<p> Within this dissertation I discuss my experience as both teacher and researcher in an early childhood art education research project with the goal to challenge traditional conceptions of power and knowledge in work with young children. Inspired initially by the idea of reactivating children&rsquo;s traditionally subjugated knowledges, in this research I aimed to foster a space where children and adults could ethically collaborate in art, making, and research. Over the course of 10 weeks, this art classroom was built as a space created for children, grounded in notions of change, movement, trust, and respect. The children were not only encouraged to create their own opportunities for making, and also to challenge what it means to exist and make in the early childhood art classroom by engaging in play, exploration, and collaborations with adults. In what follows, I share some of the children&rsquo;s words and work in order to make their experience in this classroom space visible. Both their artworks and experiences are analyzed through various theoretical lenses, including theories surrounding nomadism and movement, ethical encounters, collaborations between adults and children, and chaos theory in play. Ultimately, I argue that challenging conventional understandings of power, authority, and knowledge in the art classroom demands resistance from both adults and children. However, this resistance is coupled with a responsibility for educators to listen deeply to what their students both want and need, and to embrace curricular spaces that welcome the unknown. Throughout this dissertation it is my hope to present new and different ways of being and engaging with young children in spaces of art education.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to explore the application of andragogical principles to real-time embedded coaching of parents, when teaching their children with hearing loss to talk. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.) </p>

<p> The focus of this mixed methods study was to examine the possible differences between students who participated in the Missouri Preschool Program (MPP) and peers who did not attend the program. Areas examined through quantitative data in the study included academic achievement in communication arts in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. The qualitative piece of the study included examination of areas such as social development, emotional development, and school readiness. Quantitative data were collected from one school district in rural southwest Missouri. These data came from Aimsweb assessments conducted at the district for the kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade levels from 2009-2010 to 2015-2016. Students were grouped into cohorts (by school year), which were divided into two groups, students who participated in the MPP and students who did not participate in the MPP. An independent samples t-test was applied to examine the difference in the means of the scores between the two groups of students. There was not a statistical difference between the Aimsweb communication arts scores of students who participated in the MPP and scores of peers who did not participate in the MPP. This statement was true at all three grade levels examined. Kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teachers from the district were interviewed as part of the study. The educators who participated perceived benefits of attending a preschool program to include the following: readiness to enter school, advanced social development compared to peers who remained at home prior to school entry, fine motor development, and increased parental involvement.</p>

<p> The purpose of this self-study is to examine and analyze if and how an understanding of early childhood trauma informs my practice in my student-teaching placements in early childhood special education and a special day class (SDC) autism preschool. This study was informed by research in the field, as well as qualitative interviews on the subject. This study aims brings to light the need for more training and education on trauma-informed care in ECE. Data was collected through self-focused reflections and feedback from my colleagues on my work in my student-teaching placements at a center-based early intervention program in Oakland and an autism SDC preschool in San Leandro. Data was also collected through qualitative interviews with professionals working in the realms of early brain development and childhood trauma. This data was examined using an understanding of trauma&rsquo;s impact on brain development, behavior, learning, and interactions with others, the role of early childhood educators as protective factors who provide supportive, responsive care that fosters resiliency, as well as literature on trauma sensitive care. This study makes an important contribution to the literature because, while there is a great deal of literature on early childhood trauma in the fields of psychology and neurobiology, there is a disconnect between this knowledge base and what training early childhood educators receive and a general lack of trauma-informed care in early childhood settings. This study discusses how trauma-informed care can be put into practice in ECE and advocates for more training and implementation in these settings.</p>

<p> This qualitative descriptive study explored the experiences of three Kuwaiti pre-service teachers with guided reflection and the extent to which video technology facilitates reflection. The data sources were semi-structured and video-elicited interviews, field notes, and researcher reflective journals. The study was guided by two research questions: In what ways does video elicitation facilitate Kuwaiti pre-service teachers&rsquo; reflections? What do Kuwaiti pre-service teachers reflect about? I used Rogoff&rsquo;s Sociocultural Theory (2003; 1995) as my conceptual lens for this study which stresses the importance of cultural contexts in all areas of education. I developed a concept I call &ldquo;third-eye&rdquo; thinking to define a multifaceted approach to education and reflection. I also developed a concept I call &ldquo;cultural spheres of influence&rdquo; to describe the multitude of cultural influences that shape individuals and groups in unique ways. This study also depended on guided reflection to complement the process of video elicitation. The findings of my study indicated that video elicitation provided concrete material as a basis for reflection. My findings showed that Kuwaiti early childhood pre-service teachers reflected on various topics including: teaching tools and materials, strategies and techniques, everyday problems and challenges, classroom dynamics and management, and evaluators and the evaluation process. This research contributes to the existing body of literature by giving reflection a new culturally-rooted definition based on its application by Kuwaiti pre-service teachers and through a careful consideration of the cultural spheres of influences that shaped who the participants were and what they brought to the reflective process. </p>

