This study examined the needs of beginning early childhood teachers in their first year of work in primary schools, kindergartens, or child care centers in Australia. The study surveyed teachers in 1988, 1989, and 1990; this paper discusses the results from the 1990 survey. Subjects were 31 teachers who responded to a questionnaire that concerned…

This annual report presents several articles related to the work of the Clinical Center for Child Development at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. The articles are: (1) "The Functional Uses of Infant-Directed Speech of Fathers and Mothers: A Comparison Study" (Katsuko Niwano); (2) "Are Children 'Among the Gods'?: Parental…

This thesis presents a picture of how staff interact with infants (age group 1-3 years old) and parents at three day care centers. The study focused on the situations of leaving and collecting the children and the children's time of free play both in and outdoors. The theoretical content has an attachment/psycho-dynamical perspective with emphasis…

Questioned 838 aging mothers of children with disabilities to describe the functional and affective relationships characterizing disabled and nondisabled siblings. Mothers reported that nondisabled offspring provided little functional assistance to their disabled siblings but that affective relationships between their children were characterized…

A study examined the role of coping style attributions and emotions in response to challenging behavior in predicting helping behaviors of 33 support staff of people with mental retardation. Coping styles of practical problem solving and wishful thinking and attributions of controllability and internality were significant predictors of effort in…

Focuses attention on the experiences and needs of substitute caregivers in early childhood child care programs. Personal experiences and insights of several substitute caregivers highlight the discussion. (BB)

Examined 12 child caregivers' ability to articulate their beliefs concerning teacher practice, and personal and professional influences related to those beliefs. Found that 33 percent of teachers' rationales focused on children's socio-emotional development, 10 percent on cognitive development, and 6 percent on language development. Teachers with…

Explored philosophical bases of care and education among 41 British early childhood professionals. Found that child care staff's guiding principles tended to be specifically child-centered, while early childhood teachers and managers generated a broader range of principles incorporating aspects of curriculum and partnership. Found that…

Research shows that established emotional and behavioral problems predict chronic and pervasive troubles across the life span. Attempts to ameliorate children's emotional and behavioral problems have resulted in limited success. The failure to systematically elicit and include caregiver and teacher perspectives in effective interventions is…

Sure Start is a Government project that aims to prevent social exclusion by targeting children between 0 and 4 years of age living in areas of social and economic deprivation. This study examined whether a Tier 2 Behaviour Support Service within a local Sure Start project was able to bring about improvements in children's behaviour and the levels…

Current discourse in educare acknowledges the partnership between parents and practitioners. But is the partnership a reality, and exactly what does the term mean to those who use it? The increased interest in the relationship between home and school is one of the most positive educational developments of the past decade. Today, at all levels of…

The Early Years Project investigated early childhood education programs for kindergarten-age children in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta. This study combined quantitative and qualitative data to: (1) document changes in kindergarten and child care and their impact since 1990; (2) investigate how kindergarten…

A feeling of community may be at the heart of child care workers' satisfaction with their job. The director plays a vital role in creating an emotional climate in which staff can feel safe, nurtured, and challenged to grow. Creating a sense of community among staff can be done in much the same way as in the classroom. (EV)

This study identified developmental and behavior problems Canadian child care providers find most challenging, strategies used to cope with these behavior problems, and how providers evaluate the effectiveness of their interventions. Interview responses indicated that externalizing problems were the most frequent difficulty, involving more than…

Outlines a theoretical framework for studying turnover among family child care providers. The model proposes four components which interact along the path to turnover: (1) potential sources of stress; (2) moderators of stress; (3) outcomes of a cognitive appraisal process; and (4) actions on those outcomes. (MDM)