Family and Culture in Terms of Ethics - Coursework Example

1. Key to establishing relationships with families Partnerships is the key to establishing successful relationship among families, communities and schools (p. 4).   2. NAEYC NAEYC Stands for National Association for the Education of Young Children, a professional organization that stands for excellence in early childhood education. 3. Work of Greenspan and Brazelton Barzelton and Greenspan (2000) are both paediatric medical professionals. Both of these individual stress on including external factors, like communities, to influence nurture the young family members (p. 5). 4. Urie Bronfenbrenner and his Bioecological theory Urie Bronfenbrenner along with Edward Zilger was a strong supporter of family involvement in a child’s education at an early age (p. 7).Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological theory states that both biological traits and the environmental influence affect human growth (p. 8).   5. Practicing inclusion Almost all childhood development programs practice some form of inclusion, whether it be inclusion of a developing child or a child with identified disability (p. 18). 6. Family Support Movement Since the mid-1970s, family support movement has evolved, the main focus of this movement is to practice program development and establish principles for working with families (p. 22). 7. NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards The NAEYC Childhood Program Standards include the following areas of focus (p. 19); Children: includes relationships, curriculum teaching etc. Teaching Staff: involves primarily the teachers Partnerships: involves families and communities Leadership & Administration: physical environment 8. Identity development in children primarily comes from where? Identity development and self-esteem in children primarily comes from the family. When family’s strengths are recognized by the community, they do well and their children do well (p. 23). 9. Economic hardships on families and children According to figures of 2000-2004, there is a significant number of children that belong to poverty or below poverty category in the US. Latinos are the highest in terms of percentage increase in the four years observation with 16.2% increase in poverty and 24.9% increase in extremely poor children (p. 36).   10. Gender role development and expectations Gender roles are nothing but expectations as to how males or females should think, act and feel. Regarding a family, there are many gender roles that are expected and there are emerging ones that are becoming popular. Feminist role is one such perspective that challenges the female role that has been defined by culture throughout history (p. 40). 11. The variations of culture Culture refers to unique experiences and the history of various ethnic groups. This variation or differences mean that there are different views on family and raising children (p. 32). 12. Celebrating diversity in early childhood education programs. What does this mean? Celebrating an occasion is a wonderful time and leaves an impact on young child’s memories. Diversity in celebration comes from the fact that different families celebrate the same occasion differently (p. 48). To study these variations it is encouraged that different families bring their experience to early childhood programs (p. 48). 13. Basic understanding of what the code of ethics is The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct is a guideline for responsible behaviour, encountered in early childhood and education (p. 52). 14. Language differences among families Home language refers to a child’s language at home, the one she hears her parents and sibling speak. When a child grows up in a culture where there is a language difference in home and outside, the child is able to learn two languages (p. 35). 15. Economic Differences among families In contemporary United States, the experience of families and their children that directly relates with income, varies considerably. Poverty rates for six year and under children have declined since 1993 when they were 25%, and now are at 17.8% (p. 36). 16. Iceberg model of culture There is a way to view culture through an iceberg model; only the tip of the iceberg is out of water, indicating the concrete aspects of culture. Just beneath the tip is the submerged area of the iceberg that represents behavioural aspects of culture. And the area which is hidden under deep water is the symbolic level of culture (p. 34). 17. Roles of fathers in children’s lives Fathers play a very different role than of the mothers (p. 42). Since only after 1970s, the research on father’s role on child’s development has shown some serious research results (p. 43). Different aspects come into play that decides the level of involvement of a father in his children’s lives (p. 44). 