The current study investigated the association of interparental conflict, parent-child attachment, and children's behavior problems in middle childhood. Although the effects of interparental conflict have been studied extensively, there has been little research done in the developmental period of middle childhood. This study examined the potential mediating role of the attachment relationship between parents and children in a community sample consisting of 86 two-parent families with at least one child between the ages of 8-11. Path modeling procedures indicated that attachment security serves as a mediator between interparental conflict and child behavior problems based on child reports. In particular, child-reported attachment security to the mother significantly mediated the association between children's perceptions of threat from interparental conflict and child-reported internalizing and inattentive/hyperactive symptoms. Child-reported attachment security to the father was not a significant mediator and mediation was not supported in parent-report models. The current findings have implications for families experiencing conflict and speak to the importance of attachment in the parent-child relationship when explaining the association between instances of interparental conflict and child behavioral outcomes. In particular, parents who engage in conflict can prevent the damaging effects of that conflict by making the conflict less overt, explaining to children the reasons for the conflict, and providing children with some assurance that a secure parent-child and interparental relationship is still present, despite the conflict.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of a degree of Master of Medicine in Family Medicine / BACKGROUND: Diarrhea is an important health problem and has remained a threat to the lives of children under 5 years old especially in developing regions of the world. Presently, it is estimated that about 1.5 million of these children die every year from diarrhea that would have been prevented by giving oral rehydration therapy (ORT). The value of ORT in treating diarrhea has remained unquestionable but emerging evidence still points to unsatisfactory uptake. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers/caregivers regarding oral rehydration therapy at Johan Heyns community health center, Vanderbijlpark. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers/caregivers regarding oral rehydration therapy at Johan Heyns community health center. METHODS: This study was a descriptive cross sectional study involving mothers/caregivers’ attended to by the primary health care (PHC) nurses at the Integrated management of childhood illnesses (IMCI) clinic of a large community health center in Sedibeng district. Respondents were systematically recruited until a sample size of 377 was reached. A face to face questionnaire was used to collect data on demography, knowledge, attitudes, practices and response to diarrhea from the participants. The data collected was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics, chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. The main outcome measures were the level of ORT knowledge of mothers/caregivers, attitudes, practices and response to diarrhea. RESULTS: Most of the caregivers were mothers (88.3%) who had completed matric (72.5%) and were unemployed (60.6%). The mean age was 30 years. About 53.3% of the caregivers gave ORT as an initial response to diarrhea, 30.2% took their child to the clinic/hospital, while 4% gave orthodox or traditional medicine. The majority of the caregivers (89.4%) had heard of ORT. The main source of ORT information was clinic/hospital (89.6%). Most of the caregivers (81.7%) said ORT stops diarrhea while 18.3% said it stops dehydration. Many of the caregivers (66%) had used ORT. The caregivers’ORT knowledge was significantly associated with attitude and (P= 0.0000). A small proportion of the caregivers (29%) had problems preparing ORT at home. Most of the caregivers’ children (75.5%) did not like the taste of ORT. The ORT attitude of caregivers was significantly associated with knowledge and practice (P=0.0000; P=0.0127). Less than half (33.7%, n=127) of the entire study sample (n=377) and about half (50%, n=127) of the caregivers who claimed that they could prepare ORT (67.4%, n=254) was able to prepare a correct recipe. Over half (54.2%) of the caregivers stopped giving ORT or did not know what to do when vomiting starts. A large number of the caregivers (72.7%) continued feeding their child at the onset of diarrhea. Many of the caregivers (82.8%) used only ORT at the onset of diarrhea while few (17.2%) added some unconventional remedies. There was no association between ORT practice and ORT knowledge (P=0.4797). CONCLUSION: This study shows a significant association between ORT knowledge and attitude, and also between ORT attitude and practice. There was no correlation between ORT knowledge and practice, therefore ORT knowledge did not satisfactorily translate to the practice. Majority of the caregivers could not prepare ORT correctly and either stopped giving ORT or did not know what to do when vomiting starts. The reported use of unconventional remedies like raw egg and custard by some caregivers to treat diarrhea at home is disturbing. It is obvious that much work still needs to be done to improve home treatment of diarrhea using ORT; a good starting point is to initiate new strategies aimed at improving caregivers’ education on the different aspects of ORT.

