CCY 1999 Notes PDF

Chapter One - 2016 statistics Canada definition of census family: “children may be children by birth, marriage, common-law union, or adoption regardless of their age or marital status as long as they live in the dwelling and do not have their own married spouse, common-law p...

Chapter One - 2016 statistics Canada definition of census family: “children may be children by birth, marriage, common-law union, or adoption regardless of their age or marital status as long as they live in the dwelling and do not have their own married spouse, common-law partner, or child living in their dwelling” - Sections 150.1, 151, and 152 of the Criminal Code of Conduct protect anyone under the age of 16 from sexual exploitation with some exceptions. - Children under the age of 16 cannot legally consent to sexual activity (unless the two individuals are close in age) - All sexual activity from ages 14-16 is a criminal offense - Criminal Code section 163.1 states that child porngraphy is “a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of eighteen years and is engaged in or depicted as engaged in explicit sexual activity” - Government of Canada website states that parents can be charged if they do not provide their child whose under the age of 16 with food, clothes, and a shelter however, the Ontario Child, Youth, and Family Service Act states that its 18 Philippe Aries “Discovery of Childhood” and his Critics - Philippe Aries: a french scholar/demographic historian has been recognized as the more influential and controversial historians of childhood in the 20th century - Said that “there is no place for childhood in the medieval world”; people in the past lacked the awareness of the distinction between childhood and adulthood He got this conclusion from by the marginalization, adult like presentation in portraits, by their absence from religious festivals and celebration Children were not given special emotional allowances and were treated like mini adults with work to do Children in the medieval world were given more latitude, less monitoring and more autonomy - Believes that the discovery of childhood happened in the 13th-17th century (development of childhood era), changes were first seen in the upper class where there was a growing recognition that children need special attention, nurturing, guidance and schooling. During this time, birth rates declined to allocate more resources to individual children Critiques - Many argued that some medieval societies did recognize childhood to some extent - Others believe that Aries generalized, overemphasized, and misinterpreted the select amount of evidence - Pollock (1983) noted that in the middle ages and early modern period, children were more loved but others such as deMause say they were treated less kindly - There are references to children, parental responsibility, and childhood in the four great civilizations which goes against aries saying childhood wasn't recognized until the 13th century John Locke  - Explains that children are not born in a full state of equality because their parents have some sort of rule and jurisdiction over them when they come into this world This power comes from the duties the parents are given to take care of their children - This idea was revolutionary at the time because this was a period where it was believed that children were born either good or bad and that parents had the right to “beat the sin out” of them - Argued that children were born as blank slates, and that experience slowly acquired, and stocked the mind - Argued that children should not be beat into good behavior - Life stages (in this time): Infancy: birth-2 years old Childhood: 2-12 years old boyhood/preadolescence: 12-15 years old Adolescent (age for marriage): 15-20 years old Manhood: 20+ (or when married) to beyond Childhood in Hunter-Gatherer era - Birth rates were lower because more children=more mouths to feed - Prolonged lactation: breastfeeding for up to 4 or more years - Children became liabilities as they slowed the group down Childhood in Agricultural Societies - Seen as essential parts of the labor force - Birth rates increased - A Lot of superstitions about children begin to form for example some african groups believed that twins carried evil spirits - in other parts of the world, wives were deemed as assets meanwhile children were seen as liabilities - Girls were the perferred sex when born to unions of european fur traders and indigenous women as “mixed blooded” daughters was the most desired marriage partner because they became resources when their husbands worked across two cultures Chapter Two: Social Theories of Childhood - Children and women in the past had been excluded from research and theory in sociology Nature vs Nurture Debate Nature - 1700-1800 marks the emergence of the age of enlightenment by the questioning of religious authority and the rise of science - Charles Darwin (1809-1882) developed a theory of natural selection in which he sought to explain the rise of certain species and why animals look and behave the way they do Became the blueprint for behavior and appearance lies in genes, that genes vary randomly, some traits and characteristics are better suited in some environments, overtime certain traits became normalized in certain species  These theories were also applied to human behavior by some theorists called social darwinists. They looked at the biological and genetic makeup to see why some individuals do what they do. This theory falls on the nature