Bringing together professionals from sociology, economics, psychology, and family studies, this volume presents papers from a symposium on child care that sought answers to each of the four questions listed in the table of contents. A lead speaker provided an answer, and discussants had a chance to critique the main presentation and set forth their own views. Each session also included a policy person to deal with issues from an applied perspective. The lead papers, review papers, and rejoinders constitute the contents of this volume. Interdisciplinary in scope, it deals with the central issue in a systematic way and attempts to present divergent points of view on each question. As such, it provides the reader with current information and a review of issues intended to provoke new ways of thinking about child care.
Bringing together professionals from sociology, economics, psychology, and family studies, this volume presents papers from a symposium on child care that sought answers to each of the four questions listed in the table of contents. A lead speaker provided an answer, and discussants had a chance to critique the main presentation and set forth their own views. Each session also included a policy person to deal with issues from an applied perspective. The lead papers, review papers, and rejoinders constitute the contents of this volume. Interdisciplinary in scope, it deals with the central issue in a systematic way and attempts to present divergent points of view on each question. As such, it provides the reader with current information and a review of issues intended to provoke new ways of thinking about child care.
Families need child care more in the 1990s than ever before. Those hours surrounding school time are particularly troublesome for working parents. In this new edition of a pioneering work, Seligson and Allenson explore the challenges that child care providers will encounter as the 21st century approaches. The authors skillfully balance a practical business operations text with an investigation into the meaning of social obligation. The central theme of partnership in offering care underscores each of the 12 chapters. These general planning elements form guidelines designing and managing a caring program for children aged 5-12. Topics covered include administration, curriculum, legal issues, budgeting, and assessment. Careful consideration is given to an outline for human resources development. The authors take an in-depth look at the day-to-day operation of a center--detailing concerns from behavioral and medical to scheduling and transportation. The concept of a child care professionalism which reflects respect, partnership, and caring, is sustained throughout this practical manual. An important contribution to the research and practice of child care, this volume draws providers and practitioners together in a process of self-reflection in order to effectively respond to the needs of today's--and tomorrow's--families.
How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.
The last twenty years have been marked by increased attention to the child care debate. This attention was sparked, in part, because the use of child care was becoming the norm, not the exception, for children in the United States. Attention also increased due to the seemingly contradictory reports about the effects of child care on children's developmental outcomes. Policy makers, educators, and parents wanted to know "the answer" to the child-care question, and Child-Care Research in the 1990s presents the best scholarship on child care research and provides converging evidence regarding some of the questions about child care.
Noting the separation of child-related policy makers from practitioners who know best what is good and appropriate for children, this anthology is designed as a guide for child-related policy development. The book's chapters are as follows: (1) "Early Childhood Policy" (Dolores A. Stegelin), providing an historical context and identifying eight important issues for early childhood in the 1990s; (2) "State Policy Related to Disadvantaged and At-Risk Preschoolers," (Bill Clinton), arguing that poverty, work, and family structure are primary challenges to the family, and that government should be a catalyst and partner to aid preschoolers; (3) "Birthing Collaborations in Early Care and Education" (Sharon Lynn Kagan), arguing the need for a federal policy commitment to collaboration; (4) "Beyond the Sandbox" (Robert A. Cervantes), discussing child care as a state policy issue and offering recommendations for statewide policy and practice; (5) "The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study, Similar Studies, and Their Implications for Public Policy in the United States" (Lawrence J. Schweinhart and David P. Weikart), proposing that early childhood policy should be driven by the need to alleviate crime, illiteracy, and poverty; (6) "Issues Related to Infant Child Care Policy" (Eleanor Stokes Szanton), showing how issues of infant and toddler policy are entangled with many of the nation's central domestic policy concerns and offering insight for policy based on research; (7) "Emerging Child Care Policy Issues" (Helen Blank), examining issues that must be addressed to make child care more available; (8) "The Role of the Corporation in Promoting Early Childhood Education and Care and Family Support Systems" (Ellen Galinsky), reviewing current and future corporate roles in promoting early childhood education and family support; (9) "Developing Appropriate Practice and the Challenge of Public School Reform" (Thomas Schultz), noting the significance of developmentally appropriate practice within the policy context for public education, the difficulty of implementing these concepts, and strategies for promoting such practice; (10) "Creating Change with the Public Schools" (Stacie G. Goffin), describing a collaboration between a public school district and a university to develop appropriate early childhood programs, and suggesting policy issues for public schools, teacher preparation, and certification standards; (11) "Federal Initiatives for Exceptional Children" (Karen S. Gallagher and R. J. Pat Gallagher), discussing public policy regarding exceptional children in terms of its relationship with the public school system; and (12) "Emerging Policy Issues" (Dolores A. Stegelin and Peggy M. Elgas), identifying critical variables in early childhood policy and summarizing recommendations. Each chapter contains references. (TM)
The Debate Over Child Care: 1969-1990 offers a new perspective on the pervading problem of providing child care services in the United States. The author traces the contemporary debate over the sponsorship of child care services and compares this to the past debate over the sponsorship of kindergartens during the Progressive Era. Klein compares the function of child care across societal sectors, and points out that turf fighting and imbedded ideological differences have prohibited the development of a proactive social policy for providing needed child care services. She analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of five different sponsors: the public schools, the church, private enterprise, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Past and present federal legislation is discussed in relation to the divisive issue of sponsorship.
