Family Court Judges' Training, Background, and Child Development Knowledge: Associations with Child Custody Decision Making

Family court judges are often asked to make inferences about - or directly interview children to ascertain - children's custody preferences and their maturity to express such preferences. These estimates of children's developmental maturity are important to the judges' considerations of children's "best interests" in custody cases. The research literature describing family court judges' background, education, training, and knowledge about child development is scant. With appropriate child development knowledge, judges should be better able to identify the developmental stages at which children have the cognitive and social capabilities to communicate directly their placement wishes or concerns. The current study is the first to examine judges' estimates of - and actual tests of - their child development knowledge, their training/education, and their application of this knowledge to their decisions to involve children as participants in contested custody cases.

Parental Ethnotheories of Child Development: Looking Beyond Independence and Individualism in American Belief Systems

Over the past several decades, the topic of child development in a cultural context has received a great deal of theoretical and empirical investigation. Investigators from the fields of indigenous and cultural psychology have argued that childhood is socially and historically constructed, rather than a universal process with a standard sequence of developmental stages or descriptions. As a result, many psychologists have become doubtful that any stage theory of cognitive or socialemotional development can be found to be valid for all times and places. In placing more theoretical emphasis on contextual processes, they define culture as a complex system of common symbolic action patterns (or scripts) built up through everyday human social interaction by means of which individuals create common meanings and in terms of which they organize experience. Researchers understand culture to be organized and coherent, but not homogenous or static, and realize that the complex dynamic system of culture constantly undergoes transformation as participants (adults and children) negotiate and re-negotiate meanings through social interaction. These negotiations and transactions give rise to unceasing heterogeneity and variability in how different individuals and groups of individuals interpret values and meanings. However, while many psychologists—both inside and outside the fields of indigenous and cultural psychology–are now willing to give up the idea of a universal path of child development and a universal story of parenting, they have not necessarily foreclosed on the possibility of discovering and describing some universal processes that underlie socialization and development-in-context. The roots of such universalities would lie in the biological aspects of child development, in the evolutionary processes of adaptation, and in the unique symbolic and problem-solving capacities of the human organism as a culture-bearing species. For instance, according to functionalist psychological anthropologists, shared (cultural) processes surround the developing child and promote in the long view the survival of families and groups if they are to demonstrate continuity in the face of ecological change and resource competition, (e.g. Edwards & Whiting, 2004; Gallimore, Goldenberg, & Weisner, 1993; LeVine, Dixon, LeVine, Richman, Leiderman, Keefer, & Brazelton, 1994; LeVine, Miller, & West, 1988; Weisner, 1996, 2002; Whiting & Edwards, 1988; Whiting & Whiting, 1980). As LeVine and colleagues (1994) state: A population tends to share an environment, symbol systems for encoding it, and organizations and codes of conduct for adapting to it (emphasis added). It is through the enactment of these population-specific codes of conduct in locally organized practices that human adaptation occurs. Human adaptation, in other words, is largely attributable to the operation of specific social organizations (e.g. families, communities, empires) following culturally prescribed scripts (normative models) in subsistence, reproduction, and other domains [communication and social regulation]. (p. 12) It follows, then, that in seeking to understand child development in a cultural context, psychologists need to support collaborative and interdisciplinary developmental science that crosses international borders. Such research can advance cross-cultural psychology, cultural psychology, and indigenous psychology, understood as three sub-disciplines composed of scientists who frequently communicate and debate with one another and mutually inform one another’s research programs. For example, to turn to parental belief systems, the particular topic of this chapter, it is clear that collaborative international studies are needed to support the goal of crosscultural psychologists for findings that go beyond simply describing cultural differences in parental beliefs. Comparative researchers need to shed light on whether parental beliefs are (or are not) systematically related to differences in child outcomes; and they need meta-analyses and reviews to explore between- and within-culture variations in parental beliefs, with a focus on issues of social change (Saraswathi, 2000). Likewise, collaborative research programs can foster the goals of indigenous psychology and cultural psychology and lay out valid descriptions of individual development in their particular cultural contexts and the processes, principles, and critical concepts needed for defining, analyzing, and predicting outcomes of child development-in-context. The project described in this chapter is based on an approach that integrates elements of comparative methodology to serve the aim of describing particular scenarios of child development in unique contexts. The research team of cultural insiders and outsiders allows for a look at American belief systems based on a dialogue of multiple perspectives.