side and argues that children are born with a set of prescribed characteristics that result in specific personality traits - Evolutionary psychology: psychological characteristics, like biological, have evolved over time and should be seen as adaptations to the social and ecological environment that characterizes human existence The human mind comprises a collection of psychological adaptations, which arose through the process of natural selection An example of this school of thought is the work by Micheal Ghiglieri who titled his work “Born to be Bad” which explains that girls and boys are hardwired differently and as a result engage in different behaviors from one another - Steven Pinker has argued parenting has negligible effects on the upbringing of children - Those who believe that behavior is solely rooted in the biology of the child also believe that “normal children” regardless of historical time period or culture develop the same way Study Of Twins - Have been used to try to prove the importance of genetic influences on behavioral differences - Most studies compare identical twins, with fraternal twins - Researchers try to measure genetic similarities, taking into account shared environmental influences and non-shared influences - Some found that academic achievements was substantially influenced by genetics - Similar research suggests that genetic influences are more significant than environmental influences - Edelbrock et al. found that genetics influences competence in school, however on areas such as quality of social relationships, performance and school, anxiety and depression, etc, were results of nature and shared environment Sigmund Freud - Assumes that normal children across space and time move through a series of relatively fixed stages in fairly consistent ways of psychosocial development in their development of personality - Argues that children were born with a fixed set of innate drives (the id) driven by the principle pleasure which seeks to maximize pleasure and minimize pain - Recognizes the importance of interactions with others - Believes boys and girls develop along the same trajectory until the phallic stage Nurture - Watson and Skinner believed that human development should be understood according to observations of visible behavior rather than speculations about unconscious and innate motivations that are unobservable  - Building blocks of human development are learned associations between external stimuli and observable responses - Watson believed that children are malleable and that development is a continuous process that involves behavioral change shaped by a person's environment - Believe that humans respond to external stimuli, and learn to repeat behavior that lead to favorable outcomes, and suppress behavior that leads to unfavorable Argument: humans are viewed to mechanistically, as beings who thoughtlessly respond to positive and negative stimuli, and are not recognized as beings who process information cognitively (Albert Bundura) Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura - Human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others - Human behavior is an ongoing reciprocal interaction between children operating cognitively under their environmental influences - Mesosystem: the connections and interrelationships between and among microsystem, such as the connection between a positive and supportive home environment and strong performance in school \ - Exosystem: comprises the social systems that children do not directly experience but may influence their development, such as a parents work environment - Macrosystem: includes the cultural, subcultural, and social class context in which all other systems are embedded - Primary socialization takes place in childhood - secondary socialization takes place later in life - Critiques of social theory: Frames the child as an incomplete adult, or an adult in the making Children are seen as lacking power and knowledge according to this theory Fails to see children as social agents or doers in their social world and are seen as passive recipients Convention on the Rights of Children 1989 - A universally agreed upon set of standards and obligations that are expected to be respected by those governments who have signed it - Founded on the respect for the dignity and worth of each child regardless of race, color, sex, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status, and ability - Key commitments: 1. The best interests of child 2. Right to survival and development 3. Children's participation 4. Non discrimination - In 1990, it appeared to be the decade of and for children in canada but mostly on paper - Canada does not have an independent federal advocate to ensure that the voices of canada's children are heard, unlike other countries Important Points in Chapter Two - Marginalization of children and being away from focus - Importance of researching children and their rights beside good genes etc  - Resulting to creation of “normal”/”good” adults - Children are not mini adults they should be recognized as people, social agents, doers - Importance of studying children and their experiences, dynamic of social processes - Age is a concept which is assumed to refer to a biological reality but also subject to historical and cultural processes Chapter Three: Doing Research on or with Children - Adult proxies are unlikely to be able to accurately represent children's views and understanding of their worlds, no matter how well intentioned or informed the