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Extensive research suggests linkages among low income, erratic or ineffective parenting behaviors, and impaired health and development among children. Family support programs, offering a range of comprehensive services to low income families, have demonstrated positive health and life performance outcomes, both for children and parents. One such program, the Comprehensive Health Investment Project (CHIP) in Roanoke, Virginia, works to provide primary physician care to low income young children. One of CHIP's objectives is to enhance parenting skills so that parents can help maintain good health among their children. This study attempted to assess parents' beliefs about child development among a sample of CHIP parents and a sample of parents from a similar SES group (drawn from CHIP's waiting list) using a Likert-style opinionnaire. Results from both between-group tests and within-group (CHIP sample) tests indicate homogenous and favorable reported beliefs about child development. Very little association was found between demographic variables and responses. Suggestions regarding the practical use of these findings and recommendations for future research are made. / Master of Science

Educational literature distributed by the Child Health Investment Partnership (CHIP) staff to CHIP parents was identified and evaluated in terms of readability level and availability of information to assist with meeting the identified needs of CHIP parents. One-hundred percent (n=137) of the educational material available to CHIP staff through their library was analyzed. Readability levels were calculated by using the SMOG Readability Formula and the FRY Graph Reading Level Index. A previous study (Brindle, 1992) was used to determine whether CHIP had adequate material to meet the educational needs of CHIP families. Forty-eight percent of CHIP parents cited health as their primary concern. Almost one-half of an educational literature stocked in CHIP's library relates to health. Thus, results indicate that CHIP has a more than adequate amount of educational literature relating to topics CHIP parents believed they needed assistance with the most. It was found, however, that other areas such as financial and job assistance were underrepresented in CHIP's library. While 36 percent and 35 percent of CHIP parents believed they needed assistance with finances and jobs, respectively, only 6 percent of CHIP's library was devoted to financial assistance and two percent was devoted to job assistance. The apparent need for assistance in these areas greatly outweighs CHIP's educational resources. Results also indicate that the average CHIP parents (one who has completed high school) has the education equivalent to or more than was required for reading the majority of CHIP's educational literature. While the mean Reading Level of educational materials was at the tenth grade level sixty percent of CHIP families surveyed had completed high school. Results and conclusions are discussed in detail. / Master of Science

No abstract available / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

PhD. thesis. University of the Witwatersrand, Wits School of Governance. 1st October 2015 / Two decades after South Africa’s transition to democracy, with a positive constitutional and legislative framework in place, a vast number of South African households continue to be subjected to serious inequalities and extreme poverty. The dual phenomenon of poverty and inequality are complex problems of such a magnitude that silo approaches and singular agency fixes are inadequate. South Africa has the potential to address such issues at a multi-actor multi-institutional level, involving both civil society organisations and government working together. This study investigates the manner in which various stakeholders come together to develop policy and implement strategies aimed at the alleviation of poverty, specifically focussing on childhood poverty and vulnerability. Using the policy network approach to illustrate the relationships that exist between actors, this study follows the policy process from formulation to implementation. The policy network approach is utilised as a lens through which the policy process is examined in two case studies — the succession planning and children’s act projects. These case studies share a common objective which is to equip service providers with the knowledge and skills to assist their clients in accessing their legal rights. Policy networks draw attention to the institutional arrangements needed for coordinating complex interactions between various actors involved in the policy process, with a specific interest on state-civil society relationships of policy cooperation. Hence, the main focus of the research is to ascertain the networking relationships that develop between government and civil society organisations and to explore the potential that policy networks offer in the future pursuit of social justice and children’s rights. / MB2016

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:39:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WaleskaPLS.pdf: 342488 bytes, checksum: 31bd914bc1b9f008710c1f6723631464 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-10-29 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The intention of this study was to identify the school conception (conceptions) in the discourse of poor children. There were inquired two groups of subjects: the first was composed of children that inserted precociously themselves into the work market and must to go to school because they take part in one of the governmental programs, called, minimum income programs. The second will be composed of children that live in the poorest district in Natal/RN city. And don?t have obligatoriness to go to school. Thus, thematics like precocious work, minimum income program, capitalism, neoliberalism was aproached in our discussion. We also intended to make a illustrate with Pinochio Adventures fable, because its conception school is similar like real official discourse school from everybody. In cited narrative, the character Gepeto didn t know what s a truth child but knows that exist a place in city where his maledoll Pinochio would be one the school. Thus, this institution was destine by the justice and politics from Gepetos s city how children right. Pinochio, in the book s end, to be transformed himself in a truth child because learned in school responsible and goodness behaviors. To uphold our inquiry we used the Content Analysis and socio-historical perspectives. The result showed that the children know that exist differents schools: yours and other, to rich class. Their school is admited like good, it is a study place, it isn?t disorders place; and also make propotional to social ascencion. The children s discourses is similar to capitalism s discourse / A inten??o deste estudo foi identificar a(s) concep??o (concep??es) de escola no discurso de crian?as da classe pobre. Foram investigados dois grupos de crian?as: um composto por crian?as que viveram situa??o de inser??o precoce no mercado do trabalho, que t?m obrigatoriedade de freq?entar a escola visto que fazem parte de um dentre os programas de governo denominados de programas de renda-m?nima e, outro, de crian?as que, apesar de viverem em um bairro caracterizado por ser o mais pobre, n?o t?m obrigatoriedade de freq?entar a escola. Assim, tem?ticas como trabalho precoce, programas de renda m?nima, capitalismo e neoliberalismo estiveram presentes na discuss?o apresentada, procurando-se estabelecer uma rela??o com a obra As Aventuras de Pin?quio , de Carlo Collodi, cuja concep??o de escola ? bastante similar ? do discurso oficial atual escola para todos. Na obra citada, o personagem Gepeto n?o sabia o que era ser um menino de verdade , mas sabia que existia um lugar na cidade, onde seu boneco Pin?quio se tornaria um deles a escola. Assim, essa institui??o foi designada pela justi?a e pela pol?tica da cidade de Gepeto como um direito da inf?ncia. Pin?quio, no final da narrativa, transforma-se em um menino de verdade porque desenvolve comportamentos de responsabilidade e bondade aprendidos na escola. Para consubstanciar nossa investiga??o, utilizamos as perspectivas da An?lise de Conte?do e a hist?rico-cultural. O resultado mostrou que as crian?as sabem que existem diferentes escolas: a sua e outra a da classe rica. A escola delas ? concebida como boa; como lugar de estudo e n?o de bagun?a; e como possibilitadora de ascens?o social. Este discurso ? similar ao discurso do sistema s?cio-econ?mico capitalista no qual o Brasil est? inserido

