Improving processual quality in early education and care: Process findings from the evaluation of the Benevolent Society's Partnerships in Early Education program
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online March, 2009
Improving processual quality in early education and care: Process findings from the evaluation of the Benevolent Society's Partnerships in Early Education program
THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THE FACILITATORS and barriers to implementing an attachment-based intervention in early education and care settings, the Partnerships in Early Childhood program (PIEC), based on findings from the process evaluation of its first year of implementation. The paper focuses on four areas: the nature of the partnership and program management; implementation; facilitators and barriers to change; and perceived changes and benefits of the program. PIEC uses existing services as the basis for providing enhanced care to disadvantaged children, and its challenges and successes suggest important lessons for the design and delivery of initiatives to improve the processual quality of care in formal settings.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AinsworthM., BleharM. C., WatersE., & WallS. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation.Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
2.
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th edn), text revision (dsm-iv-tr). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
3.
Australian Labor Party (2007). Labor's plan for early childhood: Election 2007 policy document.
4.
BorisN. W., & ZeanahC. H. (1999). Disturbances and disorders of attachment in infancy: An overview. Infant Mental Health Journal, 20(1), 1–9.
5.
BowlbyJ. (1988). A secure base: Clinical applications of attachment theory.London: Routledge.
6.
BrennanD. (2007). The ABC of child care politics. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 42(2), 213–226.
7.
CahirP. (2007). What matters in early childhood? A conversation with leading national and international experts.Lismore: Centre for Children and Young People, Southern Cross University.
8.
CarpenterJ., GriffinM., & BrownS. (2005). The impact of sure start on local services (Report no. SU/2005/FR/015). Durham, UK: Durham Centre for Applied Social Research, University of Durham.
FisherK., & PatulnyR. (2004). Impact of staff ratios on under 2 year olds in children's services. Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
11.
FisherK., ThomsonC., & valentinek. (2006). The implementation of families first NSW: Process lessons from the first four years. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 31(1), 11–19.
12.
HowesC. (2000). Socio-emotional classroom climate in child care, child-teacher relationships and children's second grade peer relations. Social Development, 9(2), 191–204.
13.
LaddG. W., & BurgessK. B. (1999). Charting the relationship trajectories of aggressive, withdrawn, and aggressive/withdrawn children during early grade school. Child Development, 70(4), 910–929.
14.
LiaboK., GibbsJ., & UnderdownA. (2004). Group-based parenting programmes and reducing children's behaviour problems.London: National Children's Bureau.
15.
MarvinR., CooperG., HoffmanK., & PowellB. (2002). The Circle of Security project: Attachment-based intervention with caregiver-preschool child dyads. Attachment and Human Development, 4(1), 107–124.
16.
MoranP., & GhateD. (2005). The effectiveness of parenting support. Children & Society, 19(4), 329–336.
17.
MoranP., GhateD., & van der MerweA. (2004). What works in parenting support? A review of the international evidence (Research Report 5 74). London: Department for Education and Skills.
18.
National Evaluation of Sure Start (2002). Getting sure start started.London: Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, University of London.
19.
NutleyS., WalterI., & DaviesH. (2003). From knowing to doing: A framework for understanding the evidence-into-practice agenda. Evaluation, 9(2), 125–148.
20.
OchiltreeG. (1995). Effects of child care on young children: Forty years of research, 5.Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.
21.
PiantaR. C. (1997). Mother–child relationships, teacher– child relationships, and school outcomes in preschool and kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12(3), 263–280.
22.
Rimm-KaufmanS. E., EarlyD. M., CoxM. J., SalujaG., PiantaR. C., BradleyR. H., (2002). Early behavioral attributes and teachers' sensitivity as predictors of competent behavior in the kindergarten classroom. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 23(4), 451–470.
23.
RolfeS. (2004). Rethinking attachment for early childhood practice: Promoting security, autonomy and resilience in young children. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
24.
RushE. (2006). Child care quality in Australia (Discussion Paper 84). Canberra: The Australia Institute.
25.
SandersM. R. (1999). Triple-P Positive Parenting Program: Towards an empirically validated multilevel parenting and family support strategy for the prevention of behavior and emotional problems in children. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2(2), 71–90.
26.
ShonkoffJ., & PhillipsD. (Eds.) (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development.Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
27.
SylvaK., MelhuishE., SimmonsP., Siraj-BlatchfordI., & TaggartB. (2004). The effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE) project: Findings from pre-school to the end of key stage 1 (Report no. SSU/SF/2001/01). London: Institute of Education.
28.
ThomsonC., LongdenT., HarrisonL., & valentinek. (2007). Partnerships in early childhood project: Final report on data collection round 1.Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
29.
ThomsonC., valentinek., LongdenT., & HarrisonL. (2007). Partnerships in early childhood program: Interim evaluation report.Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
30.
ThomsonC., valentinek., HoffmannS., & FisherK. (2004). Families first area review: Orana Far West. Final report.Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
31.
WartnerU., GrossmannK., Fremmer-BombikE., & SuessG. (1994). Attachment patterns at age six in South Germany: Predictability from infancy and implications for preschool behaviour. Child Development, 65(4), 1014–1027.
32.
WatsonJ. (2005). Active engagement: Strategies to increase service participation by vulnerable families, discussion paper.Sydney: NSW Centre for Parenting and Research, Department of Community Services.
33.
Webster-StrattonC., & ReidM. J. (2002). An integrated approach to prevention and management of aggressive behavior problems in preschool and elementary grade students: Schools and parents collaboration. In GreshamF. M. & ShaughenessyT. E. (Eds.), Interventions for students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (pp. 261–272). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
34.
YandellM., & HewittL. (1995). Relief daycare: A role in preventing child abuse, the case emerging from the literature. Children Australia, 20(3), 5–10.
