Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8

Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-07-23

Total Pages: 587

ISBN-13: 0309324882

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Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.


Handbook of Applied Developmental Science

Handbook of Applied Developmental Science

Author: Richard M. Lerner

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2002-10-22

Total Pages: 2286

ISBN-13: 1506361390

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The Handbook of Applied Developmental Science is the only work to comprehensively present the latest theory, research, and application from applied developmental science (ADS) and the positive psychology movement. It summarizes and synthesizes the best scientific knowledge from ADS to help readers understand the efforts being made around the world to ensure that all children and adolescents develop into healthy adults who contribute positively to society. The first resource to organize and integrate both the prevention and promotion approaches to programs and policies, the Handbook provides a detailed road map for future research and for actions that will promote positive child, youth, and family development. Published in four topical volumes, Volume 1 describes the foundation of applied developmental science, its historical development, and current scientific and professional efforts to develop policies and programs that promote development. Volume 2 examines public policy and government service systems. Volume 3 discusses community systems for enhancing citizenship and promoting a civil society. Finally, Volume 4 outlines methods for university engagement and academic outreach. Volume 1 Applying Developmental Science for Youth and Families Historical and Theoretical Foundations Volume 2 Enhancing the Life Chances of Youth and Families Contributions of Programs, Policies, and Service Systems Volume 3 Promoting Positive Youth and Family Development Community Systems, Citizenship, and Civil Society Volume 4 Adding Value to Youth and Family Development The Engaged University and Professional and Academic Outreach Key Features Four comprehensive, topical volumes Approximately 2200 pages in 95 chapters More than 150 contributors, many of whom are world-renowned leaders in applied developmental science from the academic, professional, and policy and political arenas Forewords for each volume written by well-known authorities, including Edward Zigler, co-founder of the Head Start program; U.S. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings; David Bell, International Youth Foundation; and Graham Spanier, President, The Pennsylvania State University Recommended Libraries Academic, government, special, and private/corporate


Child Care and Child Development

Child Care and Child Development

Author: NICHD Early Child Care Research Network

Publisher: Guilford Press

Published: 2005-12-23

Total Pages: 496

ISBN-13: 1593852878

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This important work presents the results of the most comprehensive scientific study to date of early child care and its relation to child development. In one volume, a critical selection of material from the most salient journal articles is brought together with new overviews and a concluding commentary. Provided is a wealth of authoritative information about the ways in which nonmaternal care is linked to health, psychological adjustment, and mother-child bonds in the first six years of life. The study addresses the full complexity of this vital issue, taking into account a range of family characteristics as well as the quality of child care experiences. An essential resource for developmentalists, early child care specialists, and educators, this volume offers compelling new perspectives on practice, policy, and research.


Putting Children First

Putting Children First

Author: Ajay Chaudry

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 2004-07-22

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 1610441192

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In the five years following the passage of federal welfare reform law, the labor force participation of low-income, single mothers with young children climbed by more than 25 percent. With significantly more hours spent outside the home, single working mothers face a serious childcare crunch—how can they provide quality care for their children? In Putting Children First, Ajay Chaudry follows 42 low-income families in New York City over three years to illuminate the plight of these mothers and the ways in which they respond to the difficult challenge of providing for their children's material and developmental needs with limited resources. Using the words of the women themselves, Chaudry tells a startling story. Scarce subsidies, complicated bureaucracies, inflexible work schedules, and limited choices force families to piece together care arrangements that are often unstable, unreliable, inconvenient, and of limited quality. Because their wages are so low, these women are forced to rely on inexpensive caregivers who are often under-qualified to serve the developmental needs of their children. Even when these mothers find good, affordable care, it rarely lasts long because their volatile employment situations throw their needs into constant flux. The average woman in Chaudry's sample had to find five different primary caregivers in her child's first four years, while over a quarter of them needed seven or more in that time. This book lets single, low-income mothers describe the childcare arrangements they desire and the ways that options available to them fail to meet even their most basic needs. As Chaudry tracks these women through erratic childcare spells, he reveals the strategies they employ, the tremendous costs they incur and the anxiety they face when trying to ensure that their children are given proper care. Honest, powerful, and alarming, Putting Children First gives a fresh perspective on work and family for the disadvantaged. It infuses a human voice into the ongoing debate about the effectiveness of welfare reform, showing the flaws of a social policy based solely on personal responsibility without concurrent societal responsibility, and suggesting a better path for the future.


50 Ways to Improve Women's Lives

50 Ways to Improve Women's Lives

Author: National Council of Women's Organizations

Publisher: New World Library

Published: 2010-11-01

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1577317017

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A powerful new call-to-action series was launched with the New York Times bestselling MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country. The second book in the series, 50 Ways to Improve Women's Lives, written by nationally recognized women, is poised to again become an instrument for change and reinvigorate a movement. 50 Ways to Improve Women's Lives parlays the collective expertise of the National Council of Women's Organizations' 200 member organizations — which include Planned Parenthood, NOW, League of Women Voters, Code Pink, the AAUW, the National Council of Negro Women, and the YWCA — and features 50 personal, inspiring essays with "Helping Ourselves" and "Call-to-Action" sidebars. Covering subjects as diverse as pay equity, reproductive health, child care, racism, and women in leadership, the book addresses topics that affect women (and all of us!) on a personal and political level, and provides readers with ways to move beyond old arguments and turn inspiration into action. Contributors include Madeline Albright, Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Eleanor Smeal, Hillary Clinton, Congresswomen Maloney, Slaughter, and Pelosi, and many others.


The Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce

The Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2012-02-10

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 030921937X

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Early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings offer an opportunity to provide children with a solid beginning in all areas of their development. The quality and efficacy of these settings depend largely on the individuals within the ECCE workforce. Policy makers need a complete picture of ECCE teachers and caregivers in order to tackle the persistent challenges facing this workforce. The IOM and the National Research Council hosted a workshop to describe the ECCE workforce and outline its parameters. Speakers explored issues in defining and describing the workforce, the marketplace of ECCE, the effects of the workforce on children, the contextual factors that shape the workforce, and opportunities for strengthening ECCE as a profession.


Economics of Child Care

Economics of Child Care

Author: David M. Blau

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 1991-09-19

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1610440609

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"David Blau has chosen seven economists to write chapters that review the emerging economic literature on the supply of child care, parental demand for care, child care cost and quality, and to discuss the implications of these analyses for public policy. The book succeeds in presenting that research in understandable terms to policy makers and serves economists as a useful review of the child care literature....provides an excellent case study of the value of economic analysis of public policy issues." —Arleen Leibowitz, Journal of Economic Literature "There is no doubt this is a timely book....The authors of this volume have succeeded in presenting the economic material in a nontechnical manner that makes this book an excellent introduction to the role of economics in public policy analysis, and specifically child care policy....the most comprehensive introduction currently available." —Cori Rattelman, Industrial and Labor Relations Review


Getting It Right From the Start

Getting It Right From the Start

Author: Marjorie J. Kostelnik

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2009-03-26

Total Pages: 689

ISBN-13: 1412949505

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From understanding how the youngest children learn to working with ECE agencies, this practical guide presents the information principals need to create effective early childhood education programs.