Conhecimentos dos pais sobre o desenvolvimento da criança na 1ª infância : um estudo exploratório

Os conhecimentos parentais sobre o desenvolvimento da criança na primeira infância são como a literatura mostra, fundamentais no modo como os pais interagem e atuam com os seus filhos, ou seja, nas práticas educativas parentais, sendo determinantes no comportamento e desenvolvimento futuro dos seus filhos. Muito pouco se tem investido neste tema, ao nível nacional, embora o mesmo não se verifique ao nível internacional. Neste sentido, parece especialmente interessante explorar esta dimensão em pais de crianças portuguesas com um instrumento também pouco conhecido na realidade portuguesa. O presente estudo tem como objetivo caraterizar os conhecimentos sobre o desenvolvimento infantil de um grupo de mães de crianças do pré-escolar, que frequentavam jardins-de-infância na margem sul do Tejo. Para tal pudemos contar com a colaboração de 110 mães de crianças com idades compreendidas entre os 3 e os 7 anos que acederam em participar, preenchendo um questionário com 58 itens, adaptado do “Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory - Preeschoolers” (KIDI-P); (MacPhee, 1981). Os dados obtidos através do KIDI-P, foram cruzados com diversas variáveis sociodemográficas, tendo-se verificado alguns resultados, significativos, nomeadamente no que se refere ao nível de instrução, de situação profissional e nível de rendimento familiar. O nível de instrução, apresenta uma correlação significativa com os conhecimentos maternais, sendo que quanto mais baixo, menor o número de respostas corretas. As mães empregadas conseguem dar um maior número de respostas corretas, demonstrando assim mais conhecimento sobre o desenvolvimento da criança, do que as que estão desempregadas, assim aquelas com nível baixo de rendimento familiar apresentam mais respostas erradas do que as que têm rendimento familiar mais elevado. Podemos assim concluir que algumas variáveis sociodemográficas estão relacionadas com o conhecimento das mães sobre o desenvolvimento da criança, confirmando vários dos estudos científicos realizados ao nível internacional.

Their children's first educators : parents' views about child sexual abuse prevention education

In this descriptive focus group study, we investigated parents’ views about child sexual abuse prevention education at home and in schools. Focus groups were conducted with a sample of 30 Australian adults who identified as the parent or caregiver of a child/children aged 0–5 years. The study explored (1) parents’ knowledge about child sexual abuse prevention, (2) the child sexual abuse prevention messages they provided to their children and the topics they discussed, (3) their attitudes towards child sexual abuse prevention education in schools, and (4) their preferences for content. Data analysis provided seven key themes in these four areas: knowledge (the inadequacy of their own prevention education; and how important is stranger danger now?); messages (bodies, touching, and relationships; the role of protective adults; and parent–child communication); attitudes (voice and choice); and preferences (not the nitty gritty, just the basics). The findings may be useful in assisting school authorities and providers of child sexual abuse prevention programs to better understand parents’ contributions to child sexual abuse prevention education, and their perspectives in relation to provision of school-based prevention programs.

Conhecimento sobre desenvolvimento infantil em mães primíparas de diferentes centros urbanos do Brasil

Cognições parentais constituem importante componente do contexto sociocultural em que se dá o desenvolvimento infantil, e a literatura brasileira sobre o tema é ainda escassa. O objetivo deste estudo é analisar a relação entre conhecimento sobre desenvolvimento infantil e variáveis da mãe e do bebê. Foi estudada uma amostra de 405 mães primíparas, com filhos menores de um ano, distribuída por seis cidades em diferentes regiões do Brasil. Utilizou-se o Inventário do Conhecimento do Desenvolvimento Infantil (KIDI). Foram encontrados efeitos significativos de escolaridade materna e centro urbano. O efeito significativo de escolaridade materna foi verificado em todas as cidades, menos em Porto Alegre, possivelmente pelas políticas de atenção materno-infantil aí implementadas. Estes resultados contribuem para o conhecimento de aspectos do contexto de desenvolvimento de crianças brasileiras, e têm implicações para o planejamento de programas de intervenção que visem à promoção de saúde.

Crenças e conhecimento de pais e profissionais de saúde sobre desenvolvimento de crianças com síndrome de Down até dois anos de idade