may be - Children are seen as innocent, naive, special, and incapable and therefore were often excluded from research Power differences between the adult and child Our beliefs that children are simply adults in the making - Research involves thinking about who and what to study and where, when, and how to study them - Macro Approach: big picture, theoretical orientation, border epistemology - Micro Approach: talking to a group of children, having one-on-one discussions, observing a group of children, etc - Quantitative Research: involves numerical representation and manipulation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining social phenomena - Qualitative Research: involves non numerical examination and interpretation of observations for the purpose of discovering underlying meaning, patterns, and relationships - Exploratory Research: trying to break new ground in an under researched area - Explanatory Research: wanting to understand why something is happening - Descriptive Research: aiming to describe situations or events - Evaluative Research: assessing whether a policy or program, once implemented, is actually effective - Deductive Research: beginning with a theory or hypothesis and aim to test its value and application in a particular setting - Inductive Research: assess what is actually happening and why - Grounded Theory: on going building of theory and understanding qualitative observation from ground up - Cross Sectional Study: research project can focus on and collect information at a single point in time - Longitudinal Study: observing children and looking for patterns and trends in information collected at multiple points in time NLSCY was a longitudinal study of canadian children from across 10 provinces that followed their development and well being from birth to early adulthood Purpose of study was to understand factors that influence children's social, emotional, behavioral development and monitoring the impact of these factors over time - Unit of Analysis: who and what will be studied Individuals: adults or children  Social groups: households, families, classrooms, or enthic groups Social artifacts: ads, jokes, clothing In research about children the child him/herself was not involved but rather a parent of guardian whose referred to as the “person most knowledgeable” - Children as young as three/four years old, as well as those with disabilities such as autism can and have provided important insights through interviews into their daily lives and health experiences - Ethics: refers to a set of moral principles and codes of conduct The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Human (TCPS) was established to ensure that the research there organizations fund complies with their policy involving human participants TCPS ensures free and informed consent, privacy, and confidentiality of research participants TCPS2 has placed more attention on not excluding children from research Some believe that children are and should be treated as a vulnerable group that requires unique ethical considerations - Argument: children do not require special or different set of ethical guidelines because in granting them special treatment and protection we reinforce the view that children are incompetent and therefore especially vulnerable - There is a growing consensus to respect children's interests and willingness to participate in research after parents or guardians have provided consent - Recent research is looking at how children can and should not be included in data analysis, which is a stage of research from which children have been even more widely excluded Chapter 4: Family and Children - Generagency: Adult and children share the same world from different generational locations - Names should be recognized as “doing words” as they are an important categorization of sex at birth and play a role in the ongoing management of what is precieved as appropriate gender conduct Socialization - Behaviorists and developmentalists have written about children almost infinitely malleable and socialization process as unidirectional (from parent to child) - Socialization is a reciprocal process - Easy babies make parents feel adequate meanwhile unhealthy or hard babies make parents feel inadequate which affects the baby - Intrafamilial Factors: the age in which they have the child, the nature of their relationship, the number and age of other children they have, the types of of social support they have from family and friends, etc - Extrafamilial Factors: the neighborhood they grow up in, their work experiences, social class, background, culture, etc  - Bidirectionality: children also socialize parents and is increasingly part of our understanding of parenting and child rearing Children of immigrant parents helping them learn english and translating english to their language as needed Children helping parents learn how to use new technology such as iphones, computers, etc Changes in Impacting Families and Parents - Baby boom: demographic bulge of births occurring in the post war period. Changes in fertility rates during this period contributed to the redefinition of motherhood, childhood, and child-rearing practices Before this, women and children along with men were in the labor force, and older children were expected to take care of younger children. Women and men both contributed to the household as producers During baby boom, womanhood was redefined and was closely equated with motherhood Being apart of the middle class meant that one male