Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) are a state-level policy designed to assess and improve quality in early childhood education and care through rating systems and financial incentives. Current research suggests that QRIS are not meeting their stated goals of increasing access to quality care and improving child outcomes. This report investigates concepts of quality in QRIS by critically analyzing their use of standardized quality measurement scales. It uses postmodern perspectives and cultural relativism theory to argue for an alternate conceptualization of quality that incorporate community context and multiple perspectives. Finally, this report proposes alternative policies that could be used to promote ongoing conversations about quality within a community context. / text

Thesis (Ph. D. )--School of Education and Dept. of Sociology. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2007. / "A dissertation in education and sociology." Advisor: Sue Vartuli. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed April 22, 2008 Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-214). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed June 26, 2009). PDF text: xii, 221 p. ; 8 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3344195. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Over past decades, the face of Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC)has changed substantially. It has been shaped by two dominant policy discourses: the discourse of market theory, and, more recently, the discourse of parent and community participation. The intertwining of these two seemingly opposing discourses has led to the positioning of parents both as consumers of ECEC and as participants in ECEC. Each of these perspectives promotes a particular way of fulfilling the role of parent in ECEC. Reflecting general marketing principles, the primary role of parent as consumer is seen as selecting the right service for their child and family. In contrast, while arguably more ambiguous in meaning, the role of parent as participant promotes a partnership approach, and, increasingly, parental involvement in decision making at both service and public policy levels. Each of these roles has been constructed for parents by governments and policymakers, with little reference to the views and experiences of parents using ECEC. Seeking to address this gap in the ECEC knowledge base, the present study investigated the qualitatively different ways in which parents constitute their role in Australian ECEC. The study focused on two related aspects of the role of parents: (1) the role of parents in using ECEC services; and (2) the role of parents in shaping ECEC public policy. To describe these roles, as viewed and experienced by parents, and to reveal possible variation therein, the study engaged a phenomenographic research approach (Bowden & Walsh, 2000; Marton & Booth, 1997). Twenty-six parents participated in the study. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews with individual parents and subjected to a rigorous process of phenomenographic analysis. The study results are presented in two parts. With respect to the role of parents using ECEC, the study led to the construction of five categories of description, denoting five distinctly different ways of seeing and experiencing this role. The role of parents was seen as: (1) selecting and using the best service for their child (the service user conception); (2) knowing what's happening for their child in the service (the informed user conception); (3) paying for a service, and, thereby, enacting certain consumer rights (the consumer conception); (4) supporting their selected service and having some say in what happens for their child at the service (the partnership conception); and (5) working as a member of the service community for the benefit of all concerned, which includes participating in decision making (the member of a service community conception). Taking a broader perspective, the study again revealed variation in how parents constituted their role in shaping ECEC policy, leading to the construction of four categories of description. The role of parents was seen as: (1) no role in shaping ECEC public policy (the no role conception); (2) being informed about policy that affects their child and family, raising any concerns and/or seeking a change to current or proposed policy (the raising concerns conception); (3) having some say in policy matters that affect their child and family (the having some say conception); and (4) participating in policy decision making, particularly where this is likely to affect their child and family (the participating in policy decision making conception). The study highlights variation in how these roles are constituted by parents, inclusive of the basic concepts of parent as consumer and parent as participant. In addition, the study offers an insider perspective on these two "dominant common-sense understandings" (Vincent & Martin, 2000, p. 2) of the role of parents, prompting questions about their future in ECEC policy. As an example of "developmental phenomenography" (Bowden, 2000b, p. 3), the study also identifies factors perceived by parents as influencing their participation at various levels, and discusses implications for both policy and practice. Finally, the study extends the general phenomenographic area of interest, from education to public policy research. Within this area, phenomenography is seen to offer a useful and pragmatic research tool, facilitating the identification and consideration of different constituent views and experiences, and, thereby, signifying more possible options for action.

The introduction of a universal, full-time Preparatory Year in all Queensland schools from 2007 is a significant reform in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in that state. Rapidly increasing enrolment of children in full-time Preparatory Year programs in non-government schools has been a feature of the Queensland context over the past decade. These trends, along with efforts towards consistency of services and universal school starting ages across Australian states and territories have prompted this important reform to early education in Queensland. Constructions of the role of parents as consumers of early childhood services and/or partners in their children's early education suggest that consideration of parent views of this reform is both timely and strategic. This thesis reports the findings of a research project investigating parent conceptions of a Preparatory Year in a non-government school in outer urban Queensland. The research used a phenomenographic approach to elicit and describe the qualitatively different ways in which a group of 26 parents viewed the Preparatory Year. Analysis revealed that the range of parent conceptions of the Preparatory Year demonstrated varying emphasis on parent needs, child needs and preparation for future success in school and beyond. The study led to the construction of five categories of description outlining five different ways of understanding the Preparatory Year. The Preparatory Year was viewed in relation to (1) the current needs of the parents, (2) the current needs of the child, (3) preparation for Year One, (4) providing an advantage in primary school, and (5) preparation for future success beyond school. These five categories were linked and differentiated from each other by two central themes, or dimensions of variation: (1) a beneficiary dimension in which either the parent or the child were seen to benefit from the program, and (2) a temporal dimension in which the program was viewed in relation to meeting current needs or preparing for the future. The results of the study suggest that variation exists in the ways that parents may conceptualise the phenomenon of the Preparatory Year in Queensland. Analysis of the data further suggests that tensions exist around whether the Preparatory Year ought to emphasise preparation for the future and/or meet current needs of children; and whether those programs should meet the needs of the parent and/or the needs of the child. This thesis opens up the possibility of future tensions, with the potential for parent preferences for a formal interpretation of the Preparatory Year curriculum being at odds with the new play-based Early Years Curriculum Guidelines. Results of the study suggest that more attention be given to engaging parents and eliciting their views of the early childhood programs experienced by their children. Moreover, it provides an approach for ways in which parent views might be generated, analysed and incorporated into future policy developments and reforms.