Este estudo apoia-se na abordagem sociocultural, em uma perspectiva interacionista da relação biologia cultura, beneficiando-se também do olhar da psicologia evolucionista para os fenômenos humanos. Estas abordagens, a partir de uma visão do homem como biologicamente cultural fazem-se relevantes para o estudo de crenças e conhecimento sobre o desenvolvimento de crianças com síndrome de Down (SD). Esta síndrome tem prevalência de um a cada 700 nascimentos, não importando classe social, racial ou local de nascimento dos pais, ou seja, é universal. A revisão da literatura revelou uma carência de estudos psicológicos sobre o contexto de desenvolvimento dessas crianças, inclusive as crenças de seus cuidadores e de profissionais de saúde. Sendo assim, o objetivo desse trabalho foi investigar crenças e conhecimento de dois grupos (pais e profissionais de saúde) sobre o desenvolvimento de crianças com síndrome de Down até dois anos de idade no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Participaram da pesquisa 101 pessoas sendo 60 pais com filhos de até oito anos com síndrome de Down e 41 profissionais de saúde, médicos ou residentes do Instituto Fernandes Figueira, IFF/Fiocruz. Foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos: Questionário com duas perguntas abertas sobre crenças sobre síndrome de Down que foram respondidas livremente pelos participantes; inventário sobre concepção de desenvolvimento infantil (ICDI); inventário sobre conhecimento de desenvolvimento infantil (KIDI) modificado, adaptado para crianças com síndrome de Down. Os dados foram analisados em aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos. A aplicação dos instrumentos foi realizada individualmente, em local conveniente para o participante ou no IFF/Fiocruz e após a assinatura do termo de consentimento. Os dados dos três instrumentos foram tratados e reduzidos. As respostas ao instrumento de crenças foram organizadas em categorias e comparadas. Escores nas diferentes subescalas do ICDI foram calculados e, em cada grupo (pais e profissionais) analisaram-se as concepções sobre desenvolvimento predominantes, estabelecendo-se comparações entre eles. Escores nas diferentes partes do KIDI foram ainda calculados (porcentagem de acertos). Foram feitas comparações intra e entre grupos. Os resultados foram tratados em cada um dos aspectos: crenças sobre SD, concepções e conhecimento sobre desenvolvimento. Os resultados obtidos mostram que as crenças dos pais estão distribuídas em oito categorias com três focos distintos (na criança, nos pais ou nos dois) e a dos profissionais em nove categorias, também, com três focos distintos (na SD, no médico e na criança e família). O resultado obtido no ICDI indica que os participantes valorizam mais as concepções de aprendizagem e interacionismo do que de maturação e que não há diferença significativa entre os grupos. Para o KIDI observou-se diferença significativa entre os grupos tanto no resultado geral de percentual de acertos como nos resultados em cada subescala. Espera-se que os resultados obtidos possam contribuir para a literatura sobre psicologia do desenvolvimento e síndrome de Down.

Creche: de lugar de abandono a espaço educativo

Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo histórico da creche no Brasil, tendo por objetivo analisar como a mesma instituição que carrega o estigma de lugar de abandono é compreendida atualmente por alguns segmentos sociais como espaço educativo. A questão da creche particular é privilegiada. A partir de uma abordagem que reconhece a importância da influência do contexto sócio-econômico nas propostas educativas, inicialmente foi feito um acompanhamento da trajetória histórica da creche no Brasil, analisando à luz de alguns estudos sobre a problemática da mulher, as relações entre a demanda por creches e a situação feminina no que diz respeito ao trabalho e à família. Em seguida destacaram-se as relações entre os ob jetivos que historicamente foram sendo definidos para as instituições destinadas à criança pequena, e o desenvolvimento dos conhecimentos sobre esta criança, privilegiando-se o estudo do movimento da Escola Nova. Posteriormente, realizou-se a análise das primeiras revistas que desde a déca da de 70 popularizam estes conhecimentos e que vêm criando determinada visão de creche. Finalmente, a entrada da classe média como clientela desta instituição, que vai dar enfase ao seu aspecto educativo, é compreendida a partir do processo de modernização da sociedade, com o aumento da presença da mulher no mercado de trabalho, e a difusão do conhecimento sobre a criança pequena.

Mnitoramento do desenvolvimento infantil realizado no Brasil

Objective: To review scientific literature in order to check how infant development surveillance is being carried out in Brazil. Data sources: Search on databases (PubMed, Medline, SciELO and CAPES Database Thesis) for studies on medical practices related to surveillance and monitoring of child development in Brazil from 2000 to 2011. The terms used for research were: child development surveillance, early intervention, developmental screening, and developmental screening tests. There were ten texts on the subject under study. Original articles, reviews, and thesis were analyzed, as well as the reference lists of publications on the topic. Data synthesis: Studies on monitoring of child development in Brazil showed major failures from pediatrician formation to clinical practice. Conclusions: It is urgent to offer continued medical education to pediatricians in order to update their knowledge about child development monitoring, especially due to the increasing numbers of preterm infants.

Home and group-based implementation of the "Growing Up Happily in the Family" program in at-risk psychosocial contexts

"Growing Up Happily in the Family" is a program to prevent child maltreatment targeted at parents of children aged 0-5 years old in at-risk psychosocial contexts. The program is delivered via either a group-based or a home-visit format. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of various implementation components in the home and group versions on changes in parental attitudes about child development and education. At-risk and non at-risk parents participated in the group-based (196 participants in 26 groups) and home-visit (95 participants) versions of the program delivered through local social services. We analyzed program adherence, adaptations, participant responsiveness, quality of delivery, and implementation barriers as predictors of changes in parental attitudes. The results showed that greater program adherence, better quality of delivery and participant responsiveness, and positive climate predicted changes in parental attitudes in both formats. Therefore, it is important to take into account the quality of the implementation process when testing the effectiveness of early group-based and home-visit interventions in at-risk families.

