Thesis (Ph.D.)--Brown University, 2005. / Vita. Thesis advisor: Andrew D. Foster. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-75). Also available online.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Tambra J. Kent, for the Master of Science degree in the field of Education in Workforce Education and Development, presented on November 3, 2008, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILD CARE ISSUES AND SUCCESSFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR LOW INCOME PARENTS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Cynthia Sims This mixed method study was considered and carried out to determine the relationship between child care issues and successful employment for low income parents. The study specifically sought to determine if accessibility to affordable and quality child care are barriers to employment for low income working parents who are recipients of the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program and who live in Williamson County, Illinois. There were a total of 117 respondents who participated in the study. A questionnaire was mailed to the study population and used to collect data for the study. Findings revealed that accessibility to affordable and quality child care was not a barrier for the respondents. An inference made regarding these findings is that because these respondents are recipients of the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program and their child care is subsidized, they do not have a barrier when accessing affordable and quality child care. Subsidizing child care for low income working parents provides them with the choice of selecting a quality child care provider.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / 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. / 2999-01-01

Thesis (M.P.H.), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009 / Background: The rural South African population is characterised by high and stable levels of male temporary migration and rapidly rising levels of female temporary migration, with approximately 60% of men and 20% of women between the ages of 20 and 60 years absent from the home for more than 6 months of the year. Despite the magnitude of this social phenomenon, limited research exists analysing its effect on child care and children’s residence patterns. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine temporary labour migration patterns as a household coping strategy in rural northeast South Africa in 2002 and 2007, describe characteristics of the children left behind, and to assess the effect of temporary migration on child care patterns, specifically analysing household variation in child care and residence by sex and refugee status of the migrant. Methods: An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted on approximately 83,000 individuals in 14,000 households in 25 villages of the Agincourt sub-district of the Bushbuckridge region of Limpopo Province. Data was collected in a special module on temporary migration incorporated into the annual Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System census update in 2002 and 2007. Secondary analysis of the data utilised descriptive statistics and Pearson Chi2 tests of association. Results: The proportion of temporary migrants in the population rose between 2002 and 2007 and now constitutes nearly one-fifth of the population. Nearly three-quarters – 13% of the total population – are labour migrants. A slight increase in the proportion of female and Mozambican descent migrants is observed. Today, three-quarters of temporary labour migrants are male and one-quarter female, three-quarters are South African descent and more than one-quarter are Mozambican descent. Temporary labour migrants with children constitute nearly 6% of the total population. Temporary labour migrants overwhelmingly rely on a single care strategy. Complex care arrangements are far less common, constituting the response of only 5% of migrants. Highly complex care arrangements are rare, but do exist. Child care strategies are becoming increasingly complex over time for all migrants. Female migrants and migrants of South African descent are more likely than male and Mozambican descent migrants to rely on complex care arrangements. The overwhelming majority of migrants keep all children in the same household, maintaining relative stability in care and residence, 10% move children with them, 2% move children elsewhere for care and less than 1% move a childcarer into the household while they are away for work. Less stable child care arrangements are increasingly utilised over time. If the migrant is male, children are more likely to remain in the same household; if the migrant is female, children are more likely to move with the migrant. Approximately one-fifth of children in the population are effectively left behind by temporary labour migrants today, a decline from nearly one-third in 2002. There is significant variation in child care, residence and decision-making authority among relatives: mothers and stepmothers provide the majority of care in the absence of a migrant, with grandmothers a secondary and female siblings and aunts a tertiary source of child care.

The researcher examined the experiences of three directors of child care centers that had been accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and six directors of child care centers that had not yet reached accreditation status. The nature and meaning of these experiences was explored through interviews with each of the directors individually, and then with each mentor and her two protégés. The purpose of this study was to understand how a mentoring program promotes change in child care programs and how that change impacts the quality of care, if, in fact, it does. Using the constant comparative method, three major findings emerged. The first finding was the critical issue of identifying, screening, and selecting protégés to participate in the Director's Mentoring Project (DMP). Factors that result in protégés remaining in the program include self-selection, having previously met or heard of the mentors themselves, awareness of accreditation standards and procedures, and knowledge of and concern about quality care for young children. The second and third findings were intertwined. They had to do with the models of mentoring used and the nature of the relationship between the mentors and protégés. The mentors and the protégés utilized a model of mentoring that was based on their understanding that the primary goal of the DMP was to either gain NAEYC-accreditation status for the center itself or to provide professional and personal support to the protégé directors. While all the mentors began the program with accreditation as their primary goal, those who developed a close and empathic relationship with their protégés came to believe that support of the directors was primary. The former utilized a more goal-oriented model of mentoring; the latter utilized a more affective model of mentoring. The nature of the mentor-protégé relationship formed a continuum from instrumental to personal and developmental. Where the mentors and protégées fell on the continuum paralleled their understanding of the purpose of the project and the model of mentoring that was adopted.

