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ERIC Number: ED403060
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1996
Pages: 13
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Children, Parents and Caregivers: Three Views of Care and Education.
Singer, Elly
For too long, researchers and policy makers have considered themselves to be the only experts able to define quality in child care. That children, parents, and teachers have their own expertise in this area is often denied. This article explores the points of view of these three parties and attempts to demonstrate that researchers must be prepared to have their academic theories turned upside down. The article begins with children's perspective on quality child care as expressed through the voice of 13-year-old Maarten. His opinion that caregivers should simply do things they enjoy and allow children to participate or not, as they choose, has major implications for developmental psychology's emphasis on exclusive attention to the child. Conclusions can also be drawn about children's desire to be included in the adult world and about their recognition of the power inequality between themselves and adults (a fact often overlooked by developmental psychologists). The article's second section explores parents' perspective, such as their desire for child caregiving that minimizes family stress, takes a personal approach, and allows them equal footing with caregivers. Finally, the article presents the caregivers' perspective, pointing out the limited applicability of much research that has focused on caregiver-child dyads: day care workers are often responsible for 12 to 14 children. It concludes with a call to researchers to relinquish their claim to superiority and to begin work on new context-bound theories that incorporate the interested parties' points of view. Contains 28 references. (EV)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A