This research investigates three topics in child care quality, mother's labor supply, and early childhood development. In the first study, we evaluate how child care quality influences the potential impacts of mothers' labor supply on child development. Although, previous studies have acknowledged the importance of the quality of child care, none have integrated quality in analyzing the effects of maternal employment. We find that the negative effect often found in past studies is largely due to the use of low quality child care. The question we ask in the next study is, "What are the effects of child care quality on child development?" In this study we tried to separate out the contribution of initial child ability in child test scores of development from the effects of other inputs, particularly child care quality. We show that even after resolving endogeneity issues, we still find that child care quality has a significant positive effect on early cognitive development. The third study investigates the determinants of households' demand for child care, particularly, child care quality. We determine if households' choices regarding child care quality, as well as quantity, respond to economic factors. A family's condition is defined by the combination of family choices on mother's work status, mode and payment type of child care, and child's age. We group families by condition and estimate demand for child care quality and hours by group. The results indicate that higher income will lead to higher quality for non-working mothers but lower quality for some working mothers. Demand for quality by non-working mothers are more price sensitive than working mothers. Wage effects on quality are positive only for users of home-based care. Demand for quality is more sensitive to economic factors when the child is around 3 years old than at 6 months. These results suggest that the form, target and timing of financial assistance need to be considered for it to be effective in promoting the use of quality care. / Ph. D.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Mary C. Kingery-Page / Children are imaginative, creative, and active. Children of all age groups are influenced by their surroundings, particularly school-aged children (Frost, 2010). School-aged children’s physical, emotional, social, and intellectual developmental characteristics are influenced by their surrounding environments. Today, uniform playgrounds are diminishing the opportunities for youth to develop their personal creativity and imagination through play (Thompson 2007, Solomon 2005). By integrating art into playgrounds, these environments will offer children greater opportunity for developmental enrichment through their interactions with the site. Researched cases of art and play have inspired the development of a typology. The typology is a collection of quintessential ways that settings for play can be visually and experientially enriched by art. This process began with three critical questions; 1) What constitutes a playground? 2) What is art? and 3) How can art be integrated into playgrounds? More than 30 precedents that demonstrate art in a play setting were examined. Noting differences and similarities between the precedents, 12 types were identified. Next, analysis matrices identifying primary and, if applicable, secondary placement of each of the precedents in the 12 developed types, including sub-types, giving art in playgrounds a place. Also classified was type of art, high or vernacular, for each precedent. The research methodology was an iterative process of literature and precedent research followed by the distillation of types, further research, and refinement of the typology framework.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture / Katie Kingery-Page / Encouraging creativity is an important part of a child’s education and often not adequately supported by outdoor school environments. Contemporary playgrounds are designed in response to perceptions of liability and a limited interpretation of child development. Prefabricated plastic constructions and expanses of asphalt are poor initiators of creative expression. This project proposes a more stimulating, artistically crafted alternative to the typical playground. Beginning with documented research of play, the project layers psychology, education and humanities to form an understanding of how formal space affects human experience. More specifically, poetry, land art, sculpture, narrative and character studies inform the design solution for a 6.4 acre site at Northview Elementary School in Manhattan, Kansas. Integrated design provides children a meaningful experience of space and direct contact with nature. This design encourages imaginative and creative play, expanding the experiential quality of a contemporary playground.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The socio-emotional development of children has an extremely important impact on the overall development of children. Globally, extensive research has been dedicated to the socio-emotional development of children with regard to play, socio-emotional programmes, school readiness and school success. However, there is limited current research within the South African context relating to socio-emotional development in early childhood and its importance for school readiness, specifically from the views of educators. This study explored preschool teachers’ understanding and classroom experience of socio-emotional development in early childhood and the role it plays in school readiness. This study utilises the Albert Bandura’s social learning theory which posits that adults function as “environmental experts who model appropriate behaviours and structures the environment” in ways that encourage appropriate behaviours in children. A qualitative methodological framework with an exploratory research design was used. A total of 12 preschool teachers from both community-based preschools and primary schools with a Grade R programme were recruited. Data were collected with semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically in accordance with Braun and Clarke (2006). Participants’ rights such as informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality were guaranteed throughout the research process. Ethics guidelines stipulated by the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee at the University of the Western Cape were strictly adhered to. The main findings were that preschool teachers understand socio-emotional development as consisting of inter- and intrapersonal skills. Teachers viewed themselves as role models who encourage and model appropriate and prosocial behaviour in the classroom. Lastly, preschool teachers view age appropriate development in all areas as absolutely essential for school readiness.

