Individual, family and neighbourhood factors related to life satisfaction and perceived discrimination among low-income, non-immigrant mothers in seven European countries

We examined associations between dimensions of social exclusion and maternal life satisfaction and maternal perceived discrimination for low-income, non-immigrant mothers of children at preschool and primary school age in seven European countries (Czech Republic, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal – N = 1227), using standardized survey data from a large-scale interview study. Life satisfaction and perceived discrimination were found to be associated, indicating that both dimensions are important to consider in relation to subjective well-being. The results of linear mixed effect regression models demonstrated that lack of resources in multiple dimensions of social exclusion were linked to our well-being measures, including objective life condition variables (material deprivation, poor neighbourhood quality; both outcomes) as well as more relational aspects (unemployment, less social support; life satisfaction) and adult literacy related difficulties (perceived discrimination). These findings reaffirm the importance of combatting social exclusion. There are implications for public policy, emphasizing the importance of joined-up policies that tackle different forms of exclusion

A review of research on the effects of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) upon child development. CARE project; Curriculum Quality Analysis and Impact Review of European Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)

This report considers the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) curriculum throughout Europe. It explores the official curriculum, specified by national or regional governments, along with the implemented curriculum that is provided ‘on the ground’ by staff to enhance children’s development. The official curriculum documents at national or regional level are often called ‘steering documents’. Moreover, the implemented curriculum is sometimes called the ‘experienced’ or the ‘realised’ curriculum, i.e., what the staff realise in their daily practice and what the children experience day by day. The CARE project has studied European curriculum in three ways: (1) by developing a template according to which the 11 partners in the CARE Consortium described the curriculum in their own countries; (2) by analysing the responses of our partners across 11 countries to the CARE curriculum template, with the aim of identifying commonalities and differences in the broadly representative sample that comprises the CARE consortium; (3) by considering information from the templates in light of selected research literature on effectiveness - NOT through a formal literature review which is the task of another Work Package in the CARE project (Melhuish et al., forthcoming) - but by comparing the template findings with widely cited, key studies. The analytic template originated as a series of questions at a curriculum conference held in Oxford (March 2014). This template was further refined as members of the CARE consortium provided information about ECEC in their home countries. The conclusions and recommendations presented in this report are based on analysis of the completed country templates (i.e. the survey of countries represented in the CARE Consortium), but also on recent EU reports and selected international literature

Design and implementation of ICT-based interventions to support parents with young children in linguistically diverse contexts. The ISOTIS virtual leanring environment for families

We aim to present design processes and implementation of parent support interventions which make use of the ISOTIS VLE, and support parents with young children who have language backgrounds different to the language spoken in school. Design and implementation was carried out in England, Czechia, Germany and Italy, and built on previous ISOTIS work: a literature review, an inventory, and case studies of promising and evidence-based parent- and family-focused support programms, and interviews with parents of our target groups. Guided by family and systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1974) and family-systems intervention models that embrace a resource-based approach to interventions (e.g. Dunst and Trivette), content created through the help of the VLE stimulates cooperation in the cultural and school community. The aim is to support beliefs into the value of heritage language and multi-lingual competencies and family language practices that make good use of family language resources at home. We followed a design-based research methodology. Several methods were combined in order to evaluate the process of implememntation, inlcuding observations, interviews, focus groups, and self-reports. Taking part in the VLE-based interventions required participants to create content and materials for the digital platorm. Care was taken to ensure informed consent by participants as well as full compliance with the GDPR. Results demonstrate how the use of VLE can be challenging, but also beneficial to facilitate participants’ active participation, and processes of reflection. The use of ICT to support interventions with parents is innovative; research into its potential can enrich and enhance family learning practices

Training parents to help their children read: a randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Low levels of literacy and high levels of behaviour problems in middle childhood often co-occur. These persistent difficulties pose a risk to academic and social development, leading to social exclusion in adulthood. Although parent-training programmes have been shown to be effective in enabling parents to support their children's development, very few parent interventions offer a combination of behavioural and literacy training. AIMS: This paper (1) reports on a prevention programme which aimed to tackle behaviour and literacy problems in children at the beginning of school, and (2) presents the effects of the intervention on children's literacy. SAMPLE: One hundred and four 5- and 6-year-old children selected from eight schools in an inner city disadvantaged community in London participated in the intervention. METHODS: This is a randomized control trial with pre- and post-measurements designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention. The behavioural intervention consisted of the 'Incredible Years' group parenting programme combined with a new programme designed to train parents to support their children's reading at home. RESULTS: Analyses demonstrated a significant effect of the intervention on children's word reading and writing skills, as well as parents' use of reading strategies with their children. CONCLUSION: A structured multicomponent preventive package delivered with attention to fidelity can enable parents to support their children's reading at home and increase their literacy skills. Together with the improvement in child behaviour, these changes could improve the life chances of children in disadvantaged communities

Toddlers' transition to out-of-home day care: settling into a new care environment.

This study investigates toddlers' initial reaction to day care entry and their behaviour change over the first few months in care. One hundred and four toddlers (10-33 months of age) in Viennese childcare centres participated in the study. One-hour video observations were carried out at 3 time points during the first 4 months in the setting and coded into a total of 36 5-min observation segments. Multilevel models (observation segments nested within children) with an autoregressive error structure fitted data well. Two weeks after entry into care, toddlers' levels of affect and interaction were low. Overall, changes in all areas of observed behaviour were less than expected. There were considerable individual differences in change over time, mostly unrelated to child characteristics. Significant associations between children's positive affect, their dynamic interactions and their explorative and investigative interest were found

Relationship building between toddlers and new caregivers in out-of-home childcare: Attachment security and caregiver sensitivity

The aim of this study was to identify factors that help toddlers form attachment relationships with their caregivers during the transition from sole home care to out-of-home childcare. We investigated relationship building between toddlers and their new caregivers during the first four months in childcare. In a sample of 104 toddlers (aged 10 to 33 months) in 71 Viennese childcare centres, we assessed attachment security (using the Attachment Q-Sort) at three time points. We also assessed children’s experiences with their new care providers at each time point, focusing on dyadic caregiver sensitivity (a) during one-to-one interactions with the individual target child, and (b) during interactions with all children in the group. We investigated whether attachment security in the early months of childcare differs between girls and boys, to see if gender, in combination with caregiver interaction, has a role in predicting differences between toddlers’ attachment security. Higher attachment security was found in girls, and in those children with caregivers scoring higher on the group-related measure of sensitivity. Dyadic sensitivity did not predict toddlers’ attachment security. Findings support the development of attachment/relationship theory, in the context of childcare for young children, that takes account of children’s experiences in groups rather than only in one-to-one interactions