income was enough to raise a family which created a new class of stay at home moms - Traditional Nuclear Family: a husband in the workforce and a wife at home caring for their growing family - Contradictory articles about mothering were also on the rise and they emphasized the importance of developing emotional bonds between mother (not father) and child. Mothers' anxieties grew about their ability as parents. - Maternal Deprivation: irreparable damage is done to young children when they are separated from their mothers for prolonged periods of time Concept coined by Dr. John Bowlby, he told mothers not to leave their children under the age of three in the care of anyone else except for emergency situations - Mothers were given mixed advice on breastfeeding - Dr. Benjamin Spock came out with a very popular parenting book called Baby and Childcare He encouraged understanding and flexibility on the part of parents in regard to raising children and the stressed the importance of listening to children and appreciating their individuality - During 1960/70s ideas about free range or laissez-faire parenting emerged to challenge the overprotective parenting During the same period, women in the labor force were increasing because the male breadwinner and female homemaker model did not allow the standard of living people had come to expect - Intensive mothering: parents going to extremes to remove all obstacles from their child's path to greatness Caring for children is primarily the responsibility of the mother Parenting should be child centered, children are sacred Mothers should intellectually stimulate children to ensure appropriate brain development  Discourse of intensive mothering becomes oppressive because as a culture we have declared that only biological mothers are capable of fulfilling those needs Intensive mothering is consistent with neoliberal notions of individual responsibility and risk management and is based on middle class ideals - Canadian women are having fewer children throughout their lives than in the past, resulting in one-child families Canada's total fertility rate has gone down from 1.69 children per women to 1.54 Between 2011 and 2016 the number of couples living without children rose faster than couples with children Young children in canada today are more likely to be raised by mothers who are older, more educated, and are working for pay There's been a rise in voluntary and involuntary childlessness - Family Adaptation Model: parents are expected to navigate the pressures of paid and unpaid work as well as complex schedules that include an adequate amount of family time - Compensation Model: mothers working for pay, therefore more expectations are put on their partner to get involved in parenting to compensate for the mothers absence - Converging Gender Roles: In heterosexual families where women are doing more paid work and men are becoming more involved in childcare and housework Fatherhood - In colonial times, fathers were seen as the disciplinarian, moral teacher, and head of household - In industrialization times, fathers were absent more often from home and seen as providers or breadwinners - In the postwar period, fathers had more disposable income and relatively greater leisure which created opportunities for a larger role in child rearing but were still not expected to be the primary caregiver - By 2015, the number of stay at home fathers had risen to 1 in 10 and now fathers are expected to be both nurturers and providers - Research suggests that work hours are not strongly related to father involvement - According to research, when a man becomes a father the undergo a reorientation of values and behaviors in response to the influence of their children This includes redefined priorities, altered sense of purpose, different awareness of what it means to be a man, changed relationships, rebalancing of the importance of self and other, and rescheduling of their everyday lives - Regardless of child's age, women spend more time parenting than men Parenting Magazines - Published parenting advice is available in many different formats such as the internet, magazines, advice columns, and books which cover a variety of topics from breastfeeding, infant care, etc - Parenting magazines and other media reinforce the idea that the modern family is in a crises  - They are written primarily for mothers, and often include and reinforce traditional gender stereotypes and myths - Much of the popular literature is gendered and stereotypical, targeting white middle class mothers Parenting and Gender Identity - Gender Socialization: what is deemed properly masculine and feminine and is communicated to us through family, peers, media, and institutions around us - Feeling atypical about one's gender has been found to be linked with negative outcomes for children because of social intolerances However it has also been linked to some positive outcomes such as egalitarian intergroup attitudes and beliefs - Studies show that girls and boys from a very young age are handled and spoken to differently, are differently rewarded or punished for their attention seeking behaviors, are exposed to different types of toys, clothing, and room decor, and are granted different amounts of freedom and responsibilities For example when boys indulge in risk taking activities their parents reactions focus on discipline, however when girls indulge in risk taking activities their parents reactions focus on safety Many parents still continue to socialize boys are