Before entering school, children begin their science learning with their parents at home. This study proposes that parents' beliefs and actions regarding science shape their children's knowledge and skills that they then bring to school. Studying parents' beliefs about and practices with their children within the topic area of science provided insight into their influence in helping their children make sense of the world. Therefore, the purpose of this study aimed to investigate parents' beliefs about children's science learning and their actions in facilitating their children's science learning when they visited a science museum from socio-cultural perspectives. To investigate this, a qualitative case study examining nine Taiwanese parents of kindergarteners was conducted. The study was conducted in two parts. Data sources included field notes, parent interviews, and documents such as pictures of the equipment these parents bought for their children. First, through interviews with parents, their beliefs about their children's science learning were identified and examined. Four parts including parents' gendered science beliefs, parents' perceived importance of science learning, parents' beliefs about how science learning should proceed, and parents' beliefs about their engagement in science learning were found. Part two of the study examined how these nine parents' beliefs guided them in making decisions when they interacted with their children in a science museum through observations and follow-up interviews. In most cases, parents' beliefs appeared to be important resources for helping them find a proper way to interact with their children. Three issues including the person who took the lead at the family visits, the quantity of parents' intervention, and the scaffolding strategies these parents employed were found in their interactions with their children. Parents were aware of why they behaved in particular ways: because of their beliefs. Based on the findings, the researcher suggested that parents' beliefs were an important mechanism for influencing children's science learning. A seemingly simple behavior, such as letting children explore one object longer than others, might reflect what was recognized as important in their beliefs. Lastly, the implications for early childhood educators, parents of young children, and future research were provided. / text

Does a parent’s illness or disability hurt the educational attainment of their children? This dissertation consists of three essays on the impact of negative health events / activity limitation experienced by parents on their children’s human capital, and how the negative consequences of parental illness can be mediated by public policy. The first essay uses the 1991-2006 Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey and finds poor Chinese children whose parent has a serious illness are much more likely to drop out of primary or secondary school compared to other children whose parents remain healthy. The second essay, using Canada’s 1994-2008 NLSCY, discovers a similar “attendance gap” at the post-secondary level between Canadian youth of disabled parents and their peers of non-disabled parents. Finally, the third essay demonstrates that higher cash transfers made available to parents with a disability can boost children’s math test performance and facilitate non-cognitive skill development.

The present review sought to clarify and synthesise the existing research of the role parental harshness and parental warmth have on children and adolescents with callous unemotional traits by comparing research across different study designs and study samples in a systematic review. The systematic review search rendered in 16 publications which revealed that callous unemotional traits moderate the relationship between parental harshness as well as parental warmth and behaviour problems in children and adolescents. The moderation effect was directed by the level of callous unemotional trait in the child or adolescent where those with low levels exhibited the most negative effects when exposed to parental harshness. Conversely, children or adolescents with elevated levels exhibited the most positive effects when being exposed to parental warmth. Furthermore, the review revealed that both forms of parenting predict changes in callous unemotional traits over time, where parental harshness increased traits and parental warmth decreased traits. These results are further discussed in relation to the contextual theories of Lykken’s parental competence and socialisation model as well as Kochanska’s conceptual model of conscience development.

The problem of this study was that parental perceptions of the roles and needs related to their children's reading development had not been successfully investigated. The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine parental perceptions of their roles, influence, and skills most needed to assist them relating to their children's reading development; the information sources on which parental beliefs about their role are founded; factors foreseen by parents that might hinder their involvement in that role; parents' preferred mode of receiving desired information relative to their assistance in their children's reading development; and existing variations in parental perceptions.