<p>The first July 2008 did the Swedish government introduce a new family policy, the child care allowance. This essay is a case study of how the child care allowance has influenced families and which possible effects that the child care allowance can lead to. In order to respond to the issue has family models been used in order to analyze the results from a questionnaire survey distributed to households which has become granted child care allowance in Växjö municipality. Therefore is this essay’s premier contribution to the social science a description of how families have reasoned and decided about their child-care. The main result from the essay's empirical survey is that it’s mainly women that are influenced by the grant, through that they lower the scope on their hour of work. This fact can on longer view give effects on the Swedish labor market, when women's position on the labor market are to be weakened compared with the men's.</p>

The researcher examined the experiences of three directors of child care centers that had been accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and six directors of child care centers that had not yet reached accreditation status. The nature and meaning of these experiences was explored through interviews with each of the directors individually, and then with each mentor and her two protégés. The purpose of this study was to understand how a mentoring program promotes change in child care programs and how that change impacts the quality of care, if, in fact, it does. Using the constant comparative method, three major findings emerged. The first finding was the critical issue of identifying, screening, and selecting protégés to participate in the Director's Mentoring Project (DMP). Factors that result in protégés remaining in the program include self-selection, having previously met or heard of the mentors themselves, awareness of accreditation standards and procedures, and knowledge of and concern about quality care for young children. The second and third findings were intertwined. They had to do with the models of mentoring used and the nature of the relationship between the mentors and protégés. The mentors and the protégés utilized a model of mentoring that was based on their understanding that the primary goal of the DMP was to either gain NAEYC-accreditation status for the center itself or to provide professional and personal support to the protégé directors. While all the mentors began the program with accreditation as their primary goal, those who developed a close and empathic relationship with their protégés came to believe that support of the directors was primary. The former utilized a more goal-oriented model of mentoring; the latter utilized a more affective model of mentoring. The nature of the mentor-protégé relationship formed a continuum from instrumental to personal and developmental. Where the mentors and protégées fell on the continuum paralleled their understanding of the purpose of the project and the model of mentoring that was adopted.

Today in Canada, child care is not perceived by the government, nor its citizenry, as a public good. Despite numerous reports from economic, health, social and psychological experts, Canadians remain complacent about the inadequate child care provisions in our country. As a society, we do not demand, or even anticipate, the public provision of universal, affordable, accessible child care. Instead, Canadians consider the care of children to be a predominantly private issue; unworthy of significant government intervention or assistance. Consequently, parents and children must improvise within a privatized, ad hoc, market-oriented patchwork of individualized child care arrangements. While it is true that certain "special" cases are acknowledged to deserve the government's support, - for example Aboriginal children and children with special needs, as well as the children of "welfare moms" - their exceptional status serves to reinforce the notion that the care of children is primarily a private parental responsibility. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and critique the current child care system (or lack thereof) in Canada. In addition, I intend to show that existing child care arrangements are unsatisfactory not only because of the immediate consequences for parents, children, and child care workers, but because of the way in which the privatized purchasing of child care reinforces other systemic shortcomings in our patriarchal, racialized, capitalist society. I will argue that current attitudes toward child care in Canada, as part of a patriarchal capitalist and racialized paradigm, rely on and perpetuate detrimental notions of class, gender and race, to the disadvantage of all citizens. Finally, I will discuss the possibilities for meaningful reform of the Canadian approach to child care.

No description available.

South Africa faces crises in both childcare and unemployment. These two areas are central to development and economic growth. South Africa may be the first country in the world to design and implement a public works programme (PWP) in early childhood development (ECD). This study compares selected models of ECD provision - centrebased ECD, integrated-ECD-interventions and programmes that equip caregivers for ECD, in terms of their ability to accomplish three goals: improve childcare, provide employment and help caregivers reconcile paid and unpaid work. The models vary in the programmes they offer, costs and reach as well as their training requirements, institutional arrangements, use of volunteers, sustainability and ability to complement developmental services, and all have a context in which they work best. Quantitative and qualitative data is used to make projections on the potential socio-economic effects of expanding services according to the various models, and in the context of government plans. ECD will not be able to expand successfully until specific challenges have been overcome. With that as a foundation, the proposed expanded public works programme (EPWP) in ECD could be used as a vehicle to train and develop a cadre of practitioners. Serious consideration needs to be given to the quality of job opportunities created as this will directly affect the programme's impact on ECD. In addition, the model chosen for expansion will determine the ability of the programme to support caregivers in reconciling their paid and unpaid work. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.