Thesis PlanA (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study details a phenomenographic and grounded theory investigation aimed at generating new knowledge of an under-researched area, namely that of parental choice of early childhood education and care services. Given the complexity and range of choice of early childhood services, and the diversity of family situations, research eliciting parent conceptions of their choices of early childhood services is both necessary and timely. Findings from this study may be used to inform early childhood professionals by expanding their awareness of the variation that exists in the way that parents conceptualise early childhood services and make choices for young children. This study addresses both the dilemmas of individual parents in conceptualising and choosing services for their children and the implications of their individual decisions in aggregate. Single in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 parents from the local area of Boyne Island, Central Queensland, Australia. The sample of parents comprised mothers only, although mothers and fathers were invited initially to join the study. The parents were drawn from the four local early childhood education and care (ECEC) services that operate in this area. In the first stage of the analysis, a phenomenographic framework was used to develop an outcome space to describe the eight parent conceptions of ECEC services. These categories describe the way parents see ECEC services as: Demographically convenient, Safe, secure and hygienic, Providing a routine, Caring and nurturing, Having trained and qualified staff, Valuing parents and keeping them informed, Preparing for further learning, Providing socialisation. These eight categories of description are understood and distinguished in terms of three dimensions, those being physical, personnel and personal. The physical dimension refers to the location and availability of services catering to the needs of the family. The personnel dimension refers to how ECEC services are judged according to the personnel who work within that environment. The personal dimension refers to how the ECEC service is judged according to how the individual children and their family are catered for and responded to within the environment. In the second stage of analysis, an orthodox grounded theory approach was used to explore how parents understood their choice of ECEC services for their young children. This later analysis found that parent choice is influenced by: Relationship with child; Influence of significant others; Understandings of childhood; Maximising the child's potential. The grounded theory that developed as a result of this stage of analysis was that parents make complex and pragmatic choices within social contexts. An understanding of the relationships between parent conceptions and the influences that they consider when choosing ECEC services was used to develop a model. This model demonstrates the complexities of choice of service juxtaposed with parent conceptions of ECEC services. Tensions for parents and their choice of service arose when their conceptions of ECEC services were compromised. Therefore, central to the model presented is the understanding that the ECEC services were located within a specific societal context and as such, any one, or combination of, the dimensions of conceptions of service, impact upon choice.

The field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) traditionally encompasses care and education for children aged from birth to eight years. In this study, the focus is specifically on the field that provides services for children in prior to school settings, that being the birth to five sector. This sector is highly feminised and has emerged over the last century from philanthropic roots. Despite considerable work into leadership in other areas, until recent times, attention to aspects of leadership has been limited within the ECEC field and much of the research undertaken has focused heavily on centre-based leadership. This study investigated how personnel, from a range of services, understand and enact leadership. In terms of data analysis it draws heavily on symbolic interactionism as a methodological tool and engages standpoint feminist theory to inform the analytical process. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with twenty-six participants who also identified artefacts, which they considered influenced and supported their understandings of leadership. In addition, two focus groups were conducted to explore themes emerging from early analysis of the data. Findings indicate two categories, which emerge as relevant to how leadership is understood and enacted by participants. The first of these is the concept of interpreted professional identity, which reflects participants' interpretations of who they are as early childhood professionals informed by their own views and the views of others. How individuals interpret their sense of self (manifest in their professional identity) is influential in the secondary category, which is interpreted leadership capacity. This category reflects participants' leadership activity or inactivity. The analysis reflects a complex interplay between how participants interpret their professional sense of self (interpreted professional identity) and their capacity and willingness to enact leadership (interpreted leadership capacity). Individuals in the formation of their professional identity interpret factors, both internal to the ECEC field and external (through social expectations). The culture of the ECEC field (internal factors) includes competing elements such as a discourse of niceness juxtaposed against examples of horizontal violence. Factors external to the field suggest there are lingering social associations between heroic male images and leadership, which make women as leaders problematic. Within a highly feminised field such as ECEC, this study brings new perspectives to understandings of leadership and its enactment.

The topic of this thesis is Early Childhood Education and Care in the Netherlands. It brings the insight in the institutions for children up to six years old in the Netherlands. The theoretical part summarizes basic information about the Netherlands together with the conditions of family policy. The main portion of the theoretical part is devoted to the description of the educational system and characteristics of the various types of institutions that provide early childhood education and care of pre-school children. In addition to the principle of the functioning of institutions, the thesis explains the legislative anchoring of pre-school education together with staffing of institutions. The final part of the theoretical chapter discusses current issues and problems of pre-school education in the Netherlands. In the empirical part of the thesis it presents case studies of four pre-school institutions in the Netherlands; each of them represents a particular type of institutional care for a pre- school child. Each institution studied in detail, in its structural and processual aspects. The aim of this work is to map, describe and compare all four types of institutional care for preschool age children in the Netherlands. The following methods were used: content analysis of documents, semi-structured...