This study investigated foster parents' reasons for deciding to continue their careers as foster parents. The participants were obtained from Koinonia Foster Homes, San Bernardino office. In addition, an effort was made to determine what unmet needs foster parents had that had those needs been addressed by the agency might have encouraged them to continue fostering children.

This study proposed to explore several factors that promote foster parent satisfaction in order to preserve quality foster homes to serve the 532,000 displaced children currently in the child welfare system. A sample of 52 foster parents were surveyed to determine overall satisfaction with their foster care experience at Children's Way Foster Family Agency in San Bernardino, California. It was hypothesized that the higher the level of foster parent satisfaction, the higher rates of retention. A modified version of an existing instrument titled "Foster Parent Satisfaction Survey" was utilized in this study.

Parents are often criticized for the types of roles they play in their children’s education. Rather than assuming parents do not contribute to their children’s learning, this study identified the various ways Hispanic parents support mathematics learning in the home. Using a funds of knowledge lens, the history, practices, and experiences of families that contributed to their children’s mathematics understanding was explored. The purpose of this study was to identify the unique funds of knowledge among three Hispanic families living in the same city, specifically, how parents supported their children’s mathematics learning through funds of knowledge. Five Hispanic parents from three households participated in a series of three home interviews. The semi--‐structured interviews addressed family, school, and educational history of the parents, routines of the household, and perceived roles parents played in their children’s mathematics learning. Participants contributed to their children’s mathematics learning through various funds of knowledge including time management, music, sports, construction, shopping, and cooking. Participating parents shared knowledge with their children through questioning and discussion, providing experiences, and promoting practice. In this study, participants valued education and supported their children’s mathematics learning at home and school activities. This study contributes to the existing funds of knowledge research by expanding the work on how Hispanic parents support mathematics learning.

To examine parental attitudes toward sexuality education in the home and school, sealed packets were distributed to fifth and seventh graders (N = 609) for each to deliver home to a parent. Parents were asked to express level of agreement with a series of attitude statements and to indicate the content and timing considered appropriate for sexuality instruction in the home and school. Analysis of 246 returned surveys (40% response rate) indicated that most parents trust the school to address human sexuality, though a sizeable minority of parents hold very conservative attitudes toward sexuality instruction in this setting. Results suggested that the majority of parents view school-based instruction as supplemental to instruction in the home.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2005. / Title from second page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [2], iii, 189 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-189).

The purpose of this study was to examine parental actions to finance higher education. Data were analyzed from the 1995-96 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS: 96). Results of this study indicated that gender, race, housing status, and attendance status of students were factors in the amount of loans that was assumed by parents. Further results indicated that parent'9s marital status, total parent contribution, parent income, the cost of attending, and institutional control were also factors in the amount of loans that were assumed by parents. The age of students and the amount of parent savings did not effect the percentage of parents who assumed loans nor did it effect the amount of loans that were assumed by parents. Recommendations for future research include a continued focus on how families, as a whole, are financing higher education, repayment practices and default rates of parents who assumed loans to pay for higher education, specific types of loans that parents use to fund higher education, parental debt and what ratio of their debt is due to educational loans. / Master of Arts