Improving the STEM readiness of students from historically underserved groups is a moral and economic imperative requiring greater attention and effort than has been shown to date. The current literature suggests a high school science sequence beginning with physics and centered on developing conceptual understanding, using inquiry labs and modeling to allow students to explore new ideas, and addressing and correcting student misconceptions can increase student interest in and preparation for STEM careers. The purpose of this study was to determine if the science college readiness of historically underserved students can be improved by implementing an inquiry-based high school science sequence comprised of coursework in physics, chemistry, and biology for every student. The study used a retrospective cohort observational design to address the primary research question: are there differences between historically underserved students completing a Physics First science sequence and their peers completing a traditional science sequence in 1) science college-readiness test scores, 2) rates of science college-and-career readiness, and 3) interest in STEM? Small positive effects were found for all three outcomes for historically underserved students in the Physics First sequence.

Does voluntary reading matter? While there is much known about the benefits to children who engage in sustained silent reading, commercial reading programs implemented as a result of No Child Left Behind often displace time for children to silently read (NCLB, 2002). An increase in the amount of time children spend with a commercial reading program has meant a decrease in time provided for in-school voluntary reading during the elementary literacy block (Brenner & Hiebert, 2010). This quantitative study used the 2011 restricted-use National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data to determine whether opportunities provided to children for in-school voluntary reading impacted fourth-grade students' achievement levels. The study also considered whether there were differences in the amount of time provided for in-school voluntary reading and choice in reading material to children of differing income levels and ethnic backgrounds. Contingency tables and a multiple linear regression model were used to find associations between achievement data and questionnaire responses. Findings concluded that children who qualified to participate in the National School Lunch Program, as well as Black, Hispanic, and Native American children, have fewer opportunities to silently read, and choose their own books during the school day. For most children, there was a positive relationship between time and choice in reading at school with achievement scores. Black, Hispanic, and Native American children experienced a commercial reading program at a higher rate than their white and Asian peers; there were no detected differences in reading program structure based on economic affluence. The discussion includes consideration of time to silent read at school and choice in reading material as a part of an "opportunity gap" (Darling-Hammond, 2013) that causes disparities in the quality of education provided to children from different backgrounds, and which could also be a factor to the larger achievement gap. Policy implications are discussed.

School readiness incorporates children's academic abilities and their ability to self-regulate in the classroom. Prior research shows that sleep is related to children's development of these skills, although the mechanisms through which sleep affects school readiness are not well understood. Research also indicates that economically disadvantaged children and children of color may have poorer academic and regulatory skills at school entry and may sleep less and sleep less well on a regular basis. The current study explores the role of sleep quantity and quality in young children's development of two skills critical for school success: self-regulation and academic abilities. This study intentionally focuses on a predominantly African-American, economically disadvantaged population, who may be at risk for greater sleep-related difficulties and lower school-related skills at kindergarten entry. It was hypothesized that a) young children with higher quantity and quality of sleep would show greater development of academic skills and self-regulation across one calendar year, b) the role of sleep in the development of these abilities would be relatively stronger among kindergarteners than among 1st graders, and c) the role of sleep quality and quantity in young children's development of academic abilities would be partially explained by the relation between sleep and self-regulation. Results provide mixed support for the hypotheses, indicating that sleep quality and quantity relate differentially to different school-related skills among kindergarteners and 1st graders. This study contributes research to help explain how and why sleep affects young children and may offer insights for caregivers and educators working to help children develop school-related skills.

The 19th century was a time when a large number of voluntary associations were being formed both in Sweden and in Europe as a whole. Their ambition was to engage in health care and poor relief issues as well as in the educational system. Furthermore, the general idea was to promote temperance and foster a sense of thrift among the poor and the working class population. While the starting-point of the thesis was the question as to why the voluntary associations founded various charitable activities as well as how the philanthropy was designed, organised and modified throughout the century, the aim has been to elucidate the motive force and incentives for their social reforms. In order to answer the two main questions of the dissertation, the association De Badande Wännerna (the DBW), which engaged in several philanthropic activities in the Swedish province of Gotland as early as the 1810s, has been selected for a case study. In the literature a number of different reasons have been stressed as to why voluntary associations chose to engage in charitable activities. In order to shed light on what factors that underlay their philanthropic work, the process of negotiation regarding the various institutions established by the DBW, as well as the practical layout of the establishments, have been analysed from the perspectives of a theoretical model based on affinity groups. The study has shown that the incentives of philanthropy were complex. Furthermore, the incentives changed concurrently with the expansion of the public poor relief and educational system, which from the middle of the 19th century took over many of the humanitarian efforts hitherto run by the voluntary associations. The result of this development was that the voluntary associations created new spheres of activity. They continued to fulfil important societal functions, but their establishments also fulfilled a more internal desire for pleasure and delights.