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Broadly, this dissertation study is an investigation of how mothers’ educational histories shape their parenting philosophies and behaviors and, through these intergenerational relationships, their children’s achievement during the transition to elementary school. Such an investigation is motivated by the life course paradigm as well as social capital theory and developmental research linking mothers’ and children’s educational trajectories through various parenting behaviors and strategies. Expanding upon this research base and the above stated research aim, the concept of diverging destinies highlights the importance of considering a specific set of life course pathways that are closely related to mothers’ educational attainment and their children’s achievement: employment and marriage. Thus, integrating mother’s employment and marriage into this dissertation study’s conceptual and analytic model, a second aim is to investigate how mothers’ education shapes the significance of women’s work and marital histories for their parenting and children’s academic trajectories. Findings from this dissertation provide support for the assertion that mothers’ and children’s academic pathways are linked through parenting. Findings also yield evidence for how mothers’ education augments the impact of marriage and employment on parenting and children’s achievement. Answering these questions has significance for sociological theory on the intergenerational transmission of advantage. / text

The World Health Organization (WHO) found that 6.6 million children under five died in 2012 (WHO 2013). Almost half of all of these child deaths take place in the first month of life, and 75% of all under five deaths occur within the child's first year of life (WHO 2013). The aim of this study is to compare the most influential factors that decrease infant and neonatal mortality in order to find where policy makers, governments, and international organizations need to focus their efforts in order to get all countries on track for Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce child mortality. Mosley and Chen (1984) suggest that infant mortality should be studied more as a process with multifactorial origins opposed to an acute, single phenomenon. To study the multifaceted nature of infant mortality they suggest grouping select variables into broad categories. This paper uses this model to test the contribution of the following four types of factors: 1) healthcare system 2) social determinants 3) reproductive behavior and 4) national context in order to understand which category impacts infant mortality most significantly. This study utilizes the Demographic and Health Surveys and was estimated using a discrete time hazard model. Results suggest that social determinants reduce infant mortality most significantly over the other three factors and that maternal education is the key to reaching Millennium Development Goal 4. This research suggests that healthcare interventions, although important, are not a substitute for mother's education. The combination of prenatal care and maternal education will ensure the safest first year for a child.

M. Tech. (Food Service Management, Dept. of Hospitality and tourism, Faculty of Human Sciences)|, Vaal University of Technology, / INTRODUCTION: Caring for children is a challenge that requires a number of resources including knowledge, a reasonable workload, time and social support of the caregiver. Maternal education is an important asset in providing good care giving practices: child feeding practices and the use of preventative health services depend on knowledge more than on household resources. Poverty has been linked with poor childcare and child malnutrition; South African children especially those who are living in informal settlements, are vulnerable to poverty. Appropriate practices by caregivers have enabled them to raise well~ nourished children in a community where there is poverty. This implies that caregiver's attitudes, beliefs and practices in relation to childcare, and proper utilisation of limited resources can make a major difference in their children's health, growth and development. In order to plan appropriate interventions in the Eatonside informal settlement, an improvement in the knowledge of, attitude toward and practice of childcare and care giv1ing is required. OBJECTIVES: To examine the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of caregivers regarding childcare and care giving behaviours with children aged 0- 60 months and to assess existing types of care arrangements in the study area. STUDY DESIGN: An exploratory study was conducted among 145 randomly selected caregivers of children aged 0-60 months, living in the informal settlement of Eatonside. Knowledge and practices were determined by focus group discussions (FGD); an attitude scale questionnaire was used to determine attitude; and a hygiene and feeding observation checklist was used to determine the hygiene and feeding practices.

The purpose of this research was to explore and describe the relationship among the child, family, home environment, and pretend play of children with motor disabilities. The environment is a powerful force in early child development. This research is based on Bronfennbrenner’s ecological theory of development and the ubiquitous role of play in all domains of development. Children with motor disabilities may lack exploration of the environment and as a consequence demonstrate deficits in play. Play was measured in 32 children with motor disabilities aged 24.8 to 61.3 months with a mean age of 33.7 (SD 9.3) months. Children demonstrated mild to moderate motor disabilities based on the Gross Motor Function Classification System. The prevalent motor disabilities were cerebral palsy, genetic disorders, delayed development, and myelomeningocele. The questions addressed were what combination of child and family variables will predict play ability in a child with motor disability and do the learning materials in the home or levels of maternal or paternal education affect play ability in children with motor disabilities. Two studies were conducted to establish reliability with the Test of Pretend Play (ToPP) and to determine if children with delayed development would exhibit a delay. One study was done to establish reliability for the Fluharty-2. The results of the main study demonstrated a significant positive correlation between ToPP scores and the learning material subscale (LMS) scores of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory and maternal education. The LMS scores were significantly correlated with family income, maternal and paternal education. The ToPP scores were not significantly correlated to income or paternal education. Age of the child was significantly positively correlated with ToPP scores and the LMS scores. Fifty-three percent of the children exhibited delays in play. The child’s age and the maternal level of education accounted for 60% of the variance in ToPP scores. Children with cerebral palsy and myelomeningocele appear to be at greater risk for pretend play delays than children with developmental delay and genetic disorders. More research is needed to further elucidate the role of play in children with motor disabilities.

