Various initiatives over the past 40 years have aimed to strengthen children’s early learning and social development. One policy theory—manifest in recent welfare reforms—postulates that requiring single mothers to work more outside the home will advance children’s well-being. We first examine whether young children’s social development is related to maternal employment among 405 women who entered welfare-to-work programs in 1998. For girls, age 24–42 months, we found that their mother’s recent employment duration was significantly associated with a lower incidence of aggressive behavior and inattentiveness, measured by two scales from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 2/3). Yet these relationships with employment were weaker than more robust associations observed for proximal child-rearing practices, including the frequency of reading with the child, enforcing a regular bedtime, the propensity to spank the child, as well as levels of maternal depression. We then assess whether broader measures of the mother’s economic security help to predict these proximal determinants of development. We observed that food security and indicators of job quality consistently predicted the proximal factors. Structural equation models (SEM) provided additional evidence that these broader indicators of economic security, but not recent employment per se, operated through parenting practices and maternal depression to influence girls’ and boys’ social development. These results are consistent with recent findings from random-assignment experiments, showing that employment gains rarely affect child outcomes unless mothers’ income and broader economic security also improve. 相似文献
Science learning is inextricably tied to two aspects of students’ lives: literacy and culture. While English Learners (ELs) who speak a non-English native language are typically the focus in this line of scholarly inquiry, deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students occupy a distinct space in this conversation. For DHH learners, literacy levels can be hindered by an early dependence on a more survival-based language learning model that postpones basic scientific inquiry. The vocabulary for curiosity is limited, which in turn affects the educational culture. DHH learners have a unique culture that demands an appropriate science curriculum, which thus far has not been explored or attempted for either DHH learners or their educators. Data collected consisted of interviews with teachers of DHH students, as well as observational data collected from a high-minority urban K-8 school for DHH students. The analysis revealed that, first, many of the teachers had limited preparation to teach science content. Second, DHH teachers used inconsistent instructional strategies ranging from drawing pictures to building models. Third, the modifications provided to DHH science learners were mostly limited to visual support and repetition. Implications for teacher education programs include instruction focused on specific supports for DHH students and co-teaching methods, and deeper investigation of inquiry-based science practices. Implications for classroom practices include providing hands-on, inquiry-based instruction, working closely with parents, and developing students’ and teachers’ understanding of scientific inquiry.
We conducted surveys of adults participating in municipally sponsored volunteer events in the Portland, OR metropolitan area in order to understand the range of attitudes and behaviors associated with volunteer work. We sampled 172 individuals in 18 events from February to June 2012. Principal components and factor analyses of survey responses identified three groups based on annual frequency of participation in stewardship events: first-time volunteers, mid-level volunteers (3–10 events per year), and frequent volunteers (>10 events per year). Our analyses revealed three main factors that explained the variation in survey response for the three volunteer groups: environmental identity, private pro-environmental behavior, and civic engagement. All three factors were positively correlated with frequency of participation in stewardship events, with the most frequent volunteers indicating the highest degree of attention to environmental issues, environmental identity, and self-reported pro-environmental behaviors. Frequent volunteers were more likely to feel personally attached to their local environment, believe that their efforts help solve environmental problems, and enjoy being part of community efforts. These results suggest that stewardship activities provide opportunities for volunteers to interact with others while working collectively toward restoring and maintaining parks, which may contribute to more resilient communities. 相似文献
We explore the local negotiation of regulatory practice at the UK Stem Cell Bank, the first Bank of its type in the world. Basing our empirical work on a detailed analysis of one aspect of the Bank's regulatory commitment--the completion of the Cell Line Information form--we make visible the necessary judgements and labour involved in interpreting and operationalizing externally imposed regulation. The discussion opens by detailing the problems encountered when the Bank completes the form: reconciling a bureaucratic system of accountability with craft-like laboratory skills involving multiple kinds of tacit knowledge. We follow this by explicating the emergent 'bridging strategies' pursued by the Bank to address these issues, highlighting their reliance upon the formation of trust and social networks. The closing discussion emphasizes the contingent assembly of regulatory practices that emerge in the local setting. 相似文献
