This curriculum module is designed to provide background information and a suggested format for instructors training Child Development Associate (CDA) family day care providers working on the competency goal of professionalism. The module is made up of two parts. Part 1 provides the trainer with a report of current research on professionalism.…

A pilot program was designed to provide opportunities for a group of high-risk parents to improve their parenting. Specifically, the program provided a center in which teenage mothers could meet, share child-rearing problems, observe their children being cared for by trained personnel, interact with their children, and have opportunities for…

A variety of issues and problems in family day care are surveyed in two brief papers. The first paper notes that the majority of children under the age of 2 years, who are currently being cared for outside the home, are being cared for in family day care settings. One of the attractions of this kind of care is its relatively low cost compared to…

Specially designed for teenagers, this experience-based training program of five units provides information about working with young children and is the learner's counterpart of a separate set of materials designed for leaders working with the teens. Units of instruction concern working in a team, observing the world of the child, facilitating the…

This study examined factors leading to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction among child care providers. Child care providers were asked to respond to questions dealing with society's perceptions of child care, their own view of child care, their working conditions, and the facilities in which they were employed. Two hundred and fifty questionnaires…

The purpose of this study was to develop a preliminary understanding of the nature of provider-parent relationships in family day care homes, as revealed through interviews with providers and parents and observations of their interactions in a small number of day care homes. The study relied primarily on the theoretical and methodological…

This paper describes 4 experiences designed to increase adult awareness of the child's perspective in adult/child dyadic interaction and outlines 12 children's activities to encourage concentration on feelings in a positive group situation. Also provided are instructions for making a board game, lists of suggested recordings and songs, and…

This study, the second in a series entitled "Competency across the Campus," was conducted in order to develop accurate data on the job responsibilities of teachers in a university child care center and the competencies these teachers need. The first part of the study used techniques for functional job analysis and content validation to develop…

The Child Care Services Course (CCSC) at Red River Community College in Manitoba offers an innovative experiential learning component for the first year of a two-year diploma program. To apply for the experiential learning program (ELP), applicants must have 2 years of full-time experience in a children's center or licensed day care home working…

While an increasing number of clinical reports and descriptive studies have documented stress-related dysfunction in family caregivers of older adults with chronic dementia, little is known about specific factors that place members at risk for negative outcomes. This study examined the relative effects of psychological and social characteristics…

Intended to help child care advocates understand and use the concept of comparable worth, this guide book defines "comparable worth" as a movement to get wages in any one workplace to reflect a just assessment of the skills and responsibilities demanded by a job rather than false assumptions about the financial needs of the worker or…

Child care services differ in terms of types of arrangements, providers, programs, delivery systems, and children served. This diversity is needed to provide black children with as many opportunities as possible for a good start in life and to avoid limiting them to the one publicly funded child care center in a neighborhood. California's system…

The possibility of meeting current needs for entry level caregivers in day care settings is predicated on the hiring of untrained personnel. Standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) support the hiring of untrained persons and the provision of on-the-job training for them. However, data gathered from a…

A total of 264 questionnaires was distributed to 28 day care centers in Dutchess County, New York, to gather information on characteristics and attitudes of persons employed in providing day care services. Items on the questionnaire focused on personal data, job characteristics, staff education/training, income, and workers' attitudes toward their…

This handbook addresses questions childminders might have as they begin and continue in the job. Discussion focuses on (1) registration; (2) aspects of childminding such as planning, housework, equipment, toys, safety, and health; (3) play, (especially as related to imaginative play, painting, writing and drawing, water, dough, outdoor play, and…