Research has clearly demonstrated that variables associated with the family, child, and utilization of social supports relate to parent perceived competency. However, the research has failed to demonstrate which variable best predicts parent perceived competency. The primary goals of this study were to identify those variables that account for the most variability in parent perceived competency, to examine the relative effects of child characteristics on parental psychopathology, and to evaluate the moderating effects of social support on parent perceived competency based upon various parental characteristics. Participants for this survey study consisted of a convenience sample of 91 female primary caregivers of children (aged birth to three years) who received their initial evaluation at the University of South Florida Early Steps Program (ESP) clinic during a twelve-month data collection period. Inclusion criteria for this study required that participants were the female primary caregiver of the infant or toddler, all participants were primarily English speaking, and the infant or toddler had to be diagnosed with a medical and/or developmental diagnosis by an evaluator at the ESP clinic during the initial visit. Participants completed several questionnaires including assessments of female primary caregiver stress, depression, perceived sense of competency, utilization of social support, perception of child functioning, and perception of child behavior. Results of this study suggest that parent-reported stress and depression symptoms are significantly related to parent-perceived competency. Further, female primary caregivers whose child has medical and developmental disabilities report higher levels of stress and depressive symptoms compared to those whose child have developmental disabilities only. Similarly, female primary caregivers whose child has significant behavioral problems report higher stress and depression symptoms than those whose child does not have behavioral problems. Implications of these results as they relate to intervention development, limitations of this study, as well as future directions for research are also discussed.

Practitioners working with children under three are often marginalised; both in terms of group settings and in terms of being a focus of research (see Manning-Morton, 2006; McDowell-Clark and Baylis, 2012). This research prioritizes the practitioner’s voice by exploring the subject area of personal theory. In this thesis, personal theory is conceptualised as a composite of understandings and experiences including policy, organisational procedures, Early Years literature, training and Continuing Professional Development as well as personal and professional experiences, beliefs, and values. As Stephen and Brown (2004) indicate, particular constructions of care, learning, and children shape what is considered desirable educational practice. Drawing on Aristotle’s intellectual virtue of phronesis, this research’s aim is to understand how practitioners’ personal and professional experiences and understandings contribute to practitioners’ construction of personal theory. Research questions focus on: 1) understanding which relationships are particularly influential, 2) understanding which experiences are particularly influential and 3) identifying key features of practitioners’ personal theories. Case study methodology frames the research design. The research demonstrates that although personal theory is tacit, linking to specific instances of practice enables practitioners to articulate personal constructions of care, learning and children. Findings relate to six key characteristics of practitioners’ personal theories: practice as an ‘Ethic of Care’, practice as pedagogy, practice as ‘subsitute mothering’, practice as distinctive for children aged birth to three years, practice as rooted in experience and practice as emotional activity. Joan Tronto’s (1993, 2013) ‘Ethic of Care’ affords further consideration of personal theory; particularly the contradiction between personal theory that shapes engagements with young children as an ‘Ethic of Care’ and that which shapes engagements as ‘substitute mothering’. The thesis’ discussion highlights how the articulation and discussion of personal theory enables a richer construction of Early Years professionalism and professional identity within Birth to Three settings.