Devenir parent s’avère un choix convoité par un nombre grandissant de personnes vivant avec une déficience ou une lenteur intellectuelle (DI/LI). Or, l’exercice de ce droit peut se heurter à différents obstacles tels que l’insuffisance des services de soutien et la présence d’opinions, de croyances et d’attitudes négatives à l’endroit des personnes ayant une DI/LI, plus particulièrement, à l’égard de la possibilité qu’elles deviennent parents. Afin de mieux comprendre cette situation, la recherche qualitative menée dans le cadre de ce doctorat en service social s’est intéressée aux représentations sociales (RS) de la parentalité des personnes ayant une DI/LI chez des intervenants et chez des parents présentant cette condition. Les objectifs de cette démarche sont : (1) dégager les composantes cognitives (connaissances) et sociocognitives (opinions, attitudes, croyances) des RS; (2) explorer les convergences et les divergences intragroupe et intergroupe; (3) identifier les facteurs personnels et contextuels associés aux RS. Vingt-sept professionnels et neuf parents ont participé à des entrevues individuelles semi-structurées. Les données colligées ont permis d’établir différents constats. D’abord, plusieurs facteurs liés à l’expérience et au contexte de la pratique sont en lien avec les RS des intervenants. Entre autres, leur attitude à l’égard de la parentalité est moins favorable s’ils estiment que ces parents n’ont pas accès à des services qui soutiennent réellement l’exercice de leur rôle parental. Sur ce plan, ils considèrent qu’ils ne disposent pas des connaissances nécessaires à une intervention adaptée. Ils soulignent que la collaboration entre les partenaires impliqués dans l’aide à ces parents est altérée par l’ambiguïté de leurs rôles et par les difficultés d’arrimage des mandats. Du côté des parents, les RS se distinguent selon leur situation. Pour les personnes ayant la garde de leur enfant, la parentalité symbolise l’accès à un rôle hautement désiré dont l’exercice suscite fierté et détermination. Pour celles dont l’enfant a été placé en milieu substitut, la parentalité est associée à des sentiments d’injustice et de disqualification. Néanmoins, le soutien dont certains parents ont pu bénéficier au sein de leur communauté d’appartenance leur a permis de développer une identité parentale positive. Des recommandations liées à l’offre de services sont présentées dans cette thèse qui se conclut par la proposition de pistes à explorer en recherche. Mots-clés : parentalité, déficience intellectuelle, représentations sociales, attitudes, soutien, intervenants, collaboration. / A growing number of people living with intellectual disabilities or cognitive difficulties (ID/CD) decide to become parents. However, exercising this right may collide against various obstacles such as inadequate support structures and negative opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards people with ID/CD and more specifically, towards their capacity to raise a child successfully. To understand this situation, the qualitative research project conducted as part of this PhD in social work has focused on the social representations (SR) of the parenthood of people with ID/CD among practitioners and parents with this condition. The objectives of the study were to: (1) identify the cognitive (knowledge) and sociocognitive (opinions, attitudes, beliefs) components of the SR; (2) elicit the convergences and divergences within and between groups; (3) list the personal and contextual factors that may influence the SR. Twenty-seven professionals and nine parents participated in semi-structured interviews. The data collected revealed several findings. First, many factors involving the experience and context of practice are related to the practitioners’ SR. Among other things, their attitude regarding parenthood is less positive if they believe that these parents do not have access to services that actually support them. They feel they do not have the adequate knowledge to put forward appropriate interventions. Moreover, the effectiveness of collaborative practice with the partners involved is altered by the difficulties encountered in teamwork due to the absence of practice guidelines and to role ambiguity. Furthermore, parents’ SR are different according to their situation. In other words, for the participants who have the custody of their child or children, parenthood symbolizes the access to a highly desired role that will prompt pride and determination. However, their wish to be treated as adults, free to make their own decisions, doesn’t contradict their willingness to receive services that can help them improve their parental abilities and to better support the academic and social success of their child. Regarding the participants whose parenthood is experienced through the placement of their child or children by legal authorities, their representations are altered by suffering and feelings of injustice, and disqualification. This arises from their interactions with child welfare professionals and individuals close to them. However, within this group, parents who received psychosocial support were able to develop a positive parental identity. Finally, relevant recommendations that may contribute to the improvement of practice conditions and services offered to such parents in Quebec are being addressed. Various options for future research are proposed in the conclusion of the thesis. Key words : parenthood, intellectual disabilities, social representations, attitudes, family support, professionals, collaborative practice.

Text in Afrikaans / Die doel van hierdie studie was om die belewinge van die kind in die enkelouergesin te identifiseer. Die belewinge van skok, skuldgevoelens, woede, verwarring, vrees, onsekerheid, angs, oorbeskerming, sosiale verleentheid, ontoereikendheid, verwerping, verlies en verlange, smart en depressie is in die literatuur gevind. Daar is .ook positi.ewe belewinge gevind, asook dat belewinge onderdruk word. Ba.ie van die belewinge stem ooreen ongeag die oorsaak van die verlies, hetsy egskeiding of dood. Die empiriese studie bet bevestig dat onrealistiese betekenisgewing onderliggend aan bogenoemde belewinge is en dat die opvoedingsituasie problemati.es is omdat daar nie in die behoeftes van die kind voorsien word nie. Voorts is bevind dat faktore wat onderliggend is aan ongunstige belewinge in 'n groot mate ophetbaar is. Sekere aanbevelings is na aanleiding van die studie gedoen wat as riglyne gebruik kan word in die volwassene se bemoeienis met die kind in die enkelouergesin. / The object was to identify the experiences of a child in a single parent family. Experience such as guilt, anger, confusion, fear, insecurity, anguish, overprotectiveness, social embarrassment, inadequacy, rejection, a feeling of loss and yearning, grief and depression have been found in the literature studied. Favourable experiences have also been established as well as the fact that experiences are suppressed. Many experiences show a similarity regardless of the cause of the loss, be it divorce or death. The empirical study has confirmed that unrealistic meaning attribution is subjacent to these experiences and that educational problems exist due to the fact that provision for the needs of the child has not been made. Futhermore, it has also been found that factors 'Yhich are subjacent to these unfavourable experiences can, to a large extent be neutralized. Thus recommendations which can be guidelines for adult intervention with a child in a single parent family, have been made. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Voorligting)