The majority of educators/practitioners practicing in South Africa today were either educated under the apartheid regime or experienced a post apartheid education that was given by people socialized under the apartheid regime. Therefore, there is a strong possibility that democratic practice in schools is compromised due to the socialization of the practitioners. ECD practitioners’ perceptions on democracy and how they implement democratic practices in their workplace are explored in order to begin to identify the elements of a learning and working environment that could promote the values of a liberal democracy. A dialogic, participatory approach using questionnaires, focussed group discussions, personal interviews and critical incidents, investigated relevant issues such as perceptions of democracy, socialization, leadership, adult education and the impact of crime and HIV/Aids within the ECD context. The findings show that democracy is recognized as a positive and welcomed development in South Africa. There is a genuine ‘spirit of ubuntu’ present and the participants relish the diversity in their midst. A common feature between all groups is the concern over crime and corruption. However, it also revealed that although the surface levels of understanding of the principles of democracy are similar between various groups, the in-depth perceptions regularly differ. Improved avenues for legitimate communication between participants at all levels is advised, not only to discuss differences but also common ground. Understanding the factors that promote democratic principles such as cultural interaction, diversity, etc. could help both the participants of this study and other ECD practitioners in creating and promoting legitimate democratic practice in the workplace.

O aprendizado é a base do comportamento motor humano. Através dele habilidades são adquiridas e aperfeiçoadas com o treino, permitindo uma melhor interação com o meio. Em casos de lesão do sistema nervoso isto se torna ainda mais importante, já que muitas das funções são perdidas e devem ser reaprendidas dentro de um novo contexto. Sendo assim, estudos sobre a aprendizagem podem contribuir muito com a prática clínica, permitindo um aprimoramento dos programas de reabilitação. Apesar do grande interesse nessa área, pouco ainda se sabe sobre esse processo, especialmente durante o desenvolvimento, no qual diferenças estruturais e funcionais (especialmente relacionadas a funções cognitivas) são encontradas. Por ser a aprendizado resultado de modificações nas conexões entre diferentes estruturas cerebrais, e por estas alcançarem a maturidade apenas na segunda década de vida, é plausível supor-se que existam diferenças neste processo entre adultos e crianças. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar se há diferenças no processo de aprendizagem motora entre crianças de 09 e 10 anos e adultos, e assim identificar possíveis aspectos sensoriais, motores e cognitivos que estariam contribuindo para essa diferença. Para tanto foi comparado o desempenho, em ternos de velocidade, entre 20 crianças com idade entre 9 e 10 anos (9.6+0.50) e 20 adultos jovens (26.7+3.77) em uma tarefa de oposição de dedos. Foi considerada a capacidade de realizar movimentos independentemente da ordem e de executá-los numa seqüência específica, a qual foi submetida a treinamento (4 blocos de 600 movimentos cada). Cada grupo foi dividido em duas condições de treinamento: com e sem visão, a fim de avaliarmos o quanto informações perceptuais influenciam no processo. Foram realizadas avaliações antes e após o treinamento, além de reavaliações semanais até 28 dias depois do 6 treinamento. Comparamos ainda o desempenho entre a seqüência treinada e uma seqüência controle, para verificarmos se haveria generalização do aprendizado. Os resultados analisados, por meio da Análise Multivariada para medidas repetidas, demonstraram que ambos os grupos beneficiaram-se do treinamento, com melhora do desempenho para seqüência treinada que se manteve até 28 dias após o treino, evidenciando o aprendizado da tarefa. No entanto, apesar de crianças serem capazes de realizar movimentos de oposição de dedos na mesma velocidade do que os adultos, apresentam prejuízo ao realizá-los numa ordem específica, o que poderia ser explicado por