acase@tulane.edu / 1 / Blair Youmans

Little research exists on early childhood development in Manitoba’s Francophone community. The objective was to investigate whether children in the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM) were different from other children in Manitoba on Early Development Instrument (EDI) outcomes, when controlling for neighbourhood, family and individual factors. Using multilevel modelling, 944 DSFM children were compared to 25,950 children from other schools. DSFM children scored higher on physical health and well-being, and scored lower on language and cognitive development, and communication and general knowledge compared to other children. DSFM children living in communities with a high proportion of Francophones scored higher on four of the five EDI domains, compared to other DSFM children. DSFM children whose first language was not French had significantly lower scores on all domains. Results demonstrate the importance of developing the French language in the home and the need for the Francophone community to provide support for child development.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The White Paper on Education and training defines ECD as the process by which children 0 – 9 grow and thrive in all respects. The main focus of ECD’s is to ensure that children are thriving, by providing a solid foundation for physical, emotional, cognitive and overall healthy development of children (UNICEF, 2005). Therefore a critical factor for educational achievement is access to ECD. In redressing the exclusion of the past in ECD the equity enshrined in the white paper on Education and training (1995) and the Reconstruction and development program (RDP) suggest that government act as the key agent for ‘levelling the playing field’ . This would greatly benefit the historically disadvantaged children which are the majority within South Africa (Department Basic Education, 2001). The challenge is to establish in which way the playing field are bring levelled to increase ascertain ECD programs for all children in general, and poor children in particular. Thus the implementation of quality programs becomes a matter of urgency (UNICEF, 2005). Many ECD centres have been established around the world and in South Africa, very few studies have been conducted concerning the implementation of government policy in terms of ECD centres. As stated in the Convention on the Right of the Child and the African charter on the Rights and the welfare of the child. The South African constitutions in regard to Act 108 of 1996 include the Bill of Rights, with policies and plans that are in one place to ensure that the rights of children in the Early Childhood Developmental stage are met (Child institute, 2007/2008). This research investigates the implementation of government ECD policy in the three sectors of government policy which need to be adhered to. Namely the criteria stipulated by the Educational Department, Social Development as well as the Department of Health. The study shall ascertain whether these policies are indeed being implemented. New ECD programs include the ECD integrated Plan with a focus on parent education, in addition to Expanded Public Works Program which also includes the training of parents (Biersterker & Kvalsig, 2007 :pp 1200). The research objectives are namely to examine the implementation of ECD policy which covers all three departments that of; Education, Social Development and Health. To develop a legislative and conceptual framework to underpin the study Identify challenges and opportunities from primary data and draw conclusions Make recommendations Specific research questions addresses in this study: •To determine what processes are in place to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the ECD policy. •To ascertain what specific challenges are faced by ECD centres staff during the implementation of policy. •The relevance of the policies to the intended Institutions. A qualitative study method shall be adopted. The instrument (questionnaire) will be issued to participants namely head/principal or teacher in charge of ECD centres. The questionnaire shall be followed up with a focus group, which shall include head of ECD’s as well as active parents from communities/governing bodies. The researcher undertakes the responsibility of providing and examining the level of competences. The researcher shall be responsible in conducting the research, with integrity and maintain honesty and fairness at all times. The participants are assured that the information shared during the discussions would be used solely for the study and no other publications. The researcher shall uphold the right for any participant to withdraw from the process if they no longer wish to participate. Only respondents who provide consent to being a part of this process shall participate.

Magister Artium - MA (Child and Family Studies) / Early childhood centres play a profound role in shaping the behaviour of children. Research indicates that early childhood centres contribute to the holistic development of children, encompassing their motor, congnitive and behavioural skills. Research has further shown that the South African authorities have an early childhood policy which spans various aspects of childhood development. To establish the nexus between early childhood centres and the behaviour of children, this study explored the role of practitioners in early childhood development centres in shaping the behaviour of children. The study uses the Ecological Systems Theory to interrogate its tenets of the theory and the research findings. The study engaged a qualitative approach to explore this phenomenon. Semi-structured interviews, field notes and observations were used to obtain data from parents, principals and practitioners at early childhood centres. Data was analysed thematically and as such, three main themes emerged from the research: the behaviour of children in early childhood development centres; practitioners' perceptions of their own roles in early childhood development centres; and the attitudes of practitioners towards their roles in early development centres.