Background: Maternal employment has been highlighted in numerous studies as an important determinant of childhood mortality but in contexts which do not have regional significance to Swaziland. Studies such as those conducted in India (Sivakami, 1997) and China (Short et al. 2002) considered maternal employment as an important predictor of childhood mortality. Childhood mortality is still high in Swaziland and with increasing poverty and disease the under-five mortality rate continues to increase. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between maternal employment and childhood mortality in Swaziland. Methodology: the Swaziland Demographic and Household Survey (SDHS) conducted in 2006/7 interviewed 4,987 women. Due to the nature of this study, only women who had given birth to at least one child five years preceding the SDHS 2006/7 interviews were included. The sample size used for the study was of 2,136 mothers. Main conclusions of the study were drawn based on the use of a binary logistic regression model in the multivariate section. With the use of a conceptual framework adapted from the classic theoretical model developed by Mosley and Chen (1984) key variables were identified as determinants of childhood mortality. Use of the STATA 11 software was employed to obtain the results. Results: results showed 58.88 percent unemployment rate amongst mothers in Swaziland. The main results showed mother’s employment as having an adverse impact on childhood mortality. Bivariate results showed that mothers who were employed experienced higher childhood mortality and the adjusted regression model showed mothers who work have a 38 percent increased likelihood of childhood mortality compared to mothers who do not work. Maternal education also showed its importance as a predictor of childhood mortality; the higher the level of maternal education the less chances mothers have of experiencing childhood mortality. Maternal age also demonstrated significance as mothers ages increase so too do the chances of childhood deaths. Other significant factors include number of household members, the number of children born as well as breastfeeding duration. Conclusion: The results confirmed the alternative hypothesis to be true which states that mothers who work experience significantly higher childhood mortality in Swaziland. The study also highlighted that in contemporary society, child rearing and maternal employment are incompatible and need to re-evaluate policy concerning this matter is essential to better childhood survival.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Witwatersrand (Johannesburg), in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. Johannesburg 1992. / Toy Libraries exist to promote the principle that play DOES matter to the developing child. The Sunshine Centre Toy Library in Johannesburg functions as a supplementary early intervention service for parents who have children with special needs.[Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version] / GR2016

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Physiotherapy. Johannesburg, 2014 / HIV is a global epidemic with the majority of people infected living in Sub-Saharan Africa. The era of Highly-Active Antiretroviral Therapy has resulted in HIV infected children living longer lives and more commonly reaching school going age. These children are expected to participate at the same level as their peers despite the numerous effects that HIV and HAART have on the body. The aim of this cross sectional comparative study was to compare the exercise endurance of a group of HIV infected children to that of their uninfected peers. Sixty children aged between seven and ten years were enrolled in the study; 30 HIV infected children and 30 children not infected with HIV. Children were assessed using the six minute walk test (6MWT) according to American Thoracic Society guidelines. The two groups were well matched in terms of socio-economic status, gender and age. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing anthropometric measurements of height and weight with HIV infected participants being shorter and weighing less than their non-infected peers. The distance walked in the 6MWT was significantly reduced in the HIV infected participants with these children walking 57.86 metres less than the non-infected participants. It was also found that HIV infected children had significantly lower heart rates at all stages of testing. Correlations were found between the distance walked in the 6MWT and average and maximum heart rates. This study confirms that the exercise endurance of a group of HIV infected children is significantly reduced when compared to their age matched non-infected peers. It indicates the need for further investigation into the exercise endurance in HIV-infected children in a larger more representative sample of the population. Further investigation into the possible benefits of the prescription of exercise programmes in children needs to be done.