diferenças na formação de modelos internos de movimento mais do que na capacidade de execução da tarefa. Esta hipótese pôde ser confirmada pelas diferenças encontradas na capacidade de generalização do aprendizado, onde crianças apresentaram prejuízo em relação aos adultos. O treinamento com e sem visão não influenciou significativamente no desempenho desta tarefa tanto para adultos quanto para crianças, embora possam existir diferenças na utilização dessa informação para o processo de aprendizagem. Nossos resultados podem ser explicados por diferenças na capacidade de construção e consolidação de modelos internos de movimento, processo no qual a cognição exerce papel fundamental. Na prática clínica, especialmente com crianças, isto levaria a uma maior valorização dos aspectos cognitivos da tarefa, mais do puramente a realização do treinamento motor. / The learning process is the base of the human behavior motor. By means of its abilities are acquired and improved by the training, allowing a better interaction with the half. In brain lesion cases this even becomes important, since many functions are conceded and should be relearned inside a new context. Being this way, studies on the learning can contribute a lot for the practice practises, allowing the rehabilitation programs refinement. In spite of the great interest in this area, little still knows about that process, especially during the development, in which structural and functional differences (especially related the cognitive functions) are found. Considering the learning as the result of modifications in the connections between different cerebral structures, and for these reach the maturity just in the life Monday decade, is plausible to suppose that there are differences in this process between adults and children. Being this way, the goal of this study was to investigate there are differences in the process of motive learning between children of 9 and 10 years and adult, and this way, identify possible sensory aspects, motors and cognitive that would be contributing for these possible differences.To reach such goal was compared the performance, by speed, come in 20 children with age between 9 and 10 years (9.6+0.50) and 20 young adults (26.7+3.77) in a fingers opposition task. It was considered the capacity of accomplishing actions regardless of the order and of executing them in a specific sequence, trained by means of 4 blocks of 600 movements, performed in an unique session. Each group was divided into two training terms: With and without vision, in order to evaluate the how much visual information influence in the process. They were performed evaluations before and after the training, besides weekly revaluations up to 28 days after the training. Still compared the performance between trained sequence and a sequence control, to 8 verify there would be learning generalization. The analyzed results, by means of ANOVA for repeated measures, demonstrated that both groups they benefited of the training, with performance improvement for trained sequence that was kept up to 28 days after the training, evidencing task learning consolidation. However, it verified that the training effect on the ability to speed up of opposition of independent fingers of an order specifies is the same between adults and children, in contrast with the training effect on the ability to speed up of the fingers opposition actions inside an order pre-established, where children they present significantly prejudiced in comparison to adults, particularly the ones that trained without vision. These differences could be explained by deficiencies in the action internal models formation more than in the task execution capacity. This hypothesis could be confirmed by the differences found in the learning generalization capacity, where children presented prejudice regarding the adults. This way, the differences in the learning process between adults and children found in the current study can be explained by differences in the capacity of movement internal models construction and consolidation, process in which the cognition exercises fundamental role. In the clinical practice, especially with children, this would carry to a task cognitive aspects larger valorization, more of the purely the training motor accomplishment.

