This early childhood education text was designed to help students and child care staff become effective advocates for the improvement of quality, salaries, and working conditions in child care programs. Unit I provides literature on the issues affecting the child care field and focuses on strategies to improve salaries and working conditions.…

Discussed in this report is a geriatric clinical training model for social workers and students dealing with Alzheimer patients and family caregivers. The project was conceived to develop student interest and competence to work in this specialized area. One goal was to incorporate relevant components in the social work curriculum in both classroom…

This paper reports on a project designed to reduce child care worker turnover at a residential treatment center by the development and introduction of a 5-day, on-the-job training curriculum for beginning child care workers. It describes the on-the-job training program which used experienced child care workers who displayed supervisory potential…

It was noted that paraprofessional child caregivers working with economically disadvantaged children did not base instructional choices on data derived from direct observations. As a result, this practicum was implemented to improve the observation and recording skills of five caregivers serving as group leaders of day care workers. Centers…

Based on the current drive toward professionalism in early childhood education and the low status and prestige afforded teachers in this field, this paper applies some of the main concepts of professionalism to the current state of the art of early childhood education. Two uses of the term "professional" are delineated: the…

This report describes a project that established family day care homes in Mississippi and made use of senior citizens as day care providers. The goals of the project were to provide alternative day care arrangements for low income parents and to offer senior citizens extra income and strengthen their self-image. Advantages of home-based day care…

This booklet is a collection of five articles from the Child Development Associate Program (CDA) in Texas, part of a nationwide program for training child care workers. "Skills Needed by a CDA Training Counselor" outlines three skills: facilitation of learning, interpersonal skills, and management. "Some Findings and Recommendations…

The speeches, papers, and workshops descriptions presented at the second annual National Conference for Child Care Workers are presented. Several issues relating to child care supervision, child care work, and child development are considered along with the management of group living environments and various aspects of supervision. Job…

This document presents a trainer's guide to accompany a multi-volume set of curriculum materials designed for educating Child Development Associates. The training is geared toward development of identified competencies which require practice in order that proficiency be acquired. Many learning activities have been designed to fulfill that training…

Learning activities enabling Child Development Associate (CDA) trainees to facilitate children's development of language and communication skills are provided in this CDA training module. Contents of the module focus on the function of language arts in the preschool, the development of language and communication skills, and the teacher's role in…

Upon completion of this learning unit on parent/teacher/community relationships, Child Development Associate (CDA) trainees will be better able to (1) promote positive functioning of children and adults in a group, (2) bring about coordination of home and center practices, and (3) carry out related, supplemental responsibilities. Information is…

This five-part report describes a study of the extent to which the need for child care services prevents women from taking advantage of New York's vocational programs. After Part I provides a project overview, Part II presents the findings of Phase I of the study, during which contact persons at 38 community colleges, 55 Boards of Cooperative…

The purpose of this research is to describe the major dimensions of satisfactions with children in a group of professional women whose careers are child-related. Participants were 132 women students in a five-month continuing education Nurse Practitioner training program in pediatrics or maternity. The questionnaires and personality inventories…

One of a series of 18, this Child Development Associate (CDA) training module provides a guide to promoting acute hearing and sound discrimination in young children through both group and self-selected music activities. Upon completion of this module the trainee is expected to be able to provide daily music experiences; emphasize enjoyment of and…

This Child Development Associate (CDA) training module, one of a series of 18, provides a guide to art instruction and art experiences for preschool children. Upon completion of the module the CDA trainee is expected to be able to implement daily art activities, which employ materials appropriate for the development of art concepts in children.…