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo investigar as representações parentais de casais homossexuais masculinos, por meio das imagos parentais e legados geracionais, atualizados pelo processo de transmissão psíquica. Com o crescente aparecimento dos novos arranjos familiares e do papel fundamental da família na constituição psíquica do indivíduo, faz-se necessário o estudo das novas funções e das novas formas de se relacionar dentro destes grupos. Não há um modelo de família dominante e a ampliação de seu conceito acarreta a dificuldade de se abstrair um sentido único. Buscando compreender como se dão tais representações e suas possíveis ligações e/ou influências na relação do casal homoafetivo e, possivelmente, na família homoparental, foram entrevistados cinco casais homossexuais masculinos sem filhos, além da aplicação do DF-Es (Desenhos de famílias com estórias) adaptado. Como resultados gerais encontramos casais ainda muito ligados à suas famílias de origem; com questões conflitivas associadas ao processo de construção de suas identidades homossexuais; presos ao modelo de conjugalidade heteronormativa; cujos relacionamentos caracterizaram-se pela brevidade com que se tornaram compromissados e de coabitação, com a finalidade principal de apoio mútuo à assunção da identidade homossexual de cada um. Diante do material encontrado, concluiu-se que o despreparo para deixar o lugar de filho é fator influente para não se pensar na parentalidade; e ambos estão relacionados com conflitos de cerne familiar, especialmente a falta de aceitação da homossexualidade. Enfatizamos a necessidade de maior número de pesquisas nessa área, da psicanálise à interface interdisciplinar, para que se possa estabelecer uma ética pontuada no vínculo filiativo, base da construção de um novo modelo relacional, conjugal, familiar e parental / This research aimed to investigate the parental representation of men couples, through parental imago and generational legacy, updated by the process of psychic transmission. With the increasing of the new family configurations and the fundamental family role in the individuals psychic constitution, it is necessary the study of the new roles and new ways of relating in these groups. There is not a prevailing family model and the amplification of its concept leads to the difficulty of abstraction of a unique meaning. Trying to comprehend how such representations happen and its possible relations and influences on the homosexual couple relation and, possibly on the homoparental family, five homosexual childfree couples were interviewed, besides the application of DF-E (Drawing of Family with stories) adapted. As general results we found out couples still very attached to their original families; stuck to the heterosexual conjugality model; whose relationships are characterized by the brevity they became compromised and cohabitation, with the finality of mutual support to the assumption of the homosexual identity of each of them. Before the found material, it has been concluded that the lack of preparation to leave the place of son is an influent factor to not think about the parenthood, and both are related to conflicts of family core, specially the lack of the homosexuality accepting. We emphazise the need for a greater number of researches in this area, from psychoanalysis to the interdisciplinarity interface, so that an ethic marked by the filial bond can be established, construction base of a new relational, conjugal, familiar and parental model

L’étude de la puissance paternelle de la mère sur les enfants légitimes de 1804 à 1970 retrace l’évolution de l’autorité de la mère et la place qui lui est faite dans l’organisation de la famille au sein du Code civil. Toutes les situations familiales sont envisagées afin de faire ressortir l’autorité de la mère sous différentes formes, que l’exercice de cette puissance soit commun, subordonné ou direct lorsque la mère devient chef de famille. Le raisonnement de départ et son évolution ultérieure sont appréhendés dans le cadre d’un processus historique évolutif en faveur de cette puissance paternelle de la mère. Au-delà du champ strictement juridique, certaines questions corrélatives sur la condition de la femme, l’émergence du féminisme, des guerres et de l’industrialisation retracent en définitive la place de la femme au sein de la famille et de la société. Fruit de métamorphoses politiques, économiques et sociales, la loi du 4 juin 1970 viendra mettre dans les mots ce que les faits appellent depuis longtemps, à savoir une autorité parentale commune au père et à la mère. / This study of a mother's parental power over children born in lawful wedlock from 1804 to 1970, traces the evolution of matriarchal authority and a mother's place within the family structure, pursuant to the Civil Code. Every kind of family situation is contemplated in order to highlight matriarchal authority in its different forms, whether the exercise of this power is common, subordinated, or direct, when the mother becomes the head of the family. Initial reasoning and subsequent developments thereto are explored within the context of an evolutionary historical process to examine a mother's parental power. Beyond the strictly legal field, certain correlative questions relating to the status of women, the emergence of feminism, wars and industrialisation, ultimately retrace the place of women within families and society. As a product of political, economic and social transformations, the law of June 4, 1970, came to enact facts that had been called for by society for a long time, namely, joint parental authority shared by both the father and the mother.

Homeless youth face numerous risks. Data on 602 homeless youth from the Midwest Homeless and Runaway Study and binary logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with their participation in risky sexual behaviors. Specifically, the effects of abuse/neglect and three potential moderating resiliency indicators, namely self-esteem, parental warmth, and parental monitoring, on having sex before adulthood and thinking about trading sex for food or shelter were examined. While none of the three resiliency indicators had the hypothesized moderating effects, controlling for abuse/neglect and various sociodemographic characteristics, parental monitoring had a direct, negative effect on having sex before adulthood, and self-esteem and parental warmth had direct, negative effects on thinking about trading sex for food or shelter. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.