Thesis advisor: Rebekah L. Coley / The goal of this dissertation was to delineate the repercussions of early maternal employment for children's early developmental competencies in the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. and to test economic and psychological theories regarding potential mechanisms linking maternal employment with children's development, including time, money, and stress. Prior research has focused on older, non-representative cohorts of American children, with results suggesting full-time employment in the first year after childbirth is linked with lower cognitive and behavioral skills. It is unclear if these same patterns exist in more recent cohorts and in other countries with differing cultural expectations and policy environments for families, most notably more comprehensive parental leave policies. Data came from representative samples of children born in each country between 2000 and 2004: (1) the U.S.'s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (N=10,100), (2) Australia's Longitudinal Study of Australian Children-Birth Cohort (N=5,093), and (3) the U.K.'s Millennium Cohort Study (N= 18,497). In each dataset, mother's employment data were coded to assess the month of entry into employment following childbirth. Extensive, well-validated direct assessment, mother report, and teacher report measures assessed children's cognitive and behavioral skills following entry into formal schooling. Descriptive data showed very different patterns of entry into employment: American mothers entered employment the earliest and at the highest intensity with more gradual, lower intensity returns by Australian and British mothers. OLS regression models weighted with propensity scores and controlling for a rich array of child and maternal characteristics suggested that early movements into employment had few associations with children's cognitive or behavioral skills in any of the countries. These neutral associations were not differentiated by maternal time, stress, or wages. However, as non-maternal household income decreased, early employment was linked with higher cognitive skills in the U.S. while employment begun before two years was linked with higher behavioral skills in Australia. There was no evidence of moderation by non-maternal household income in the U.K. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for work family policy. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

A gestação é um período de transição que faz parte do processo normal do desenvolvimento humano. Há grandes transformações, não só no organismo da mulher, mas quanto ao seu bem-estar, alterando seu psiquismo. Depressão é um transtorno mental relativamente comum durante a gravidez, associado a diversos fatores de risco. Os sintomas da depressão são frequentemente confundidos com as oscilações de humor normais da gravidez. A ocorrência de depressão em gestantes pode incorrer em consequências no desenvolvimento da criança. O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de verificar se filhos de mães deprimidas apresentam diferença no índice de Apgar, peso, altura e sinais de retração, comparados àqueles cujas mães não sofreram de depressão. Para isso, foram avaliadas quarenta díades mãe-bebê utilizando os seguintes instrumentos: Escala de Avaliação de Depressão de Hamilton, Índice de Apgar e Escala de Avaliação da Reação de Retração no Bebê. Os resultados dos dois grupos (mães deprimidas e não deprimidas) foram comparados estatisticamente. Todas as mães foram submetidas aos instrumentos acima relacionados de maneira padronizada. Não foram observadas diferenças entre os índices de Apgar , peso ou altura. No entanto, observou-se uma tendência de diferença entre filhos de mães deprimidas e não deprimidas quanto aos sinais de retração. Concluiu-se que crianças filhas de mães deprimidas não apresentaram alterações em grande parte das categorias avaliadas durante os primeiros seis meses de vida, observando-se uma tendência a manifestarem maior freqüência de sinais de retração, dado que justifica a avaliação de uma amostra maior. / Pregnancy is a transition period which is natural to the process of human development. There are major transformations, not only physiological, but also in the well being of women which alters their psyche. Depression is a relatively common mental disorder that can be associated with several risk factors. The symptoms of depression are frequently mistaken for mood swings which are common during pregnancy. The presence of depression can lead to consequences in the development of the child. The objective of this paper is to verify if children from depressed mothers present differences in Apgar scores, weight, height and signs of distress when compared to children whose mothers did not suffer from depression. In order to do so, forty mother-baby dyads were evaluated using the following tests: Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Apgar scores and The Baby Alarm Distress Scale. The results from both groups (depressed mothers and non-depressed mothers) were compared statistically. All the mothers were subjected to the tests listed above in a standardized manner. There were no differences observed in the Apgar scores, weight or height, however a tendency was observed in the difference between children from depressed mothers and non-depressed mothers when analyzed for signs of distress. It was concluded that children from depressed mothers do not present changes in most of the evaluated categories for the first six months, observing that there is a tendency for children to present signs of distress more frequently, data which justifies the evaluation of a bigger sample of patients.

