This doctoral thesis investigates the question: what are the challenges of family policy formation in Lithuania? The aim of the research is the theoretical and empirical evaluation of the compliance of family policy with family changes in Lithuania by identifying the problems of family policy formation and ways for their resolution. The content of family policy in Lithuania is analysed in the context of the state-family relationship in the Lithuanian Constitution, conceptual family policy principles defining the object of family policy, objectives and operational trends and integration of the EU operational trends in the national family policy, as well as the system of family policy measures developing possibilities to reconcile work and family life in comparison with system of measures of other European states. The dissertation also presents the analysis of the outcomes of the quantitative research „Attitude to family“ by revealing the socio-cultural context of family policy formation, as well as the outcomes of the experts’ attitude toward the problems of family policy formation and the possibilities for the development of family policy. Finally the dissertation presents the model of a systematic approach towards family policy formation. / Daktaro disertacija siekia atsakyti į klausimą – kokie sunkumai kyla formuojant šeimos politiką Lietuvoje? Darbo tikslas - teoriškai ir empiriškai įvertinti formuojamos šeimos politikos adekvatumą šeimos pokyčiams Lietuvoje, atskleidžiant šeimos politikos formavimo problemas ir jų sprendimo būdus. Lietuvos šeimos politikos turinys analizuojamas šeimos statuso ir šeimos ir valstybės santykių apibrėžimo Lietuvos Konstitucijoje, konceptualių šeimos politikos pagrindų, apibrėžiančių šeimos politikos objektą, tikslus ir veiksmų kryptis ir ES prioritetinių veiklos krypčių integravimo nacionalinėje šeimos politikoje kontekste, taip pat analizuojama šeimos politikos priemonių sistema, sudaranti galimybes tėvams derinti darbą ir šeimos gyvenimą, lyginant ją su kitų Europos šalių priemonių sistemomis. Disertacijoje taip pat pristatomi kiekybinio tyrimo "Požiūris į šeimą", atskleidžiantys sociokultūrinį šeimos politikos formavimo kontekstą bei ekspertų požiūris į šeimos politikos formavimo problemas ir šeimos politikos formavimo galimybes. Pabaigoje pristatomas sisteminio požiūrio į šeimos politikos formavimą modelis.

Ng Chor-kong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-171). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1: --- "Introduction: The reappraisal of the possibilities and constraints of the ""autonomous mothering""" --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- "Encapsulating subjectivity: Understanding mothering through the ""subjectivistic"" coping strategy" --- p.37 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Reflection of self: Anxiety in coming to terms with lives on welfare --- p.76 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Problematization of self: Anxiety of interacting with the welfare agency --- p.105 / Chapter Chapter 5: --- Recognition of self: Active subjects passively resisting marginalization --- p.122 / Chapter Chapter 6: --- Conclusion: Subjectification of self through practice --- p.153 / Bibliography --- p.163

Regional Family Policy Focused on Families at Risk Veronika Burešová Introduction: Diploma thesis deals with the activities of regional authorities focused on support of families at risk, in context of the process of transformation of the alternative care system for children at risk in the Czech Republic. The goals: The main goal of the thesis is to explore the approach of regional authorities to the issue of families at risk and what forms this approach. Methods: The research was divided into two parts. Firstly the case studies of thirteen regions (except Prague) were elaborated. Based on these studies, 4 regions were chosen, 2 as examples of good practice, other 2 as examples of bad practices. In these four regions, qualitative semi-structured interviews were done. As respondents a councillor and an officer of regional authority office were chosen. 7 interviews were finally made, 2 respondents answered by email. Outcomes: We can find family as a target group in most of regional plans for the development of social services, but it is usually not a priority. The family regional strategy papers were elaborated only in 5 regions, but not all of them are focused also on families at risk. The scale of the support of families at risk in regions depends on political will and political vision of...

This thesis studies the dynamics of parents’ time with children. It uses self-reported time diary data to empirically document discrepancies between high- and low-educated parents’ time spent in various childcare activities. By doing so, the study considers one important but under-researched form of childhood inequality, namely inequality in parental time investment. The thesis is among the first to provide an extensive and detailed empirical documentation of variations in parents’ time use with children and to examine the effect of macro-structure and policy context on parenting behaviour. Using the American Time Use Survey (2003-2008), the thesis first investigates variations in parents’ time spent in different types of childcare among white parents in the US. Then, the American Heritage Time Use Survey (1965-2010) is employed to examine whether differences between high-and low-educated parents’ time spent with children have been growing or diminishing over time. Finally, the Multinational Time Use Survey (1965-2008) is used to explore the relationship between specific policies, macro-economic structure and childcare across time and across countries. The results can be summarized as follows. High-educated parents provide more primary childcare for their children compared to low-educated parents. The difference is particularly acute during the early years of childhood, and the gap is particularly wide for childcare activities which are fundamentally important for the social and cognitive development of children. This parental investment gap, most notably between high-and low-educated mothers, has been widening in the US. The main source of this widening phenomenon is the steady increase in high-educated mothers’ time spent in interactive and developmental childcare activities, rather than in routine and physical childcare activities. The analysis of cross-national data shows that the strong positive effect of education on childcare is a cross-national occurrence. However, the strength of this association varies considerably across time and across countries: universal paid leave for mothers and a gender egalitarian labour market structure help alleviate the education and gender gap in childcare. Mothers provide more primary childcare as the number of available paid leave weeks increases, while fathers increase their contribution to primary childcare as the percentage of women in the labour market increases. The provision of paid leave for mothers decreases the effect of education on primary childcare, and specific family policies as well as gender egalitarian socio-economic contexts can help alleviate inequalities in parental time investment in children.

