INTEGRATED EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM PARTICIPATION, PARENTING, AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES: THE TORONTO FIRST DUTY PROJECT

This study examined predictors of program participation and the potential effects of participation on child development in five school sites offering integrated preschool services as part of the Toronto First Duty (TFD) demonstration project. The TFD model offered a seamless, school-based ‘service community’ integrating childcare, kindergarten, family literacy, and other early childhood services.
Despite sound conceptual arguments for the utility of integrating early childhood services, no empirical studies have examined the relation between uptake of integrated preschool services and children’s developmental outcomes, within the ecological context of integrated services. This study examined program participation levels or ‘dosage’, while considering the social ecology of the child, including family and school level characteristics that may moderate or mediate the effectiveness of community-level service integration efforts to improve child outcomes during the transition to school.
The ecology of participation effects was examined through generalized linear modeling techniques analyzing a linked dataset (N=272) including: (1) systematic intake form and tracking data on hours of program use, (2) children’s school readiness or child development teacher-report ratings (Early Development Instrument) measured across five domains (physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, communication and general knowledge), and (3) a measure of service integration levels across sites.
The results provided evidence that TFD achieved its outreach aims in ensuring equitable access for all families; demographic risk factors did not predict less participation in TFD integrated services. In a parallel analysis of predictors of kindergarten absences, there was one difference; males were absent more in kindergarten, whereas there were no gender differences in integrated service participation. The results provided additional evidence that the TFD model has potential in reducing disparities in children’s developmental outcomes since participation dose predicted children’s physical health and well-being, language and cognitive development, and communication and general knowledge, after taking into account demographic, parenting and site factors. Further, parents' being less child-centred and less interested in parent participation, were significant risk factors associated with children's developmental outcomes. This study has implications for understanding the ecological complexities of school readiness, and the potential processes by which program participation affects children’s outcomes

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Exploring Reasons for the Low Number of Males in High School Parenting and Child Development Classes

The purpose ofthis study is to identify the reasons for the low number of males that enroll in Parenting and Child Development classes at the high school level. A survey was developed to examine the attitudes and perspectives of male students in regards to enrolling in Parenting and Child Development classes. Females also participated to see if they had the same attitudes and perspectives as the males. The subjects used to obtain the needed data were current freshmen during the 2007-2008 academic year. Each student in the freshman class was given a Consent to Participate in UW-Stout Approved Research form to be shared and signed by their parent or guardian and returned to the investigator. The students that returned the signed consent forms were then given the survey. Responses were categorized, analyzed and presented in tables and figures.

The results verify that there currently exists a significant low number ofmales enrolled in Parenting and Child Development classes as compared to females. The study offers reasons for this behavior and suggestions for equalizing the enrollment. While females and males generally agree that these types ofcourses offer benefits such as knowledge on the subject and preparedness for pregnancy and responsibility, they tend to disagree on the timing ofthese classes and which gender would benefit more from being enrolled in Parenting or Child Development classes.
By implementing changes in the way the Parenting and Child Development classes are promoted and by designing a class format that would appeal more toward males, it might be possible to achieve increased enrollment in these courses.


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