, unachieved. A healthy society benefits from the education of all.

The aims of this study were to examine the relations among social capital, human capital, economic capital, and children’s socioemotional well-being during the transition from late childhood to early adolescence and to test an ecological-transactional model of children’s social capital. This work was informed by sociological and economic theory on social capital, human capital, and economic capital (e.g., Becker, 1993; Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1988; Foster, 2002) and two principal frameworks in developmental psychology: ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998) and the transactional model of child development (Sameroff, 2009). Social capital was conceptualized as both a family-level and a community-level phenomenon, distinguishing between family social capital and community social capital. A major hypothesis was that family social capital and community social capital, alongside family-level human capital and economic capital, are associated with low levels of socioemotional problems. Family-level variables were considered to be nested within the more distal ecological context of community social capital, and the indirect relation of community social capital to socioemotional well-being through family social capital was also considered. Another postulation was that children’s socioemotional well-being and the social capital that inheres in family relationships (i.e., family social capital) are mutually influential, changing over time in a transactional manner. In this vein, children were regarded as agents of social capital, both “creating” and utilizing it to their developmental benefit (or detriment as the case may be). These family-level transactional processes were nested within the context of community social capital. Results indicated that community social capital had little association with family social capital and children’s socioemotional well-being as indexed by internalizing and externalizing problems. However, caregivers’ human capital and economic capital were significant predictors of family social capital. In turn, family social capital was strongly related to socioemotional problems. Notably, harsh parenting behavior, a measure indicative of the health of the caregiver-child relation and thus the potential for social capital to be realized in their interactions, was the strongest predictor of socioemotional well-being. / text

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Extensive research on the impact of divorce on children has been conducted. Much of this research emphasizes negative findings. Debate over the factors that exacerbate or alleviate these negative findings exists, and prompted investigation in this literature review. Two factors that may determine how children will react to parental divorce are the child's developmental acuity and attachment style at the time of the divorce event. This review explains developmental tasks from a psychosocial and cognitive perspective for developing children from birth to age 18. An understanding of these models can be used to examine how children may be vulnerable to the stresses in a divorcing family, as well as identifying how to help children of all ages become resilient. Research included in this review suggests that a secure attachment and consistent parenting are the best buffers from negative effects. This literature review is intended to be a guide to aid parents, counselors, and other professionals who seek the best outcome for children of divorce. / text

Parents and caregivers spend the most time interacting with young children during their first years of life when development in many areas is happening at an incredible rate. It is important for all these adults to understand what typical development looks like, to know some strategies for supporting children’s development, and to know where and when to get help if the child’s development needs to be supported. This report serves as an all-inclusive guide for parents and caregivers to help in understanding typical development and in identifying when young children need additional help to achieve important developmental milestones. / text

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

ABSTRACT Research suggests that it is important to establish regular physical activity and healthy eating patterns during the early years (0-5 years). Engaging in healthy behaviours during this stage of life supports growth and development and lays the foundation for a lifetime of health and wellbeing. Despite these benefits, research indicates that children in Canada are not meeting the daily recommended physical activity guidelines for early years. Moreover, their diets are lacking in fruits and vegetables and are high in processed foods. As many early years children spend a large part of their day in childcare centres, educators can have a large influence on their physical activity and healthy eating behaviours. In the Canadian Prairie Provinces many childcare centres are located in rural communities. Previous research suggests that rural educators are influenced by unique factors associated with geographic local (e.g., access to resources to promote physical activity and year round access to variety of healthy foods) when attempting to provide healthy opportunities for children. In order to address the specific factors identified by rural educators and support healthier behaviours among rural early year’s children, a multilevel physical activity and healthy eating intervention (Healthy Start) was developed using McLeroy’s ecological model and a population health approach. Healthy Start was pilot tested in three rural childcare centres. Purpose: The primary purpose of this dissertation study was to evaluate Healthy Start, a multilevel community-based physical activity and healthy eating intervention, in rural childcare centres throughout Saskatchewan. In order to achieve this primary purpose, the specific dissertation objectives were addressed as follows. Paper 1: a) Determine if over the course of the intervention, Healthy Start contributed to increases in physical activity levels and improvements in motor skill development among early years children aged 3 to 5 years; b) Determine if Healthy Start supported educators in providing children with more opportunities for physical activity; c) Describe educators’ experiences and perceptions of Healthy Start and its influence on physical activity within the childcare centre environment. Paper 2: a) Assess to what extent, Healthy Start contributed to healthier eating behaviours among early years children aged 3 to 5 years over the course of the intervention; b) Determine if Healthy Start supported childcare staff (educators and cooks) in providing children with more opportunities for healthy eating; c) Describe educators ‘experiences and perceptions of Healthy Start and its influence on healthy eating within the childcare centre environment. Paper 3: To pilot a pulse crop intervention study in one of the intervention childcare centres in order to: a) Increase knowledge and awareness about the nutritional value and health benefits of pulse crops among childcare staff (educators and cooks); b) Support childcare staff in providing children with more opportunities for pulse crop consumption; c) Expand the variety of healthy foods consumed by early years children by incorporating locally grown pulse crops into the childcare centre meals. Methods: A population health controlled intervention study using a wait-list control design (48 weeks delayed-intervention) was used to evaluate the impact of the intervention. Mixed methods were employed to determine the intervention’s influence on children and educator behaviours and on the childcare centre environment. Results: Overall, increases in children’s physical activity levels and improvements in healthy eating behaviours were observed in the intervention group. Moreover, educators felt the intervention was effective in supporting them to increase physical activity and healthy eating opportunities provided to rural early years children. Lastly, improvements to childcare centre environments were made to promote healthy behaviours among the children. Conclusion: Collectively, the pilot study provided insight into the complexities and feasibility of promoting physical activity and healthy eating among early years children in childcare centres, particularly in rural communities. This was an innovative intervention which addressed critical factors at multiple levels contributing to the development of healthy behaviours among rural early years children. The lessons learned in this dissertation study can be used to improve the Healthy Start intervention so its implementation can be effectively expanded to childcare centres within and outside of Saskatchewan. Additionally, the findings can contribute to the limited body of literature on implementing and evaluating interventions aimed at increasing both physical activity and healthy eating in Canadian childcare centres. In turn, supporting the healthy development of early years children in the province and beyond.

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No description available.