girls differently regarding behaviors - Children learn gender roles from what parents say and what they do Cross-Culture Diversity in Parenting - Different cultures have different ideas about child rearing and parenting Western european and north american children were encouraged to exercise autonomy and maturity at a young age Asian parents are more likely to emphasize traditional values and academic achievement South asian parents maintained a high level of control over their children and focused on familial obligations - There is a positive correlation between mothers authoritative parenting style and more positive, optimistic views of adolescent behavior - Impact of fathers behaviors and attitude was found to be less consistent - Punitive parenting has caused children to have higher levels of physical aggression and lower prosocial behavior Social class and Parenting - Socioeconomic status affects the value that mothers placed on the importance of sensitivity when it comes to mothering - Social class affects parenting style Working class parents stress conformity, neatness, obedience, and orderliness in their children Middle class parents place more emphasis on their children's independence, self reliance, and autonomy - Middle class parents use a concerted cultivation model of parenting, while working class parents adopt a natural growth model Chapter Five: School and Peer Groups - The per capita funding for all levels of education in Canada has been declining over the past decade - Children in canada are required to attend school from the ages 5 or 6 until the age of 16 or 18 depending on the province or territory they live in - Most students (92.1%) attend public schools and 7.2% attend private or independent schools - Half of all students in public schools are learning a second official language with french immersion programs on the rise - The school aged population is increasing however the number of full time educators has remained steady at 315000 in the public elementary-secondary school system - The total expenditure for public elementary and secondary school education in Canada in 2010-11 was 59.1 billion, up from 49.9 in 2006-7. This amounts to $12,557 per student annually up from $10,321 in 2006-7 Education is under the provincial jurisdiction, and decisions about education and funding generally occur at this level - Public education is provided “free” to all citizens and permanent residents until the age of 18, and attendance is compulsory until a certain age which varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction - Special needs are accommodated in different ways such as separate programs or integrated classrooms and also varies by jurisdiction - Age graded schooling system is a recent invention and in the past, schools had pupils ranging in ages 10-20+ in the same lesson Age graded variations are the result of negotiations and power sharing agreements between the federal government and provincial governments which took place around the time of the confederation of 1867 Historical overview of Public Education in Canada - There's been a mistreatment of Indigneous children in residential schools and the experiences of french speaking canadians within and outside quebec - introduction of public education in canada dates back to the early 19th century, and the work of John Strachan and Egerton Ryerson John was involved in the establishment of common schools in ontario Working class common schools emphasized learning by rote and appropriate behavior: punctuality, neatness, obedience, Christain precepts, and other things were set up in contrast to grammar schools for the upper class which focused on latin, greek, english, language, literature, math and natural sciences - In the 1800s the residential schools system was adopted Ryersons belief in the creation of a separate educational system for indigenous children influenced the establishment of what became the Indian residential School system Ryerson did not implement or oversee the indian residential schools, but his ideas were used to create the blueprint  Other residential schools such as for deaf and blind children have been existing since the 1830s and have been sites of abuse To this day, all provinces continue to have segregated schools for some children with disabilities - Indigenous people are still under federal jurisdiction for historical reasons Theories on the Role and Impact of Education on Children Structural Functionalism - generally assume that society is like a living organism: a self regulating and stable system of interrelated parts that work together for the proper functioning of the whole - In western societies, stable order includes democracy and meritocracy granting of opportunities and rewards based on skill rather than ability or status - Schools have both manifest and intent functions, including the transmission of knowledge and culture and the provision of opportunities for social mobility and social networking - Parsons argues that education is an important agent of socialization that works to promote our achieve status: the idea that we are judged on merit and hardwork - Schools operate on and teach us about meritocratic principles or earned differences based on ability and effort and are places where everyone is granted equal opportunity to succeed on a level playing field - Parson also argued that schools perform the function of role allocation: preparing students for their future place in life my matching inherent talents to the jobs students are