Causal knowledge and the development of inductive reasoning

We explored the development of sensitivity to causal relations in children’s inductive reasoning. Children (5-, 8-, and 12-year-olds) and adults were given trials in which they decided whether a property known to be possessed by members of one category was also possessed by members of (a) a taxonomically related category or (b) a causally related category. The direction of the causal link was either predictive (prey → predator) or diagnostic (predator → prey), and the property that participants reasoned about established either a taxonomic or causal context. There was a causal asymmetry effect across all age groups, with more causal choices when the causal link was predictive than when it was diagnostic. Furthermore, context-sensitive causal reasoning showed a curvilinear development, with causal choices being most frequent for 8-year-olds regardless of context. Causal inductions decreased thereafter because 12-year-olds and adults made more taxonomic choices when reasoning in the taxonomic context. These findings suggest that simple causal relations may often be the default knowledge structure in young children’s inductive reasoning, that sensitivity to causal direction is present early on, and that children over-generalize their causal knowledge when reasoning.

Caregiver's interpret infants' early gestures based on shared knowledge about referents

Gestures are the first forms of conventional communication that young children develop in order to intentionally convey a specific message. However, at first, infants rarely communicate successfully with their gestures, prompting caregivers to interpret them. Although the role of caregivers in early communication development has been examined, little is known about how caregivers attribute a specific communicative function to infants' gestures. In this study, we argue that caregivers rely on the knowledge about the referent that is shared with infants in order to interpret what communicative function infants wish to convey with their gestures. We videotaped interactions from six caregiver-infant dyads playing with toys when infants were 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 months old. We coded infants' gesture production and we determined whether caregivers interpreted those gestures as conveying a clear communicative function or not; we also coded whether infants used objects according to their conventions of use as a measure of shared knowledge about the referent. Results revealed an association between infants' increasing knowledge of object use and maternal interpretations of infants' gestures as conveying a clear communicative function. Our findings emphasize the importance of shared knowledge in shaping infants' emergent communicative skills.

Parents' cognitions and expectations about their pre-school children: the contribution of parental anxiety and child anxiety

This study investigated the relative associations between parent and child anxiety and parents' cognitions about their children. One hundred and four parents of children aged 3-5 years completed questionnaires regarding their own anxiety level, their child's anxiety level and their cognitions about the child, specifically parents' expectations about child distress and avoidance, and parents' perceived control over child mood and behaviour. Both parent anxiety and parent report of child anxiety were significantly associated with parents' cognitions. Specifically, parent report of child anxiety correlated significantly with parent locus of control generally and, more specifically, with parental expectations and perceived control of child anxious mood and behaviour. Parent anxiety correlated significantly with locus of control and parents' expectations of child anxious mood and behaviour. Furthermore, when both child and parent anxiety were taken into account, only parental anxiety remained significantly associated with parental locus of control and perceived control of child anxious behaviour. For parents' perceived control of child anxious mood, only child anxiety remained significantly associated. The results suggest that parents' perceived control over their children's behaviour may primarily reflect parental anxiety, rather than child anxiety. Parental anxiety may, therefore, present an important target for interventions that aim to change parent's cognitions and behaviour.

The development of knowledge about language in teacher training: what works?

Efforts have been made over many years by applied linguists in a number of English-speaking countries to raise awareness of language across the primary and secondary school curriculum, with varying degrees of success (see Denham & Lobeck, 2010). Many of these countries are sites of mass migration from non-English speaking countries, creating linguistic equity issues. In Australia, the new National Curriculum mandates that teachers of all disciplines will be required to provide pedagogy responsive to the language learning needs of English as an Additional Language (EAL) students. However, policy documents do not specify how this goal should be realized, and teachers and researchers are engaged in constant debate about what views of language could inform teacher training (e.g. structural and/or functional). This paper reports on a project which aimed to identify 1) the views of teacher educators on language in the curriculum, and 2) the language-related challenges faced by teachers in training. The current paper focuses on the language awareness of trainee teachers. Ten education students were interviewed about their understandings and experiences of language and language learning. It was found that many students experienced lack of confidence and knowledge about language (KAL), but that awareness of sociocultural elements of language provided them with ways to connect with a broader understanding of language issues. Results were analyzed from the perspective of sociocultural theory and will have implications for teacher training in any educational context where students are learning an additional language in order to integrate into a national schooling system.