Previous research suggests that young children expect individuals who are members of the same social group (e.g., race, gender) to have warmer and closer relationships than individuals who are members of different social groups. Such an expectation may act as a barrier to academic achievement for children assigned to cross-race teachers, particularly during kindergarten. To investigate the effect of student-teacher relationships on academic achievement, kindergarten students (N = 70; 27 European American, 14 African American, 25 Latino, 4 Asian American) were assigned to a teacher who was depicted as having either warm cross-race (experimental condition) or warm same-race (control condition) relationships. The consequential effects on students’ perceptions of the their student-teacher relationship quality and school performance was examined. Results indicated that students who viewed a presentation emphasizing their teacher’s positive same-race relations, and who were paired with a same-race (but not cross-race) teacher, perceived closer, more supportive relationships with their teachers than their peers. Similarly, African American and Latino students who viewed a presentation emphasizing positive same-race relations perceived closer relations with their teachers than their European American and Asian American peers. Overall, students who viewed a presentation emphasizing positive cross-race relations showed better work habits in the classroom. Unexpectedly, the experimental manipulation was ineffective at countering children’s explicit beliefs about others’ racial biases. Potential implicit mechanisms of change in perceptions of the student-teacher relationship are discussed. / text

Thesis (M.S.M.) 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. / OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between maternal trauma exposure and children's social skills in preschool. METHODS: We nested a prospective cohort study within an ongoing randomized controlled trial of a maternal depression prevention intervention. Each participating mother had a three to five year-old child in Head Start. Maternal trauma history was assessed at baseline. Six months later, Head Start teachers (masked to both study arm and mothers' depression status) completed the Social Skills Rating system (SSRS) to assess children's social skills and problem behaviors. SSRS scores of children of mothers with and without a trauma history were compared using t-tests for bivariate comparisons. To evaluate for potential effect measure modification and confounding, we conducted a stratified analysis by the variables of interest. We evaluated for effect measure modification by comparing stratum-specific estimates to each other. we then evaluated for confounding by comparing the standardized to the crude estimates. Finally, we conducted a multivariate analysis, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: Eighty-two mother-child pairs completed the baseline and follow-up evaluations. Sixty mothers (73%) reported a history of trauma. The most common traumatic exposures included emotional abuse (58%), the violent death of a close contact (53%), and physical assault (43%). In the bivariate analysis, children of mothers with a history of trauma had lower overall social skills scores when compared to children of mothers without trauma [101.48 (54th percentile) vs. 109.18 (66th percentile), p. 0.04]. When adjusted for multiple potential confounders, mean social skills scores were 10.01 points lower (95% CI -18.88, -1.14) for children of mothers with a history of trauma. There was no evidence of effect measure modification by study group assignment, ethnicity single parenthood, or depression score. CONCLUSIONS: Among urban Head Start mothers, trauma exposure is common and is associated with lower child social skills. Because social skills are a critical aspect of kindergarten readiness, specifically addressing maternal trauma in preschool programs that serve high-risk populations may be important. / 2031-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of variations in the day care environment on linguistic and social-emotional development of pre-school children in Singapore after home background has been taken into account. This study examined differences in the environment of 16 day care centres. Characteristics of the environment were assessed by the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, ECERS (Harms & Clifford, 1980) and the Target Child Method of Observation, TCM (Sylva, Roy & Painter, 1980). The ECERS measured the physical and programmatic features of day care centres and produced a total 'quality' score and seven subscale scores. These consisted of assessments of personal care and routines, furnishing and display, language-reasoning experiences, fine and gross motor activities, creative activities, social development and adult needs provided in day care centres. This rating scale was validated in Singapore and discriminant validity was established. Reliability was also obtained before proceeding with the assessment of the day care environments. The TCM investigated the interactive features of day care centres and consisted of typical activities and social interactions experienced by children. Inter-observer reliability was established and child behaviours were systematically observed and coded for 12,800 thirty-second intervals. Day care effects were investigated by assessing children at two time points. A pre-test,consisting of linguistic and social-emotional assessments, was conducted on 122 pre-school aged children at the beginning of the year and a post-test administered towards the end of the year. Data analysis was conducted by regressing these outcomes on the ECERS measure of the day care environment. T-test analyses were also conducted to investigate differences in typical child behaviours (as nasured by the TCM) between 'high' progress centres and 'low' progress centres. Child characteristics and home background variables were included in the analyses to control for possible confounding of the effects of the day care environment on children's outcomes. This study found that total centre 'quality' and specific subscales on the ECERS were related to some aspects of linguistic and social emotional development of children. Results also suggested that certain child activities and social interaction were associated with higher progress in language development.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The literature identifies the importance of teaching for transfer as one of the most important goals in education. According to Broad and Newstrom (1992) transfer is the “effective and continuing application of the knowledge and skills gained in training. The end goal of training is not achieved unless transfer occurs” (p.15). The literature identified various factors that have an influence on the transfer of learning, but this study focused on factors in the workplace environment. The roles of principals (managers) and peers in reinforcing and supporting what practitioners have learned in the college classroom is seen as one of the main factors influencing transfer of learning (J. Kirkpatrick and W. Kirkpatrick, 2010, p.7). The study explored HRD perspectives in the literature which provided useful information on factors in the workplace environment which support the application of learning. The literature on adult learning and training in the workplace provided insights on learning as a social process – concepts such as guided participation and communities of practice linked directly to my research question on the role of principals and peers in supporting learning transfer in the ECD workplace.