best suited for Conflict Theory - Argues that society is not balanced, ordered state, or a meritocracy - Societies are built on struggles for power, wealth, prestige, control, and those who are in power also tend to control institutions such as schools to promote their agenda - The fundamental structures of school system is a tool for shaping minds and bodies for capitalist purposes to create obedient, docile workers or to generally fit into the capitalist system - Aimed to reinforce the existing class structure - Family background is a substantial determinant of income in adulthood even for those who share similar IQ scores. The family one comes from determines one's place in life afterwards - Bourdieu argues that language, texts, resources, and practises used in schools reflect the interests, values, and tastes of the dominant power group - Children of the elite acquire cultural capital long before entering and outside the formal school system - There is not a level playing field as elite and middle class children already acquire an understanding of what is expected of them and then are evaluated based on middle class standards, working class children are more likely to fail New sociology of children on education - School remains an area of social life in which children are treated as sites of investment as human becomings requiring special treatment - School is a machine for passive beings  - Schooling at the elementary and secondary levels in this country tends to be a disempowering experience for children and youth - A truly child centered approach to education should give children context in which to have more rich and diverse social experiences and should engage and challenge them into a more self directed approach to learning - The canadian teachers federation has found that many children from low income families experienced reduced motivation to learn, delayed cognitive development, lower achievement, less participation in extracurricular activities, lower career aspirations, irregular attendance, risk of illiteracy, and higher dropout rates - Children from low income households are more likely to repeat a grade compared to children from affluent backgrounds - Parents socioeconomic status affect performances in school as higher income parents put their children in early childhood education activities and are typically already advantaged compared to other children - Students attending private high schools score significantly higher than those in public Gender and Education - Girls have been found to outperform boys in standardized test and achievement - Women outnumber the men in undergraduate university enrolment - Even when teachers do not use gender as a bias for sorting children into groups when organizing activities, children segregate themselves along gender lines in lunchrooms and playgrounds - Socially transitioned transgender children also show preference for peers, clothing, and toys with their expressed gender - Schools consciously and unconsciously model hegemonic masculinity which likely contributes to girls outperforming boys in primary and secondary school settings - Boys are less likely to report that they like school Disabled Children and Accessing the Educational School System - Disabled children are most likely to be marginalized and excluded from formal education - Individual schools within one jurisdiction often vary in their decisions about which children will receive special education and how these children will have their unique educational needs met - Parents have reported difficulties in obtaining special education for their children regardless of type of disability Main reason is lack of funding Peers - Social competence is important for successful development such as initiating interactions, negotiating, and maintaining interactions - Significant predictors of social withdrawal into middle school includes having no friends, friendship instability, and exclusion - Ability to form meaningful relationships with others is a key determinant of quality of life - Peers can contribute to mental distress by social exclusion and bullying  - Romantic relationships in elementary schools reinforce the dominant versions of heterosexual masculinities and heternomativity - Social statuses and standing appear to be an important part of childhood relationships - Younger children show more negative biases towards outgroup target children For example favoring children of the same race over those of a different one - Older children have more positive beliefs about children of higher ability than children of lower ability regardless of race - Younger and older boys, and older girls hep consistently positive attitudes about target groups but younger girls have more pronounced biases Bullying - Many children who are not doing well academically are more likely to be picked on by their peers - 10-40% of children are chronic victims of bullying - Prevention programs recommend that adults address the problem early and with developmentally appropriate approaches as research shows that consequences of bullying can be devastating and long term - Children who were bullied at school were more likely than others to obtain low levels of achievement particularly if they showed low enjoyment of school and their parents provided little support - Those who are bullied at younger ages tend to be bullied later on and peer intervention seemed to occur more in the lower grades than in the upper - Implementing mindfulness based programs in primary and secondary