This article discusses the way in which social identities structure the learning processes of students in two subjects in the Dutch secondary school curriculum--Care and Technology. It analyses interviews with 23 students and their teachers with a view to explaining the disappointing results in these subjects in terms of breaking through gender…

Documents the need for and importance of high-quality child care; the influence of caregivers on children's cognitive, social, and emotional development; qualifications of and remuneration for child caregivers; and the relation of quality care to lower juvenile crime. Proposes that child caregivers be given adequate training (including alternate…

Presents controversial issues concerning kinship care and findings from a survey of child welfare experts on their research priorities for kinship care. Discusses suggestions for future research in the following categories: children; families; services; state policies; experience of professionals and families; practice issues; and training. (TJQ)

Considers the value of formal education and child-related training for preparing high-quality child caregivers, arguing that a combination of the two provides the best preparation. Maintains that education affects caregivers' interactions with children, further supplemented by child-related training. Offers suggestions for caregiver training…

Last in four-part series on infant and toddler development, discusses professionalism in the context of required caregiving beliefs and practices in working with infants and toddlers. Presents four "common threads" of professionalism that transcend level of education and experience--specialized knowledge of children's development,…

Cites research indicating that few child care centers and homes provide a level of quality that fully supports children's learning and development. Offers suggestions for quality improvement, including more college training and mentoring for caregivers, improved wages, and assessment of staff perceptions about staff development. (HTH)

Discusses NAEYC's efforts to advance early care and education providers' knowledge base, skills, and responsibility levels, and the implications of corresponding public policy related to their training. Suggests that the professional training agenda must prepare caregivers to meet the needs of children of various races, languages, social classes,…

Several reports on the link between the economy and the quality of child care indicate that: (1) early care and education benefits two generations of workers; (2) quality is essential to, but is rarely found in, early care and education programs; and (3) the key to quality is the professional development of practitioners. A vision of dynamic…

This paper examines four issues relevant to planning the use of funding resources for installing a career development system for practitioners in the early childhood education field. The first issue concerns the need for a career development system. Arguments for the importance of such a system are based on the need for a dynamic career ladder and…

Work requirements for welfare recipients will pressure state agencies to create employment opportunities for parents and arrangements for child care while parents work. This report examines the topic of recruiting welfare mothers to care for children of other recipients. The report highlights research outlining barriers to work in child care and…

Presents results of survey that gathered feedback from agency administrators who employ child- and youth-care workers on the development of the child- and youth-care profession. Describes ideas and sources of support of this emerging profession, and outlines several areas where individuals and associations interested in its development might…

Care in the provider's home is the most prevalent form of child care in the United States today for children younger than five with employed mothers. This report presents key findings of the first in-depth observational study of family child care and relative care in over a decade. It identifies areas of concern and outlines policy…

Discusses federal and state initiatives to enhance child care quality and child care teachers' compensation. These initiatives have resulted from the passage of the Child Care and Development Block Grant in 1990. (BB)

Drawing on in-depth interviews with 20 family child care providers of diverse race, ethnicity, immigrant status, and social class, this book explores the social, political, and economic forces and processes that draw women into the work of family child care. The articles dispel not only myths about why women choose to be family child care…

Suggests an alternative to typical practices of new staff orientation: one week of paid orientation without direct responsibility for children so they can experience the program vision in action and practice assuming their role within it. Details strategies involved in this approach and encourages directors to calculate the cost of turnover in…