Thesis advisor: Paul Cichello / Domestic violence affects women of all socioeconomic and educational backgrounds across the world. It violates fundamental human rights and also has significant economic costs including a loss of human capital formation. This study seeks to understand the impact of a mother's experience of domestic violence on her children's early childhood development and educational outcomes in Uganda. It uses data from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey and employs a two-stage least squares instrumental variables approach. The instrument used is whether or not the woman's mother experienced domestic violence. Results are not precisely estimated but they suggest that experiencing domestic violence increases the incidence of low socioemotional development in women’s 3-to-5-year-old children while it decreases the incidence of low cognitive development. This suggests that living in a household with violence causes children to have worse social and emotional early childhood development while it improves their cognition and/or independence. Results from the educational models suggest that exposure to domestic violence increases a child’s likelihood of being enrolled in school as well as his overall years of educational attainment. Taken together, results suggest that children in homes with domestic violence might cope by becoming more independent. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

Humans objectify or designate certain animals to specific roles. These roles are often learned in childhood and followed into adulthood. Though there is more literature on the nonhuman animal industries nowadays than ever, there are still gaps in knowledge and work to be done concerning childhood speciesism. This qualitative study aims to reveal how childhood perspectives toward nonhuman animals are established. The study's findings indicate speciesism may develop in early age children due to parental and environmental influences. Parents were found to influence speciesism in children through teaching the distinct roles animals play in our society. As adults, parents were aware of the health, environmental, and ethical issues regarding animal and animal products, yet encouraged their children's consumption of animals or animal products. Parents were found to use euphemisms, or indirect language, to intentionally shield their children from understanding farm animals as food. However, parents were also found to be open-minded and willing to accommodate a vegan/vegetarian diet upon their child's request. The study introduced the idea of children favoring animals to which they could relate. The findings also revealed that children respond negatively to animals used as educational tools, such as animals in zoological facilities, household pets, and classroom pets. This paper explores the development of the child-animal paradox: speciesism in childhood.