schools has resulted in improved social skills and increased caring for others Chapter Seven: Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada - Early childcare programs are needed to: Prepare children to succeed in school Improve the well being of vulnerable children Enable to participation of parents in the labor force and continuing education - The federal budget in 2016-17 proposed investments of 7.5 billion over 11 years to support the creation of high quality and affordable early childhood education programs - The provincial and the federal government have different approaches to early childhood education and care each has differing objectives - Quebec is closer to other developed nation when it comes to childcare unlike the rest of canada - Most jobs in canada's economy are low paid, low status, and part time often with non traditional work hours which increases the need for childcare - Fertility remains low but the proportion of women with young children in the labor force for the most part has been increasingly steady - Studies show that family friendly child policies such as tax relief for parents tends to increase female labor force participation - Childcare remains one of the largest expenses in raising children today  - These problems coincide with the rise of neoliberalism which includes move away from public funding of social support services These policies increase women's responsibilities for the daily maintenance and care for her family which is known as social reproduction With cuts to public expenditure and privatization, good jobs for women are being replaced with insecure low wage employment - Early childhood education and care (ECEC): includes all arrangements that provide education and care for children under the age of six Need/Availability/Cost of care - In 2016, the spaces for full/part time childcare only accommodated 28.7% of canadian children under the age of 6 - Most children are cared for outside regulated care facilities by relatives and non relatives - Grandparents are increasingly being relied on to play a more significant role in the care of their grandchildren Studies show that parental stress is decreased when childcare arrangements involve grandparents as caregivers Grandparent care was associated with elevated levels of hyperactivity and difficulties with peers at age four Grandparent care scored slightly lower than other types of care Some studies show that this has increased stress for grandparents while others have found no evidence that suggests caring for grandchildren has a dramatic spread of negative effects on grandparents health - Statistics canada show that 28% of children are in private care often outside the home by relatives or nonrelatives, reliance on family or other private arrangements is being used for children under five - Developmental care: refers to care that involves enhancing the child's development - Ethical care: an ideal incare relationships that involves attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness - Families with two young children can spend as much money as 20-40% of their entire household budget on childcare Childcare Policies - Supports to families with children are split up between the federal and provincial government therefore there is variation when it comes to who cares for children at what cost and how - NCA states that children wellbeing is a national priority and the ECD along with the Multilateral Framework focuses on inclusion, affordability, accessibility, quality, and parental choice - The multilateral frameworks prime objective is to support the participation of parents in employment or training by improving access to affordable, quality, early childhood education and care - The conservative government replaced funding commitments to the provinces with its own Universal Childcare Benefit which gives families $100 per child under six  - In the 1990 quebec implemented family friendly social policies with universal, low fee child care program for children under the age of 12 Quebec has 321,732 regulated child care spaces that can accommodate 52% of the provinces children compared to 15-31% which is the rest of the country Some see the quebecs advances as apart of their nationalist pronatalist strategy - Canada is a liberal welfare state which means that it is among the least generous relying on the free market rather than extensive state support to families and social programs Results in one of the most expensive and inaccessible childcare systems in the developed world - Having children and childcare are seen as personal lifestyle choices and the responsibility of individual citizens and households - Research shows that give key factors are needed to be effective in developing quality ECEC: 1. Setting out quality goals and regulations 2. Designing and implementing curriculum standards 3. Improving qualification, training, and working conditions, 4. Engaging families and communities 5. Advancing date collection, research, and monitoring Impacts of Childcare - Some studies argues against educating young children in childcare settings are cause children undergo stress when learning and when children are placed in a situation that they are required to learn certain things in a time frame stress increases - Play involves a great deal of learning and is reported to be children's favorite activity in childcare centers - 200 studies on child care show no negative impact of child care and intellectual development - All research done on children with