18. Seven propositions about the developmental issues families with young children Seven propositions relating to developmental issues of families with young children are briefly explained here; Proposition 1: The objective aspects of one’s experience can be observed and analysed by the other. So the early childhood educators need to engage in reciprocal communication with others regarding their own experiences (p. 58). Proposition 2: Advocating for local and universal policies supporting strong families with knowledge about infant and child development is a crucial role of professionals (p. 58) Proposition 3: The whole development of an individual is affected and shaped by a person’s own characteristics and by all the systems (micro, meso, exo, macro and chronosystem) (p. 58) Proposition 4: For proper development of a child, it is vital that the child communicates with more than one individual with whom the child feels emotionally comfortable with (p. 58). Proposition 5: Strong bond between parents and children lead to children’s increased curiosity and motivation (p. 58). Proposition 6: In addition to the strong bonding between parents and children, an individual who appreciates the person taking care of the children adds to the optimal level of development of the child (p. 58). Proposition 7: Children influence their parents. It is like a loop where good child behaviour leads to wellbeing of the parents (p. 58). 19. Developmental issues around the transition to parenthood Becoming a parent requires patience, a sense of responsibility and demands hard work. A study in 1957 (LeMasters) shows that 83% of the new parents feel family distress following the birth of their first baby (p. 59). Studies also show that transition to parenthood at many times includes stress and other depressive symptoms (p. 60). 20. Female-headed households with children and income level Studies show that nearly half of all female headed households in the US (which is 6.5 million households) live below the poverty line (p. 61). 21. Sibling relationships Just like other family relations, sibling relationships play a huge role in early childhood development. It is advised that the families meet challenges and celebrate joy as their transition to parenthood and their intervention in sibling relationships (p. 57). Attention to sibling relationships becomes a challenge as parental roles also trend to shift after the birth of their first child (p. 66). 22. The ideas of child care trilemma The childcare trillema pertains to balancing; quality of care, compensating child caregivers and keeping quality care affordable for families (p. 63). 23. Grandparents and their role in a child’s life The role of grandparents is also very important in a child’s life. Studies show that the missing connection between children and their aging family members might be detrimental to both the children and their older family members (p. 76). 24. New parents and their transition In the US, the ideal is that a baby celebrates a couple’s love but this idealism quickly turns into a nightmare as the couple has to deal with non-negotiable needs of the baby (p. 59). Female cherish being moms more than men being dads (p. 59). 25. High quality care is related to what? High quality care of children is related to the seven strategies that are incorporated into high quality care and includes; facilitating friendships and support systems, strengthening effective parenting approaches, referring families to services provided in a community, responding to families as they face crises and responding to early warnings of abuse and neglect (p. 91). 26. Children and technology (what is recommended) Technology and interactive media shouldn’t replace helpful educational activities such as outdoor sports, social interaction with peers and adults in the early childhood setting (p. 65). Parents cannot keep children away from digital media, however, they can keep an eye on what they are watching and encouraging them to be open with parents regarding their likes and dislikes (p. 66). 27. Turnover in the child care field Turnover in childcare field has reached 31% according to the estimations of NAEYC. 28. Family systems theory and the transition to parenthood Family systems theory states that becoming a parent shares the same characteristics with change of a membership and change of a function of members. Men and women report different experiences of their transition to parenthood (p. 59). 29. Family strengths and structures According to a study by Nick Stinnet (1979), a strong family has the following characteristics (p. 88); Appreciation Spending time together Open communication Commitment Spirituality Ability to deal with crises 30. Birth order / and high risk child research The birth order of siblings is an area of huge interest for the researchers, the birth order determines the way in which parents communicate with a child. It also defines a particular role of that individual in the family (p. 99). At-risk children are those who are at the risk of not getting the proper family support, however studies by Werner (1995) show consistencies among at risk children who are resilient. They are good natured, active and affectionate (p. 91). 31. Past and present family functions and stability on children A family is a social structure created to meet several functions (p. 92). As identified by family sociologists, there are seven primary functions that a family meets; economic, affection, education, prestige and status, protection, religion and recreation (p. 92). 32. Resiliency Resilience is a factor identified by Centre for Study of Social Policy (CSCP) as something that when parents have, it makes the family stronger (p. 90). On the contrary, sometimes families get a gift as a resilient child who in the face of all odds, turns out to be a happy, healthy child (p. 91). Read More