Family Policy in Sweden Key words: family policy, gender equality, women's employment The aim of this master's degree thesis is to analyze family policy in Sweden, which has become main tool for promoting gender equaility policy. Through family policy Sweden make and effort to achieve equality between women and men in society, particulary by men's greater sharing of responsibility for children and houshold. After the introduction which summarizes the objectives of the thesis, there is the first chapter defining the concept of family policy. This chapter explains the difference between family law and family policy, describes the various models of states family policies and instruments which set targets are met. The second chapter deals with some demographic statistics, which are for the purpose of thesis essential to keep in mind and which are decisive for the current conception of family policy. Another chapter describes the institutional structure of family policy in Sweden in the context of their political system. I name appropriate authorities who deal with the question of families, children and gender equality. The fourth chapter focuses on the historical development of family policy, which is essential for understanding the current system of promoting gender equality through roles in the...

Family formation and dissolution in some European countries at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries Abstract The main aim of this thesis is to analyze the regional differences of the level of marriage and divorce rate in Europe at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Six states were chosen, each of them represents one of the specific models of family policy in Europe. The study focuses not only on the development of individual indicators of nuptiality and divorce rate and actual level of them, but also possible causes of changes in marriage behavior and increasing of divorces. The first part of the study describes the characteristics of family and marriage, including changes of looking at attitude to these two institutions over time. Next, family policy is mentioned as well, because its financial or other measures could have impact on the processes of formation and dissolution of families. Theories explaining the attitudes of contemporary society to different family institutions are also presented as well as factors that affect the marriage and divorce rate. The recent changes of family patterns can be explained mainly by postponing marriage to higher ages, reducing the intensity of nuptiality, family forms pluralization and constant increasing of divorce rate. Economic factors related with family...

The support of families with children till the age of seven in the 21st century in the Czech Republic The topic of the thesis is the support of families with children till the age of seven in the 21st century in the Czech Republic. The main objective is to summarize the possibilities of state and private sector. Because the family, especially the association among parents and their children, has an irreplaceable importance for all the society. It is interesting how much has the support changed in the recent years. Considering the fact that the society has entered a new millennium, a lot of people were expecting, with more than ten years after the Velvet Revolution, some reversal, or an evolution. During the last thirteen years, there happened many very important events, such as the accession to the European Union or the intervention of the so-called global financial crisis (thanks to which the social solidarity has become more than necessary). Over the whole period, eight governments of two political parties and one caretaker government had been changed in the Czech Republic. The left replaced the right, the impact of individual political views was of a different power. It is clear that the direction of legislators' thinking affects the society and vice versa. The thesis is divided into seven...

Since few studies have explicitly focused on the impact of China's one-child-family policy on Chinese women, this thesis is designed to explore this aspect. The implication of the policy for both urban and rural women is studied, particularly its influence on women's fertility behavior, labor roles, and on social, health and family status. The focus of the study is to explore the changes of women's lives associated with the one-child-family policy, and advantages and disadvantages, even contradictions the policy has brought to women's lives.

The statement by the Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies - that Australia needs a Family Policy in order to make Australians more aware of the crucial role of the family in the development of human competence - provides the benchmark for this study, A content analysis of Australian and overseas family policy documents reveals that present approaches are ad hoc and fragmented - although there is a definite move towards a developmental and integrated approach. In this study it is argued that family policy has a valid role in providing the context of education throughout the life cycle of individuals, simply because, together with education (in its widest sense of human development) it provides the construction of social reality for members of Australian society. Three metaphorical models of reality promoted by different education approaches are delineated: (i) The Clockwork world of the megamachine and the image of education as a means of production, (ii) the Secular Humanistic world of dichotomies and the image of education as a means of intellectual growth, and (iii) The World of Interrelationships and Wholeness and the image of education as a life long journey A review of the literature on the relationship between family and education reveals an historial development from separation, through collaboration to integration of these two important influences in human development. The central issue identified for policy is that of the twin horns of a dilemma. Either the terms of policy are so strictly defined that it becomes a self-limiting selffulfiling prophecy, or there is no basis at all for constructive discussion because of the present mass of unorganised detailed material. A way out of this dilemma is proposed with the design of an integrated perspective on the family for use by policy makers, educators and families themselves. Six interrelated models of the family (Cultural, Functional, Survival, Developmental, Legal and Structural) are defined and their links to the dynamics of an actual family are described. The implications of this new conceptual tool are briefly discussed and it is argued that any approach in policy or practice that ignores the mutlifaceted dimensions of this integrated perspective on the family is incomplete. Attached to this Field Study are: (A) A content analysis of twenty years of family policy with an emphasis on Australian material; (5) A comprehensive bibliography cf Australian and overseas material. Each of these attachments could act as source documents in themselves for further research in this area.

<p>Since the mid 60’s, Germany has seen dropping fertility rates and yet next to nothinghas been done to combat this trend until the current regime led by Angela Merkel andher minister of family affairs, Ursula von der Leyen initiated a number ofcomprehensive reforms of Germany’s family policies.Family policy in Germany is being reformed in three ways. First of all parents arenow eligible to receive substantial financial support in order to compensate the loss ofincome associated with a pregnancy and or parental leave. Second, the all but nonexistentpublic child care services are being vastly expanded with the goal of beingable to offer child care service for every child age 0-3. Thirdly the tradition of schoolsending classes midday is being reformed with the aim of letting kids stay in schoolmuch longer thus enabling parents to work full-time as opposed to part-time in orderto be able to take care of kids returning from school.The hopes for these ambitious reforms are tremendous. Germany hopes to improve itslow fertility as well as free up labour force potential that has previously been hinderedto participate in the labour market by child rearing efforts. Thus far Germany’s effortsare seemingly successful and promises great change for the future.</p>