Language Learning and Childcare Choice in Wales

While there is increasing evidence that children who learn Welsh before they start formal education have higher levels of fluency, few parents choose Welsh-medium or bilingual early childhood education and care. This paper reports on the findings and policy implications of a mixed-method study that examined Welsh parents' childcare choices and asked to what extent those choices are influenced by language. Using Bourdieusian theory it was found that attitudes and practices within the childcare field differ according to parents' habitus and perceived capital value of the Welsh language. Where Welsh is widely spoken, both Welshand non-Welsh-speaking parents chose Welsh-medium early childhood services intuitively and in recognition of the extent to which bilingualism forms valuable social and cultural capital that is convertible to future economic capital. In non-Welsh-speaking areas, without such intuition or recognition of the transferable value of language as redeemable capital, parents did not form the habitus that might dispose them to choose Welsh-medium or bilingual pre-school experiences. As a consequence, the supply of Welsh-language childcare does not develop in response to demand, limiting opportunities for bilingualism to take root in many areas. These findings are important in the context of Welsh Government's policy target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.</jats:p

Why is transition between child and adult services a dangerous time for young people with chronic kidney disease?:A mixed-method systematic review

<div><p>Young people age 14–25 years with chronic kidney disease have been identified as generally having poor health outcomes and are a high-risk group for kidney transplant loss due in part to poor self-management. This raises a key question as to what happens during transition from child to adult services? This paper presents a mixed-method systematic review of health and social care evidence concerning young people with chronic kidney disease transitioning from child to adult health and social care services. Quantitative and qualitative evidence were synthesised in streams followed by an overarching synthesis. Literature searches (2000 to March 2017) were conducted using Pubmed, BioMed Central and Cochrane Library, grey literature sources ZETOC, <a href="http://.gov.uk" target="_blank">.gov.uk</a>, third sector organisations, NHS Evidence, SCIE, TRIP, Opengrey. Snowball searching was conducted in the databases Ovid, CINAHL, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar. Of 3,125 records screened, 60 texts were included. We found that while strategies to support transition contained consistent messages, they supported the principle of a health-dominated pathway. Well-being is mainly defined and measured in clinical terms and the transition process is often presented as a linear, one-dimensional conduit. Individual characteristics, along with social, familial and societal relationships are rarely considered. Evidence from young people and their families highlights transition as a zone of conflict between independence and dependency with young people feeling powerless on one hand and overwhelmed on the other. We found few novel interventions and fewer that had been evaluated. Studies were rarely conducted by allied health and social care professionals (e.g. renal social workers and psychologists) as part of multi-disciplinary renal teams. We conclude that there is a lack of good evidence to inform providers of health and social care services about how best to meet the needs of this small but vulnerable cohort.</p></div

Informal childcare and childcare choice in Wales

The importance of childcare as a field of study and for public policy has grown in recent times in response to an increase in women in the labour force and increasing evidence of the developmental importance of the early years. Following devolution in the UK childcare is now the responsibility of the devolved Governments. In Wales, some distinctive early childhood policies have been developed, but it is unclear whether or not there is a coherent approach which incorporates childcare. Anecdotally, one of the distinctive features of childcare often highlighted in Wales, is the importance of informal care, yet despite a body of UK research examining informal childcare from a number of perspectives, little is known about the practice in Wales. Whether the use of informal childcare in Wales is distinctive and, if so, why is it important, are key questions that are unanswered. The aim of this research has been to examine the field of childcare in Wales and, within it, the choices that families make between formal and informal care. It utilises the theories of Pierre Bourdieu in the study of childcare as a social practice, using his key ‘thinking tools’ of habitus, capitals and field. The study also follows his methodological approach to researching the topic. Three inter-related strands of research activity are presented in this thesis using mixed methods. First, is a structured analysis of policy and related texts. Secondly, data from the 2015 National Survey for Wales is subjected to quantitative examination to present a picture of informal childcare use in Wales, and thirdly, interviews with 45 parents from three areas of Wales are interpreted using thematic analysis. The research finds that there are indeed distinctive aspects of childcare in Wales, including greater use of informal care and less use of formal childcare than in England. Informal childcare use is found to be less associated with economic capital than accumulations of cultural and social capital. Building on Bourdieu’s theories, it finds that alongside unequal possession of capital, parental habitus including work and care dispositions are important in understanding the decisions that parents make about childcare. Also found are differences in the choices that parents make, and are able to make, according to where they live - as well as some distinctive practices related to Welsh language. In conclusion, this research finds that the distinctiveness of the childcare field in Wales and the policy context are inter-related. The political and ideological framing of childcare in Wales along with the delivery model of formal childcare are found to be incoherent. This can be observed to result in many parents relying on informal childcare to accommodate work and caring responsibilities and preferences. Those parents without access to informal care are therefore considerably disadvantage