Noting that high quality group care for infants and toddlers can enrich children's early experience and provide critical support to their families, this guide is designed to help caregivers and other interested parties in early care and education recognize and communicate the skills and knowledge needed to offer nurturing group care that supports…

With the aim of tailoring future programming decisions to local conditions and concerns, an ethnographic study was commissioned to examine childrearing practices in a small middle income village in Hebei Province, China. The research was designed to learn about the concerns and goals of child care providers, and about the strategic thinking and…

Recognizing the critical role that quality child care plays in the lives of working families, in children's health and development, and in the state economy, the Alaska Child Care Program promotes quality, affordable, and accessible child care for Alaska's children and families that allows parents to work or train for employment, and that supports…

This paper addresses, in two parts, some issues in the staffing of early childhood services. Taking an international perspective, the first part of the paper discusses: (1) the structure of the early childhood workforce; (2) the social construction of the early childhood worker; (3) gender; (4) staff to child ratios; (5) processes of transition in…

Interviews with Canadian day care workers and minority parents showed that the two groups disagreed about why parents are not involved enough; were unaware of their basic differences in ECE goals; and disagreed substantially over what constitutes proper child-rearing methods. Discriminatory incidents were not uncommon at centers, although teachers…

British standards for inspection of residential services will not protect children from abuse because they do not address underlying problems. New proposals may correct some problems, but inspections probably cannot meet child protection objectives. Future developments should address enforcement of standards, collaboration between agencies…

Introduces a project undertaken to examine the medical/health, social services, and legal needs of African American children who have experienced or will experience the death of one or both parents as a result of HIV/AIDS. Presents the preliminary findings, and claims that services have expanded but much remains to be accomplished to achieve…

Notes that allegations of sexual abuse against early child care providers are serious, but relatively rare. Presents guidelines for preventing sexual abuse in child care and early childhood programs; guidelines include attention to staff selection, training, and supervision, and good parent-staff relations. Also offers advice for dealing with both…

Reminds early care teachers to make quality decisions that keep the child's best interests in mind. Gives several examples of possible parent-school conflicts and guidelines for resolution that keep the child's best interest foremost. (ET)

Notes the lack of male staff in early childhood settings and discusses benefits to young children from having positive interactions with men in a variety of roles and settings. Suggests making the presence of men a formal part of program policy and philosophy, and recruiting male volunteers as a way to bring men into a program. (TJQ)

Discusses the interdependence of criminal justice policy, welfare reform legislation, and kinship foster care in relation to the care of children with incarcerated parents. Explores the impact of these interdependent service organizations on these children, and discusses the characteristics of relative caregivers, their needs, and the support…

Examines the uniqueness of the caregiving experiences of specific cultural groups. Results, based on focus group meetings with African American, Chinese American, Haitian American, Hispanic/Latino American, Korean American, and select Native American communities, revealed differences in perceptions of disability, family structure, care givers,…

Examines differences in perceived caregiver availability among a random sample of Mexican American and non-Hispanic white young-old residents in three socioeconomically distinct neighborhoods. For MAs across all three socioeconomic status groups, being female, widowed, and having more chronic illnesses was associated with a lesser likelihood of…

Evaluates the quality of the caregiving environment for young infants in day care centers in Athens (Greece) using three global measures: ITERS, PROFILE, and CCFS. Reveals a great similarity among the three measures. Reports a generally low quality for day care, lower than for other countries with similar research. (DSK)

Notes that, while children are born with an innate curiosity to learn, by the time they reach school, their motivation has often been lost or replaced by extrinsically motivated learning strategies. Discusses the development of intrinsic motivation in the early childhood years, and how teachers and caregivers can foster and strengthen it. (TJQ)