A pedido do Ministério da Saúde foi desenvolvido e validado um protocolo de Indicadores Clínicos de Risco para o Desenvolvimento Infantil (IRDIs) com poder de detecção de riscos para problemas de desenvolvimento em bebês de 0 a 18 meses. Tal pesquisa configurou-se como um Projeto Temático da FAPESP no período 2004-2008. Com a finalidade de realizar o desfecho clínico, um novo instrumento de avaliação foi criado, a Avaliação Psicanalítica aos 3 anos (AP3). A fim de dar continuidade à pesquisa, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo fazer um estudo exploratório que sirva de base para futuro estudo de associação entre resultados obtidos em IRDI e AP3 com os obtidos para qualidade de vida e condição sintomática em idades posteriores. Buscou-se verificar em que medida resultados referentes a condições psíquicas e de desenvolvimento obtidos com a aplicação do IRDI e da AP3 associam-se com resultados referentes à qualidade de vida e à condição sintomática da criança aos seis anos, obtidos com Autoquestionnaire Qualité de Vie Enfant Imagé AUQUEI, Child Health Questionnaire CHQ e Child Behavioral Checklist CBCL; para responder a tal pergunta de pesquisa, utilizou-se um método estatístico. Além disso, buscou-se verificar em que medida aspectos singulares de quatro casos avaliados apresentaram manifestações de tendência; para responder a tal pergunta de pesquisa, utilizou-se um método de discussão de caso. A amostra foi composta por 46 crianças distribuídas em três centros de saúde de São Paulo. Os resultados indicaram que tanto o IRDI como a AP3 não se associaram à avaliação de qualidade de vida obtida com o uso do AUQUEI, sendo consistentes com outros estudos realizados com tal instrumento. No entanto, a associação estatisticamente significativa encontrada entre resultados obtidos no IRDI e no CHQ mostrou maior capacidade do IRDI para predizer qualidade de vida relacionada ao índice psicossocial do que ao índice físico do mesmo instrumento. A associação entre AP3 e CHQ apontou resultados significativos para os índices físico e psicossocial. Em relação à associação realizada entre IRDI e CBCL, os resultados apontaram que não há evidências de que seja significativa. Quanto à relação entre AP3 e CBCL, foi observado que há uma associação considerável entre ambos, embora não estatisticamente significativa. Os resultados apontaram para associações consideráveis entre variáveis que justificam futuros estudos com maiores unidades amostrais. Foi possível questionar o uso da noção de qualidade de vida, bem como a metodologia utilizada para investigá-la. Para efeitos de conclusão, tem-se uma pesquisa que, a partir da psicanálise, buscou um diálogo com outras áreas do saber em especial, a medicina e a saúde pública a fim de apontar indícios de quando há tendências de problemas no desenvolvimento psíquico infantil com impacto para a qualidade de vida / At the request of the Ministry of Health was developed and validated a protocol of Clinical Risk Indicators for Child Development (CRICD) Indicadores Clínicos de Risco para o Desenvolvimento Infantil (IRDI\'s) with power to detect risk for developmental problems in babies from 0 to 18 months. This research was configured as FAPESP Thematic Project along 2004-2008. In order to accomplish the clinical outcome, a new evaluation instrument was created, the Psychoanalytical Evaluation at the age of 3 (PE3) Avaliação Psicanalítica aos 3 anos (AP3). To continue the research, this work aimed to make an exploratory study sarving as a basis for future study of association between the results obtained in IRDI and AP3 with those obtained for quality of life and symptomatic condition at later ages. We attempted to ascertain to what extent the results for psychic conditions and development achieved through applied IRDI and AP3 are associated with the results for quality of life and symptomatic condition of children to six years. It later was obtained with Autoquestionnaire Qualité de Vie Enfant Image - AUQUEI, Child Health Questionnaire - CHQ and Child Behavioral Checklist CBCL. To answer this subject matter, we used a statistical method. In addition, we attempted to ascertain to what extent the unique aspects of four cases evaluated showed manifestations of the trend. To answer this second subject matter, we used a method of case discussion. The sample consisted of 46 children divided into three health centers of Sao Paulo. The results indicated that both IRDI and AP3 were not associated with assessing quality of life obtained with the use of AUQUEI. It was consistent with other studies accomplished with this instrument. However, the significant association found between results obtained in IRDI and CHQ showed greater capacity of IRDI to predict quality of life in terms psychosocial score. The same association showed less capacity of IRDI to predict quality of life physical score. The association between AP3 and CHQ showed significant results for physical and psychosocial scores. Association made between IRDI and CBCL indicated that there was no evidence of significance. Regarding the relationship between AP3 and CBCL, there was a considerable association between them, although not statistically significant. Results showed a significant association between the variables that justify future studies with larger sampling units. It was possible to question the use of the quality of life concept as well as the methodology used to investigate it. In conclusion, from psychoanalysis we sought a dialogue with other disciplines - especially medicine and public health. We sought also to point out problems trends for childrens psychic development with an impact on quality of life

