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.

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.

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.

Childcare programs that provide high quality care can strengthen children's early development. One component of a quality program is having providers who are knowledgeable in child development; however, despite the understanding of these known predictors of child development, Wyoming does not require childcare providers to complete any training before beginning to work with children. Guided by the constructivist theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Dewey, and Bruner, this objectives-based program evaluation investigated the Pathways to Professional Development program to determine participants' perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the program. A researcher-produced survey was created based on the objectives of the program and consisted of open-ended and Likert scale questions. This survey was completed by 35 childcare providers who completed the 3 modules of the Pathways program. Data analysis began by identifying potential categories, comparing and contrasting emerging themes, and looking for emerging patterns in participant responses. Key results indicated that the participants of this program gained knowledge about child development and developmentally appropriate practice. The implications for social change from this research are directly related to the early childcare providers, children, and ultimately the communities of Wyoming. By increasing the knowledge of childcare providers, higher quality care can be provided, leading to positive relationships, stimulating learning experiences, and to a greater likelihood of children reaching their full potential.

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The diploma thesis named Introducing quality standards for social and legal protection of children from the point of view of social workers of the institution of social and legal protection of children enables an insight into the issue of how social workers of the institution of social and legal protection of children view the introduction of quality standards for social and legal protection of children. The amendment of Act No. 359/1999 Coll., on social and legal protection of children, has brought significant changes in the activity of institutions of social and legal protection (OSPOD / BSLPC), especially in the field of applying instruments of social work. The conditions for a quality performance of the contents of this responsible work are created by means of standardisation. Standardisation means determining obligatory procedures in the performance of particular management activities as well as minimum parameters for a quality performance thereof (Macela, 2012). The thesis is divided into several parts. The first chapter defines the basic terms of the subject in question. The thesis is devised theoretically and draws on relevant professional literature. It deals with the specifications of social and legal protection of children (SLPC), what kinds of principles of social and legal protection of children there are, the SLPC social workers, the conditions for the performance of the profession of SLPC social workers. Further, the chapter explains terms of quality, social work, the family and the child. It defines perception and which factors may influence perception. Appropriate attention is given to the legislation of quality standards for the institutions of social and legal protection of children, the content and objective of quality standards of the institutions of social and legal protection of children, the process of standardisation and the availability of social and legal protection and the conditions for the performance thereof. The second chapter determines the objective of the thesis and research questions. The third chapter characterises the set examined and the methodology of work chosen for this purpose, the techniques of collecting data, analysis of data and the realisation of the actual research, including the ethics of the research. The fourth chapter deals with the outcomes of the thesis. The main objective of the thesis was to identify how social workers perceive the introduction of quality standards for social and legal protection of children. To achieve the objective of the thesis, I chose the strategy of the qualitative research, method of questioning and the technique of a semi-structured interview. The interviews were realised in the course of July 2016 in the research sample of ten staff members of the institution of social and legal protection of children who work at the position of a SLPC social worker in communities with extended powers, situated in the Region of South Bohemia. The communication partners were chosen by the method of purposive sampling. Based on the objective of the thesis two research questions were set up: Which factors influence the perception of social workers of the institution of social and legal protection of children within the introduction of quality standards for social and legal protection of children? Which aspects of the introduction of quality standards for social and legal protection of children are perceived by social workers of the institution of social and legal protection of children as positive or negative? As has emerged from the research, the changes resulting from the introduction of the standards that social workers of the institution of social and legal protection of children regarded as positive included the improvement in workplace equipment and setting a limit for the number of families that a social worker may work with at one time. The majority of social workers gave a positive evaluation to the introduction of supervision. Work quality has been d