Day Care Flashcards
Define daycare
A form of care for infants and children, not provided by the family that takes places outside the home
Social development involves a growth of a child’s abilities to interact with others in a pro-social manner (e.g. comforting, helping and sharing
There are several factors that might lead us to believe Day Care affects social development:
What are the three factors?
- Bowlby (1953) – ‘separation of children from their mother would have adverse effects on child development and could even be a cause of delinquency’
- Attachment theory predicts that children who are secure in their relationships with important figures in their lives will later on have more positive relationships with others
- On the other hand – opportunities for social interaction hat occur in day care might promote social development
o e.g. children in day care = more likely to learn negotiation skills and how to interact with others, and could have more intellectual challenges
—-> Research has often shown that children with older brothers and sisters achieve milestones relating to social understanding quicker than first born or only child’s.
What does the attachment theory predict?
predicts that children who are secure in their relationships with important figures in their lives will later on have more positive relationships with others
‘separation of children from their mother would have adverse effects on child development and could even be a cause of delinquency’ - who said this in 1953?
Bowlby
Why is ‘methodology’ an issue to consider with day care research?
> It’s not possible to experimentally investigate the effects of day care because it is unethical
The two sets of characteristic’s mothers could have (day care or self-care) could influence the social development of the children
Ethical specifications and varying family characteristics mean a lack of control in experiment
Why is ‘The type of day care’ an issue to consider with day care research?
> Varying quality of care
- child-minders, day care, day nurseries, play group, pre-school, work place crèche
- home child care = au pairs, nannies
What is a day care nursery?
Group based care-controlled environment
How many maximum in a class in the UK?
26-40 children
1 member for staff for every ? 3-5 year olds
8
1 member for staff for every ? 2-3 year olds
4
1 member for staff for every ? under 2
3
What has changed about the standards of day care in recent years?
It is now being monitored under OFSTED - staff are regularly inspected for full qualifications and adequate class numbers
What’s the maximum number of children a child minder can have in their own home environment?
3
Similar to day care, what now happens to child-minders?
They are regularly inspected for full qualifications and adequate numbers
What are the factors affecting Quality of Day Care?`
- the number ratio of staff to children
- staff turnover
- physical provisions
- staff training
- staff dedication
- the type of children recruited etc.
who did the research in 1998 against the quality of day care?
Leach et all (1998)
What procedure did Leach et al 1998 use to show the effects of poor quality daycare?
1200 children and their families from North London and Oxfordshire
>Mother interviewed with child when child was ages 3, 10 and 18
What conclusion did Leach et al (1998) come to?
Children who were looked after by their parents were significantly better developmentally.
Followed second by nannies and child-minders
How many children were involved in Leach et al (1998)s study and where were they from?
1200 children and their families from North London and Oxfordshire
What is cognitive development?
changes that take place with respect to mental abilities, e.g. memory, language, intelligence
What are the strengths of the effects of day care on cognitive development? (2 x AO1 and 2 x AO2)
A01 - cognitive and language development is better in high quality care
AO1 - High quality care = attentive, responsive, affectionate and stimulating caregivers
AO2 - Anderson (1992)conducted cognitive tests - early entry into day care = better results
AO2 - Burchinal (1996) found a positive correlation between quality of care and cognitive development
What are the weaknesses of the effects of daycare on cognitive development? (2 x AO1 and 2 x AO2)
AO1 - lack of stimulation –> difficulty in developing secure and positive view of self (needed for curiosity and confidence)
AO1 - Poor quality of care undermines intellectual and language development - children don’t learn about the world around them and how to communicate
AO2 - Bryant (1980) ‘childminders support quieter behaviour which leads to passive and under stimulated behaviours’
AO2 - Rulm (2000) Daycare before age 3 = lower reading and maths skills. Best results = with mother till school.
Which two psychologists did the research supporting the positive effects of daycare on cognitive development?
Leach(1992)
Burchinal(1996)
Which two psychologists did the research supporting the negative effects of daycare on cognitive development?
Bryant (1980)
Rulm (2000)
What four studies can be used to evaluate the effects of daycare on cognitive development?
Leach et al - better results earlier entry to day care
Burchinal - poisitive correlation
Bryant - childminder’s children learn different behaviours
Rulm - Best results if with mother until school
Evaluate the research into the effects of daycare on cognitive development
Leach Burchinal Rulm and Bryant
- Findings = correlational not causational
- Large variation in methods and quality of care and constant variations in a child samples – lack of reproducibility and reliability
What is Social development?
Takes place throughout ones life with respect to social behaviours - e.g. relationships with family
what are the positive effects of daycare on social development? (5)
- Daycare = more sociable when they attend school
- Amount of time spent in daycare is positively correlated with number of friends and extra-curricular activities
- They cope with their peers and are more cooperative
- They appear to be more independent and self-sufficient
- They have developed more social skills
What are the negative effects of daycare on social development? (4)
- They may be more aggressive
- They may be less likely to follow instructions
- More time in poor quality care = more stress = more disobedience
- If they start before 1 they are more assertive, less responsive to adults; more avoidant in reunion with parents
It is believed that daycare could potentially affect attachments with parents because it affects their social development, however the research findings are unclear, give an example of such research?
Clarke-Stewart et al (1994) found no evidence of attachment differences between children cared for at home or by child-minders and those in group based care