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Children from different socioeconomic backgrounds often have different long-term outcomes in terms of school, language, and emotional wellbeing. At this time, no reasons for these differences have been agreed upon by experts across disciplines. Parents with different personal characteristics and life situations use different types and amounts of interactions with their infants. The social interactions infants experience during their first year of life provide the start of their developmental path in the areas of language and executive control while also guiding their expectations for interactions with people around them. This study used previously unpublished data from a sample of 79 young infants, age 3 to 9 months, and their mothers. There was a set of five research questions. The first question guided exploration of how socioeconomic status (SES; represented by maternal education and family income) was associated with the parenting behaviors mothers used with their infants. The second question guided exploration of how mothers’ psychosocial resources (represented by child development knowledge and parenting stress) were associated with the parenting behaviors mothers used with their infants. The third question addressed whether associations between maternal education and parenting behavior were directly connected or if the amount of child development knowledge influenced the association. The fourth question addressed whether associations between family income and parenting behavior were directly connected or if the amount of mothers’ parenting stress influenced the association. The final question addressed whether associations between mothers’ psychosocial parenting resources and infant development were directly connected or if the associations were instead connected by mothers’ psychosocial resources. During a single home visit with each mother and her young infant, the research visitor assessed infant development, video recorded the mother and infant playing during a free play session, and asked mothers to fill out questionnaires. Project questionnaires addressed mothers’ education and family income as well as their levels of child development knowledge and parenting stress. None of the findings directly related to the five hypotheses were statistically significant. However, follow-up analyses provided information about potential future directions for investigating the links between SES, parenting interactions, and infant competencies using smaller categories of education and income levels. These findings from follow-up questions may guide potential future directions for identifying SES and psychosocial influences on early parenting interaction behaviors and young infants’ early development.

Maternal mortality, an example of poor maternal health outcomes, is widely accepted as an indicator of the overall health of a population. One of the Millennium Development Goals was reduction in maternal mortality by 3 quarters by 2015. These goals were not met in Nigeria and it is important to look at some of the reasons why. Education has been shown to have positive impact on pregnancy outcomes; however, the characteristics of pregnant women, their health literacy level, their usage of antenatal care services and how these impact pregnancy outcomes are yet to be analyzed in Lagos, Nigeria. Guided by the social cognitive theory and health belief model, the purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to determine if there is a relationship between maternal health literacy, antenatal care visits, development of medical conditions during pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes (measured by healthy or unhealthy baby) in Lagos, Nigeria. The research question for this study tested if there was a relationship between these variables. Lisa Chew's health literacy assessment tool was used in a sample of 130 women in Shomolu local government in Nigeria who met the inclusion criteria. Using binary logistic correlations, only problems developed during pregnancy is statistically significant with pregnancy outcomes (p < .05). The results suggested an increase in problems developed during pregnancy most likely will increase the chance of having negative pregnancy outcomes. Results from this study could promote positive social change by helping health professionals identify the characteristics of at-risk women during antenatal education sessions. The results could also help health professionals in the development of targeted antenatal care interventions.

Background Malaria is a major threat to global public health, with adverse health effects. Nigeria alone accounts for 25% of the global burden of malaria. Children are especially vulnerable to malaria, and if the disease is not treated it could have fatal consequences. Mothers have an important role in ensuring that adequate and timely treatment is given to the child. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate whether there was an association between maternal level of education and the treatment with antimalarial drugs in malaria positive children under-5 in Nigeria. Methods This study was a cross-sectional study that utilized Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data from the 2015 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey. Data on 2’622 malaria positive children were used, and a logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association with maternal level of education. Results The mothers with a higher level of education had two times higher odds (OR 2.31, CI 1.62- 3.32) of making sure their child received treatment with antimalarial drugs, compared to the mothers with no education. With an increase of 38% (OR 1.38, CI 1.11-1.71) in the odds for the child receiving treatment with antimalarial drugs if the mother has primary education and an increase of 51% (OR 1.51, CI 1.24-1.84) if the mother has secondary education compared to mothers with no education. Conclusion Mothers with a higher level of education waere more likely to make sure that their child received treatment with antimalarial drugs, compared to the mothers with no education.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Family and Studies and Social Work, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-38-Xx).