Family involvement : an analysis of family day care services family centred child care policy

This paper explores the concept of culture as the intrinsic foundation upon which societies organize child rearing routines and its impact on family involvement with early childhood education. Investigation was carried out through the lens of Family Day Care Services family centred child care policy. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of eleven participants from West Africa and Sri Lanka, the study considered (a) the patterns of implementation of policy principles: (b) extents to which the ECE program reflected families' cultural practices and; (c) extends to which these factors impacted family involvement. Study findings indicated diversity between West African and Sri Lankan participants' perceptions with regard to cultural expectation of ECE programming and identified limitations in cultural communication transactions as a major hindrance to family involvement. Recommendations were made for teacher training, on-going parent board meetings, and further research to aid understanding of the communities served and give voice to families.

Family involvement : an analysis of family day care services family centred child care policy

This paper explores the concept of culture as the intrinsic foundation upon which societies organize child rearing routines and its impact on family involvement with early childhood education. Investigation was carried out through the lens of Family Day Care Services family centred child care policy. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of eleven participants from West Africa and Sri Lanka, the study considered (a) the patterns of implementation of policy principles: (b) extents to which the ECE program reflected families' cultural practices and; (c) extends to which these factors impacted family involvement. Study findings indicated diversity between West African and Sri Lankan participants' perceptions with regard to cultural expectation of ECE programming and identified limitations in cultural communication transactions as a major hindrance to family involvement. Recommendations were made for teacher training, on-going parent board meetings, and further research to aid understanding of the communities served and give voice to families.

The Father’s Role in Child Care: Parental Leave Policies in Lithuania and Sweden

This article contributes to the debate on the father’s role in child care by looking at two distinct cases of child care policy development: Sweden and Lithuania. The findings show that Sweden continues to embrace the dual-earner-carer model very successfully. Parental leave, including non-transferable father’s quota, is very popular among the population. In Lithuania we find the dual-earner model, as there is still more emphasis on the mother’s employment than on the father’s child care involvement. Based on the experts’ views and document analysis, we conclude that in Lithuania the parental leave benefit is increasingly seen as a measure to ensure the family’s financial security, but not as an instrument to enhance fatherhood rights. Yet, the state intentionally supports kinship familialism as grandparents are entitled to take parental leave.

Daily grandchild care and grandparents' employment: a comparison of four European child-care policy regimes

Having grandchildren is known to reduce individuals’ labour supply. However, it is unclear whether there is a negative association between grandchild care provision and employment among grandparents. Moreover, we do not know how the magnitude of any association between the two activities may vary across countries characterised by different child-care policy regimes. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, this paper investigates the association between daily grandchild care provision and two employment outcomes for grandmothers and grandfathers aged 50–69: the probability of being employed and the average weekly working hours. Recursive bivariate models are used to account for the potential selection of grandparents with different unobserved traits into work and family care. Estimates are compared across four country groups characterised by different child-care policy orientations: optional de-familisation, service de-familisation, supported familism and familism by default. On average, across 20 European countries, grandparents looking after grandchildren daily are no less likely to work than grandparents who do not; however, employed grandfathers work eight hours less per week if providing daily child care. Evidence of a negative association between daily grandchild care and employment is strongest in countries with familistic approaches to child care, with no association in countries characterised by optional de-familisation. This suggests that public support to child care may help retain grandparents in the labour force.