The study aims to determine the effect of parental involvement on the reading literacy abilities of Grade 4 learners. Literacy is a fundamental skill needed to successfully function in a country’s economy, as well as broader society. The acquisition of literacy is a complex and difficult process, where several factors can have an effect. One of the most important factors in the acquisition of literacy, is parental involvement. Many initiatives have been launched in South Africa to get parents involved in their child’s acquisition of literacy, such as the Family Literacy Project and Nal’ibali. Both of these initiatives aim to improve learners’ literacy through parental involvement. In order to determine the effect of parental involvement on the reading literacy abilities learners, this study focused on selected variables from the PreProgress in International Reading Literacy Study (prePIRLS) 2011, notably from the parental responses and Grade 4 learners reading literacy achievement results. This study took the form of a secondary data analysis while specifically using descriptive and multiple regression techniques to measure the effect of parental involvement and the parental level of education on learner reading achievement. The conceptual framework of the study consists of parental involvement and the parental level of education which might have an effect on the reading literacy ability of Grade 4 learners. The study adapted Epstein’s six types of parental involvement (1992, 1994), as well as Myrberg and Rosén’s (2008) path model of direct and indirect influences of parental education on learners’ reading achievement. This study found that higher levels of parental education, as well as higher levels of parental involvement can be associated with higher reading literacy achievement results. Therefore parental involvement is of great importance in children’s development of reading literacy skills. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / Centre for Evaluation & Assessment (CEA) / MEd / Unrestricted

Sleep and cortisol function are two physiological self-regulatory processes that codevelop during infancy. Dysregulation of each system is linked to enduring health problems, so it is critical to understand factors contributing to the development of physiological self-regulation. However, it is not clear how infant sleep and cortisol interact with each other or with the parenting context. This project examined (1) the interplay of infant sleep and cortisol; (2) how cortisol interacts with parent characteristics in relation to infant sleep; and (3) whether consistent parenting buffers infant cortisol dysregulation. Study 1 (86 parent-infant dyads) investigated whether average nighttime sleep onset and duration predicted cumulative cortisol exposure, indexed by hair cortisol concentration (HCC). As hypothesized, infants who fell asleep earlier at night had lower HCC regardless of their family income and household chaos. Additionally, I expected that sleep characteristics on one night would predict total salivary cortisol exposure (AUCg) the next day, and that salivary cortisol at bedtime would predict sleep the same night. Partially supporting expectations, time-based analyses revealed that infants with lower cortisol on a particular evening fell asleep earlier the same night. In Study 2 (84 parent-infant dyads), I hypothesized that the link between parent characteristics (i.e., bedtime parental involvement and parental sensitivity) and infant sleep would differ by AUCg. Falling asleep independently predicted earlier sleep onset only for infants with dysregulated cortisol, whereas bedtime parental involvement did not predict sleep for infants with well-regulated cortisol. Infants with emotionally warm and appropriately responsive parents fell asleep earlier at night only if their cortisol was well-regulated. Utilizing archival data of 82 mother-infant dyads, Study 3 assessed consistency in parenting behaviors (i.e., smiles and laughter, and positive vocalizations), cortisol, and socioeconomic status (SES). As hypothesized, higher-SES infants experienced consistency, whereas lower-SES infants experienced inconsistency, in maternal smiles and laughter across 6 to 12 months of infancy. Contrary to expectations, inconsistent parenting did not predict cortisol. Findings highlight the intricate relation between two vital physiological processes codeveloping in the first year of life – sleep and cortisol regulation – and the role cortisol plays in moderating how parenting characteristics contribute to infant sleep.

MSc (Med) (Bioethics and Health Law), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / Parental Consent or Refusal to Consent to HIV Testing in Children The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) continues to represent the greatest infectious threat to humans of all time. It is estimated that some 33 million people are currently infected with the causative organism, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). More than 2 million of these are children. The AIDS epidemic now has its epicenter in sub-Saharan Africa where 75% of deaths occur. The treatment of AIDS with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) has changed the outcome from inevitably fatal over months to years, to a chronic but manageable condition. Adherence to treatment is essential for maintaining good health and avoiding the development of resistance. Young children with HIV infection usually obtain the virus from their infected mother at, or about the time of birth or via breast milk. Prevention of mother to child infection (PMTCT) is possible through the use of ARVs and this has resulted in a dramatic decrease in infected children in the developed world. Poor provision and uptake of PMTCT in the developing world means that many children are still being infected. In these environments, over 60% of the children who die are infected. Treating these children with ARVs will usually prevent death and return the child to a good quality of life in the family. It is necessary to test the child for infection before embarking on life-long complex treatment and this is done by testing blood or saliva for the virus or antibodies to the virus. A positive test in the child is usually a proxy for a positive test in the mother and this obviously has profound implications for her life. In all infants suspected of infection, a test is advised. In the Rahima Moosa Mother & Child Hospital about 10-15% of mothers refuse testing for their infants. These children are therefore denied the opportunity for life-saving treatment. This essay discusses the reasons why mothers may refuse HIV testing for their infants and explores the possible ethical choices and responses of healthcare workers to this refusal.