O diagnóstico de uma doença grave e a hospitalização trazem consigo diversas situações adversas para a criança e o adolescente (e suas famílias). Os retornos constantes ao ambiente hospitalar para controlar os efeitos da progressão da doença podem influenciar no seu desenvolvimento integral. Dentre as doenças que necessitam de acompanhamento hospitalar durante período prolongado, o câncer infanto-juvenil vem sendo preocupação de estudos nas diferentes áreas do conhecimento, devido às diversas implicações associadas aos tratamentos necessários. O objetivo principal da presente dissertação foi investigar as associações e dissociações entre os diferentes fatores que podem contribuir para um perfil cognitivo mais preservado em crianças com leucemia na fase ativa do tratamento (aspectos psicossociais, acadêmicos, neuropsicológicos e clínicos propriamente ditos). Foram avaliadas habilidades neuropsicológicas (atenção, memória de trabalho, velocidade do processamento e funções executivas), estratégias metacognitivas, características comportamentais e competência social em crianças hospitalizadas com Leucemias. Igualmente foram investigados dados referentes ao nível socioeconômico, frequência/intensidade da participação à classe hospitalar, além de variáveis relacionadas ao tempo/tipo de tratamento médico elegido. Foi também examinado o panorama geral a respeito das práticas atuais em Classes Hospitalares, para servirem da base para as análises. Os resultados apontaram para uma tendência das habilidades de atenção, funções executivas (componentes controle inibitório, fluência verbal e flexibilidade cognitiva) e memória de trabalho (componente fonológico) se mostrarem mais preservadas ao longo do tratamento. Os componentes executivo central e memória de trabalho visuoespacial do modelo de memória de trabalho e velocidade do processamento parecem estar mais deficitários nestas crianças com leucemias. Quanto aos aspectos comportamentais e às competências sociais, pode ser observado que crianças com perfis mais preservados nesses quesitos tiveram melhores desempenhos em tarefas neuropsicológicas. A partir dos achados analisados ao longo da pesquisa, pode-se perceber que, apesar da heterogeneidade da amostra e dos resultados obtidos, a necessidade da avaliação neuropsicológica e do planejamento de estratégias que desenvolvam o potencial de aprendizagem em crianças com câncer durante e após o tratamento em Oncologia, sendo de suma importância a pesquisa de propostas educativas e de reabilitação que auxiliem essa população em suas especificidades. / The diagnosis of a severe disease and the hospitalization carry within’ many adverse situations for children and adolescents (and of their families). The constantly returns to the hospital setting to control the effects of disease’s progression may influence in their integral development. Within the diseases that need longer monitoring at the hospital setting, childhood cancer is a major concern in research of different areas of knowledge, due to many implications associated with treatments needed. The aim of the present thesis was to investigate associations and dissociations between the different factors that may contribute to a most preserved cognitive profile within children with leukemia in active phase of treatment (psychosocial, academic, neuropsychological and clinical aspects). It was evaluated neuropsychological skills (attention, working memory, processing speed and executive functions), metacognitive strategies measures and brief assessment of their behavior and social competences (CBCL) of hospitalized children with Leukemia. Socioeconomic aspects and frequency/intensity of Hospital-School attendance were also investigated, as well as the time/type of medical treatment chosen. It was also examined a general scenery of current practices in Hospital Schooling, to serve as a reference for the analyses. The results shows a tendency in attention and executive functions tasks, as well as working memory (phonological component), into a more preserved presentation, while the central executive and visuo-spatial working memory and processing speed were with deficits in children with leukemia. On behavioral and social competences, it could be observed that children with most preserved profiles in this question have better performance in neuropsychological tasks. Through the findings analyzed over the research, it’s possible to understand the importance in attention to protection/risk factors to cognitive development in childhood leukemia, especially in conjuncture of different factor with concomitant impairment. In this way, we reiterate the need of neuropsychological assessment in this context and strategy planning that develop the potential learning in children with cancer during and after Oncology treatment.