Day Care & Social Development - created from Mind Map

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PEER RELATIONS

Field (1991)

56 American 11 Year Olds - Population Validity

All started full time daycare before age of 2 - Good quality but why in daycare?

Videotaped to assess for assertiveness, affection & playfulness - Subjective/Demand Characteristics/Ethics/Extraneous Variables

Teachers given questionnaire - Don't know children well enough/Ethics/Self-fulfilling prophecy/Validity?

FINDINGS

Going to daycare - Higher self-esteem/More attractive & popular/Less aggressive/Better leadership & assertiveness skills

More experience with other children in good quality daycare leads to development of greater social skills

Vandell (1988)

Studied children at 4 & 8 years old

Covert Observation - Subjective/Ethics

FINDINGS

Compared to children from poor quality daycare, children in high quality daycare showed consistently more friendly interactions & fewer unfriendly interactions

Suggests, if quality of daycare is good, then peer relations can be good

AGRESSION

NICHD Study

Longitudinal study in America of over 1000 children - Population Validity

Assessed for aggressive behaviour - First by parents then by teachers & carers - bias/subjective

More time spent in daycare = more aggression

Belsky

Teachers & Mothers asked to rate how aggressive children were

More time spent in daycare = more aggression

EVALUATION

STRENGTHS

Practical Applications

Correlational - Ethical way of collecting data - No manipulation

LIMITATIONS

Relies on ratings & observations by parents - subjective/objective/bias

Correlational - Variables impacting on child ->

Hock et al

Reported that aggressive & difficult children are more likely to be placed in daycare, as their parents require a break

Poor home environment / Low maternal sensitivity

Cannot draw cause & effect conclusions

Difficult to operationalise variables ->

Field & Dilallo

Field measured sociability in terms of number of friends a child has

Dilallo measured how co-operative & helpful children were

Studies often reach contradictory conclusions

Field - More time in daycare = more friends

Dilallo - More time in daycare = less co-operative & helpful in relations with other children

Good Daycare?

1. Low staff turnover- Children form relationships with staff

2. High ratio of caregivers to children - Allow interaction

3. Child form relationships with more than one caregiver in case of staff illness

4. Stimulating language & play

5. Nursery routines good & consistent

6.Qualified staff - Sensitive & Responsive to child's needs

Day Care & Social Development