Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / After the 1989 fall of Communism in Romania, the world became aware of the plight of the country's thousands of institutionalized children, and an international adoption system saw the adoption of many of these children to other countries. Thousands of children, however, remained in institutions as the newly Democratic Romania struggled with the legacy of its Communist era. During the process of applying to join the European Union, Romania in 2000 initiated the eventual banning of international adoption. Using a qualitative approach that relies on interviews, document review, and observation, this study finds both positive and negative interpretations of the ban, with subjects pointing to Romania's desire to join the EU as a supposed major factor in its decision to ban international adoption. The implications of the ban include the emergence of a foster care system and domestic adoption, efforts to reunify families and to prevent the abandonment, relinquishment, and removal of children from their biological families, and the development of alternative forms of care in tandem with a new deinstitutionalization initiative. / 2031-01-02

Educational and societal demands have drawn much attention to child care issues in America. Two pieces of legislation have had a tremendous impact on many society issues, but none more profoundly than that of center-based child care. Few societal issues have the potential to have such a dramatic impact on the lives of children, especially low-income children, as child care. The awareness of the importance of child care was also heightened by the scientific discoveries of brain development. The overwhelming results of the discoveries in brain development include the nature of learning and the importance of the critical periods in brain development. Scientists have neurological proof that the years before kindergarten are the most important years of development in a child's life. These are the years that a growing number of children, especially low-income children, are spending in child care. Research has documented the importance of early childhood experiences for not only educational achievement but also for adult outcomes. In spite of what is known about child development and the benefits of quality child care for healthy child development, many children do not have access to quality child care services. Although the benefits of quality child care are most evident with low-income children, they are the least likely to receive high quality child care services. The purpose of this study was to gather baseline data on the condition of child care services for low-income children in Mississippi as it existed in 2001. In doing so, the sample consisted of 100 child care centers that participated in the Partners for Quality Child Care Project. This descriptive study collected data using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised, the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale, and the Caregiver Interaction Scale. The findings suggested that overall child care for preschools and infant/toddlers was minimal. This level of child care meets the basic standards of health and safety without much opportunity for many developmentally appropriate experiences. However, an investigation of the caregiver interaction as measured by the Caregiver Interaction Scale revealed that there was some evidence that caregivers in 2001 provided care that was warm and supportive.

No description available.

There has been minimal Australian research focussed on the management and leadership aspects of directors' work in centre-based child care to date. In Australia, practices in early education have been largely drawn from studies in other cultural contexts, particularly research undertaken in the United States. It is timely that Australian research should inform its social policy about quality child care programs. The focus of this research was on the nature and characteristics of effective management and leadership practices in centre-based child care. Research (Jorde Bloom, 1992b; Morgan, 2000; Poster & Neugebauer, 2000; Rodd, 1994) indicates that quality of child care programs is influenced mostly by the leadership that the centre director can provide to staff within the centre. The conceptual framework adopted in this study views leadership from a Social Systems framework. Central to a Social Systems framework is the notion that organisations do not exist in isolation rather, leadership and management in these settings are embedded in a broader social context. A Social Systems Model has received little attention in contemporary research on child care in Australia, and this study aims to build a framework for future studies in this area. The aim was to investigate leadership and management in child care in social, legislative and economic context. The findings seek to inform researchers, policy makers and practitioners. Eight directors were purposively selected from community-based and privately based centres in urban and rural areas, and from accredited centres in South East Queensland. The selection of varying locations allowed the researcher to gain a broader perspective of the directors' daily lives, as different contextual and environmental conditions were anticipated to influence management and leadership within the child care centres. Within this study, case studies of directors of child care centres were developed through interviews with the directors. The interview methodology focussed on exploratory semi-structured, open-ended questions in relation to management and leadership in centre-based child care. Directors were interviewed on two occasions within a three month period. In the current context of the delivery of child care services in a market driven climate, the language of business and organisational theory has entered the lexicon of the early childhood field (Press, 1999). The findings indicate that the director of a child care centre needs to have training and experience in business management and leadership to enhance their competencies for management of centres in today's competitive environment. Growth in child care franchises is significantly changing and truly developing a "child care industry" (Murdoch, 2004). Also, consideration needs to be given to increasing accountability in child care service delivery, and how to better support directors in their role as advocates in the broader early childhood field. Further, families in specific communities have varying needs and early childhood programs should reflect the needs of the local community. Leadership models within child care centres should encompass the micro and macro influences on the operation of centres. Literature suggests that early childhood centres provide an opportune place to support families in a variety of ways through integrating support services to address the underlying social and policy factors that affect young children and their families (Commonwealth of Australia, 2003; Corter, 2001).

Thesis (PhD) -- University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 2000. / Cover title: The employment relations of child-care : a study of job satisfaction and trade union membership. "Thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy" Bibliography : p. 395-418.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Martha J. Buell, Dept. of Individual & Family Studies. Includes bibliographical references.

Theses (MA .)--Marshall University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains v, 56 pages. Bibliography: p. 53-56.

Thirty-six family child care providers were divided into matched pairs, then randomly assigned to two treatment groups; catalyst and self-study. The purpose was to investigate how training affects quality of child care and to determine what provider characteristics interact with self-paced learning methods to change quality of care. The Family Day Care Rating Scale (Harms & Clifford, 1989) was used to rate quality of care. Three pretest and three posttest ratings were collected for each provider before and after a three-month treatment period. Ratings were collected from trained validators, from the providers as a self-rating, and from parents with children in care. An additional score was collected from providers regarding their perception of training method using a ten-item rating scale. There was a 38% attrition rate in the original sample resulting in a final sample size 8 Pp of 22. Results from this study suggest that at least two key criteria affect quality of care in family child care; (a) provider training in child-related areas and, (b) provider affiliation with family day care organizations. Providers not previously affiliated with a family day care association had a greater initial margin for improving their quality (E=9.21 p<.007) than affiliated providers. All providers improved their quality of care scores during the three month period. When asked to evaluate the training, all providers perceived their assigned training method as flexible and convenient. Providers in the catalyst training group rated two items significantly higher than self-study; the value of new information (E=11.30 p<.003), and the degree of personal growth experienced (F=9.28, p<.007). Parents differed from both validators and providers in their evaluation of the provider’s child care environment. This suggests that parents are not fully aware of either the components of quality child care or the daily operations in the home of their own family child care provider. / Ph. D.

LD2668 .T4 1942 B315

Infants and toddlers who experience physical abuse and/or neglect are at a severe risk for disruptions to emotion regulation. Recent prevention and treatment efforts have highlighted center-based child care as an important setting for providing support to the needs of these children, as child care centers are already an existing point of entry for reaching high-risk families. Guided by ecological theory, this review draws on the maltreatment and child care literatures to consider the opportunity for child care centers, specifically teacher-child interactions within the classroom, to support the unique regulatory needs of maltreated infants and toddlers. Existing research on the effects of child care for children facing other types of risk, as well as research with maltreated preschool children, provides a foundation for considering the role child care may play for infants and toddlers, whose emotion regulation skills are just emerging. More research is needed regarding teachers' roles in facilitating effective emotional experiences in the classroom that meet the unique needs of maltreated children. Additionally, early childhood teacher training that focuses on infant/toddler mental health and a trauma-informed perspective of care, as well as structuring child care centers as communities of support for high risk families, all may aid child care centers in better serving this vulnerable population. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.