disadvantaged households or with learning disabilities found that they seem to develop better in regulated childcare - Children with special needs and various disabilities have benefited from attending inclusive child care centers although they are inaccessible Early Childhood Educators - There are more professional opportunities for kindergarten and preschool staff compared with other sectors of childhood education - In 2001, the min average salary for a school teacher with basic educational training and credentials in canada ranged from $28,000-$50,000 - The ECE workforce has an average hourly wage of $17.47 Chapter 8: Newcomer Children in Canada - In the late 19th century, more and more people were choosing to leave canada to migrate to the united states resulting in population loss - In order to recruit desirable immigrants to come live in canada, the government offered: Freedom from military service and from swearing the oath of allegiance  Freedom of religion Travel assistance of $30 per adult to “mennonite families of good character” - There was a need for laborers who were not deemed desirable for permanent settlement and these included chinese, southern europeans, and south asian migrant workers When laborers were needed, their wives and children were discouraged from migrating along with them to avoid creating permanent communities - In the 1960s, the government abolished almost all restrictions on immigration openly based on ethnicity and race - In 1967, immigrants were allowed entry based on the number of points they acquired based on the number of qualifications they had including education, job skills, knowledge or english or french, etc - Recently arriving newcomer children are more likely than canadian children to live in families with incomes below the median family income Admission class, skilled worker, business immigrant, live-in caregiver, family class, and refugee are things that affect the socioeconomic outcomes of childhood immigrants who arrive in canada before the age of 18 - Immigrant mothers often feel isolated and overwhelmed, and immigrant parents are concerned about their children losing culture, language, and values - Newcomer children also experienced bullying and feeling isolated due to their differences compared to canadian born children - Foriegn born family members arrive in canada in better health than canadian borns but in increasing years living here, they experience a decline - Chapter Nine: Indigenous Children - In 1867, the indian act was created to formalize the first nations dependency on the Canadian government and regulates almost every aspect of their social and economic lives Indian act in its current form acts as a barrier to indigenous self government as it renders many decisions made by local indigenous council subject to canadian government approval - Through the canadian government's treatment of indigenous children today, the government has violated two UN convention on the rights of children, and the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous people - Aboriginal ancestry: refers to individuals who report at least one relative with indigenous origin on the “ethnic origin” question in the census - Aboriginal identity: refers to those who self identify with at least one indigenous group - Sixties scoop: In the mid 60s child welfare authorities entered indigenous communities and “scooped” children as young as newborns out of their communities and into state care In most cases, these children were relocated into middle class european canadian families - Indigenous children today experience higher rates of infant mortality, sudden infant death syndrome, tuberculosis, asthma, bronchitis, childhood obesity, diabetes, and lower rates of immunization compared to non indigenous children Infant mortality rates on reserves are 3-7 times higher than the national average Overall hospitalization rate for children under the age of 10 is about 1.5 times higher than for non indigenous children The main cause of hospitalization for children under the age of 10 is due to diseases in the respiratory system which are often caused by housing conditions such as crowding, and poor indoor air quality - Indigneous children both on and off reserves face high rates of food insecurity - Indigenous children are born into colonial legacy that results in low socioeconomic status, intergenerational trauma associated with residential schooling, loss of language and culture, and high levels of discrimination - Indigenous girls in western canada comprise over half of the victims for sexual exploitation - Jordans Principle: children living on reserves will continue to receive care until there is a resolution between who covers hospital costs for indigenous people, the federal or provincial government Created due to the case of an indigenous child named Jordan whose discharge from hospital was repeatedly delayed as the provincial and federal government could not agree as to who covers the cost of jordans care - Indigenous children are overrepresented in the child welfare system This is due to poverty, poor housing, substance misuse, and inequitable resources for Indigenous children residing on reserves - Indigenous children are more likely to experience language problems, and have poorer school outcomes than other children in canada - Aborignal Head Start Program: the goal is to support early childhood development in education, health promotion, culture, language, nutrition, social support, and parental/ family involvement