This dissertation examines the evolution of Britain’s and Canada’s early childhood education and child care (ECEC) sectors, especially the growing number of policy initiatives adopted in both countries over the past thirty years. I contend that policy coalitions in both countries have been able to promote gradual but nevertheless important policy changes by grafting new purposes onto inherited institutions. The result of these incremental changes has been ECEC systems that often appear incoherent and disjointed. The dissertation also explores how Canada and Great Britain have increasingly followed distinct trajectories. In particular, I demonstrate that while a growing proportion of ECEC services are provided by the commercial sector in Britain, Canada has instead increasingly relied on the non-profit sector to deliver such services. I contend in this dissertation that differences between the two cases are the result of distinct policy coalitions that have emerged in both countries. I make the case that the character of these coalitions and their capacity to promote, institutionalize, protect and further their policy preferences are the result of, first, the sequence of policy development and, second, the territorial organization of the welfare state in both countries. In short, as a result of the federal nature of Canada, Canadian child care activists were able to ensure the early institutionalization of a regulatory framework that constrained the expansion of for-profit services. By the time Britain adopted a national framework, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, on the other hand, the for-profit sector had already established a strong presence. Covering more than one hundred twenty five years of policy development in both countries, this dissertation draws both on extensive archival research and on interviews with policy-makers and ECEC activists.

The current study evaluated the effect of a teacher conducted play intervention on pre-school aged children’s compliance in child care settings. Study participants included 11 children ranging in age from 2 to 5 years old and seven early childhood education teachers within seven classrooms across five child care centres. Teachers were trained to conduct daily 5 minute play sessions consisting of contingent praise, mirroring, and warm responsiveness. A combination ABAB and multiple baseline design was used to demonstrate the effect of the play intervention. Pre-treatment observations revealed varying degrees of recurring child compliance difficulties. The play intervention was associated with improved rates of compliance for each participant child regardless of differences in age, gender, and level of compliance difficulties. The intervention is discussed with regard to its potential as a pro-active, non-intrusive strategy for improving young children’s classroom compliance.

The aim of this study was to capture preschool-teachers thoughts and experience basing on the obligation. Are there any policies and procedures for preschool-teachers to use when suspicion that a child is being abused occur. Are there some factors that may affect preschool-teachers to report to the social service? How does the preschool-teacher find the contact with the Social Service? I conducted four interviews with four preschool-teachers, two of these preschool teachers are employed at the same municipal preschool and the other two are employed at two other preschools. The interviews were semi-structured and were conducted at each individual’s workplace. To analyze my result, I used symbolic interactionism as a theory. The result shows that pree-schoolteachers find it difficult to use the mandatory notification law and lack of routines and not functional collaboration between the preschool and the social service are also some reasons why preschool teachers finds it difficult to report.

Each year in the United States between 800,000 and 900,000 adolescents, aged 19 or younger, become pregnant. Over one-half of these pregnancies end in a live birth. Several studies have shown that the younger sisters of adolescent mothers have teenage childbearing rates two to six times higher than childbearing rates of women in the general population. The purpose of this focused ethnography was to gain a better understanding of the influences of a pregnant and parenting adolescent on her younger sister. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit younger sisters of parenting teens. Fifteen (15) African American females, ranging in age from 12 to 17 years old, participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 14. The researcher identified and selected informants through community agencies in which the informants’ older sisters participated in services for teen mothers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field observation notes, a fieldwork journal, and a demographic information sheet. Interviews were conducted in the informant’s home. Data were analyzed using Spradley’s Development Research Sequence of a domain analysis, taxonomic analysis, componential analysis, and cultural themes (Spradley, 1979). Seven cultural themes emerged from the data: (a) Mixed Emotions, (b) Centering on Mother/Baby, (c) Childcare Engagement, (d) Sharing of Experience as Warnings, (e) Recognition of Hardship, (f) Change in Family Relationships, and (g) Intentions, Hopes, and Dreams. Findings from this study indicated that the younger sisters of parenting adolescents are greatly impacted by their older teen sister’s pregnancy and parenting. Knowledge from this study may be used to shape future interventions designed and tailored for younger sisters to discontinue the cycle of teenage childbearing in families. Nurses involved in providing care for pregnant and parenting teens need to identify younger sisters, be aware that they are at particular risk for early sexual activity and parenting, and encourage involvement of the entire family in prevention efforts.

Research continues to substantiate the influence of social, economic and family characteristics on students’ scholastic achievements. For example, children who are born in economically disadvantaged circumstances are more likely to score lower on tests that measure academic abilities than their same age economically advantaged peers (Brooks-Gunn and Markman, 2005; Rothstein, 2004). This dissertation examines the relationship between parenting interactions and young children's school readiness and initial academic success for a low-income, at-risk population in Georgia. The inter-disciplinary concept resiliency, defined as a process that encompasses positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity, frames the research (Arnold and Doctoroff, 2003; Henry et al 2005; Luthar, Cicchetti, and Becker (2000), p. 543). This dissertation utilized a subsample from a larger evaluation project, The Georgia Early Childhood Study, which looked at the effects of a state-funded universal Pre-K program. Participants in this study were at-risk children who attended either state lottery funded Georgia Pre-K or federally funded Head Start. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used. Quantitative data included norm-referenced test scores, teacher ratings, and parental surveys. Results show that at-risk children categorized as non-resilient scored lower on standardized assessments over a three-year period and were more likely to attend preschools of lower quality than their similarly economically advantaged counterparts. Qualitative data were used to gain an understanding of parental involvement that is not generally captured with traditional survey methods. The qualitative study encompassed in-depth interviews with parents of children classified as at-risk. The results show that parents report involvement in their child’s schooling, but that involvement among the non-resilient populations was more peripheral. Parents of children from the resilient group were more likely to use language that indicated involvement as a partner in their child’s education than parents from children in the non-resilient group. Parents from both groups, however, reported the difficulties they face in raising their children and were cognizant of the ways that being from a lower socio-economic group translates into parenting difficulties.

Thesis (PhD ) - Open University. BLDSC no.DXN054620.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 220-224).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-160). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

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