A Developmental Model of Education for Parents of Children up to Three Years of Age
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1976 A developmental model of education for parents of children up to three years of age. Michael Kalinowski University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Kalinowski, Michael, "A developmental model of education for parents of children up to three years of age." (1976). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 3058. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/3058 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL OF EDUCATION FOR PARENTS OF CHILDREN UP TO THREE YEARS OF AGE A Dissertation Presented By Michael F. Kalinowski Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION August 1976 School of Education Michael F. Kalinowski All Rights Reserved A Dissertation Presented By Michael F. Kalinowski Approved as to style and content by: Daniel Jorda V'person of Committee jC. Masha Rudman, Member It James Leheny, Member (j , Grace Craig, Acting Dean () School of Education ABSTRACT A Developmental Model of Education For Parents of Children Up to Three Years of Age August, 1976 Michael F. Kalinowski, B.A., Bennington College M.Ed., University of Massachusetts, Ed.D. , University of Massachusetts Directed by: Professor Daniel C. Jordan The purpose of this dissertation is to present a general model of parent education which can be implemented in a variety of settings. Because any determination of good parenting depends on one's definition of childhood, this dissertation begins with a review of the concept of childhood. Historically considered, the definition of childhood pro- ceeded through a number of distinct phases. Parents were indifferent, and then ambivalent about young children. Children were then coddled, seen as fit for redemption, as valuable and finally as cultural heroes. It was only recently that adults took up the responsibilities of defin- ing parenthood carefully and began to consider children in a way which emphasized the fulfillment of their potential as unique individuals with a diversity of talents. Chapter One discusses the major philosophical positions concerning the nature of man and his development. Both the mechanistic and organ- ismic world views are considered in terms of their basic metaphors, their cosmologies, their views of the organism, their resulting epistemological positions, and their histories. After analyzing both, the organismic developmental and position is adopted, and the particular philosophical, pedagogical perspectives of the Anisa model is assumed. V Chapter Two reviews a number of programs involving parent edu- cation as an important component; the review demonstrates the need for a general model which could be implemented in a variety of set- tings. The parent education components of major federal programs-- Head Start, Follow Through, Home Start, and Parent and Child Centers-- are examined, and some less important federal programs are also dis- cussed. Non-federal parent education programs delivering services in home and center settings are also reviewed. Chapter Three focuses on one successful model of parent education and its initial implementation in Cincinnati. The four major components of the model include: observation, presentation, participation, and conversation. Observation is the method for determining at any given moment where a child is in order to prepare an appropriate developmental activity. Presentation is the method of delivering that activity to the child; the activity, properly presented, introduces new concepts and for materials to the child. Participation is the method the adult uses interacting with the child in order to promote his development. Conver- parents sation is the method Facilitators in the model use for teaching ability to developmental principles, thereby increasing the parents' children. Evaluating make more effective use of interactions with their planning future sessions. each component every session is essential for of the effect Chapter Four discusses the evaluation and measurement establishment of the program in of the specific model analyzed: the model in other settings, Cincinnati; suggestions for implementing the of for further research in the area and a presentation of possibilities parent education. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I - SETTING THE STAGE 1 RATIONALE 2 MODELS OF MAN 3 The Nature of Models 3 The Mechanistic Model of Man and the World 5 The Organismic Model of Man and the World 6 Conclusion 9 THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT 'll The Nature of Theories 11 Mechanical Mirror Theories 14 Organic Lamp Theories 16 Conclusion 19 THE ANISA PERSPECTIVE 20 The Nature of Anisa 20 The Anisa Model of Man 21 The Anisa Theory of Development 22 Conclusion 27 RATIONALE FOR THE DISSERTATION 28 Ethical Considerations 28 Societal Considerations 30 Developmental Considerations 34 Conclusion 37 CHAPTER II - RECENT PARENT EDUCATION EFFORTS 48 PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION 49 FEDERAL PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS 51 The Nature of Federal Programs 51 Head Start 55 Follow-Through 59 Parent and Child Centers 61 Parent Child Development Centers 67 Home Start 70 Child and Family Resource Program 73 Developmental Continuity 75 Education for Parenthood 77 OTHER PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS 78 Programs for Teenaged Parents 78 Programs for Parents with Exceptional Children 79 Programs Without Curricula 79 Self-Directed Programs 79 80 Home Based Programs vii Center Based Programs 90 Omnibus Programs 100 CRITICAL VARIABLES IN PARENT EDUCATION 102 CHAPTER III - A DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL OF PARENT EDUCATION 120 THE MODEL EXPLAINED 122 Introduction to the Model 122 Observation 124 Presentation 126 Participation 131 Conversation 135 THE MODEL IMPLEMENTED: BACKGROUND 138 Physical Environment I: The Area 138 Human Environment I: The People 141 Physical Environment II: The Site 144 Human Environment II: The Agencies 145 Physical Environment III: The Facility 146 Human Environment III: The Occupants 149 THE MODEL IMPLEMENTED: APPROACHES 151 Delivery System 151 Recruitment and Enrollment 151 Grouping and Schedules 152 Family Assessment 154 Rules and Regulations 154 Staff Training 155 Public Relations 156 THE MODEL IMPLEMENTED: PROGRAMS 157 Support Services 157 Infant/Toddler Education 161 Parent Education 162 CHAPTER IV - IMPLICATIONS OF THE MODEL 174 EFFECTS OF THE PCC IMPLEMENTATION 175 Effects on Parents "176 Effects on Children 178 Effects on Over-the-Rhi ne 179 APPLICATIONS OF THE MODEL 179 Home Settings 180 Satellite Settings 181 Mobile Settings 182 IMPLICATIONS OF THE MODEL 183 Implications for PCC's 183 Implications for Federal Programming 186 Implications for Other Programs 187 Implications for Research 189 190 A FINAL NOTE 197 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 200 APPENDICES INTRODUCTION Childhood Considered Children have always existed; a conception of that existence as special, however, had to be discovered. As Kessen (1965) points out, charting the rise of the concept is an exciting if difficult task. Until recently, most historians interested in the 'ancien regime' paid little attention to either children or the family. Thankfully a number of good discussions on the discovery of childhood are readily available (Aries, 1962; de Mause, 1974; Hunt, 1970; Shorter, 1975), for an examination of the concept of childhood is central to establishing a context for this dissertation on parent education. Aries (1971, 1962) detailed the evolution of the image of the nature of children through the paintings, diaries, and literature of four centuries. No doubt the discovery of childhood began in the thirteenth century, and its progress can be traced in the history of evi- art in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. But the dence of its development became more plentiful and signifi- cant from the end of the sixteenth century and throughout the seventeenth.^ the child from Certainly nothing in medieval dress distinguished century that the child the adult. It was not until the seventeenth 2 age group. In America Earle began to have an outfit reserved for his society decked out in 17/1 as (1893) noted young children of Boston Partridge and Otto (1946) little images of their elegant mammas. parts of America were but mentioned that as late as 1875, children in smaller copies of grownups. ix With the exception of Hellenistic iconography, childhood was not portrayed in art until the twelfth century. Artists first depicted children as smaller adults, with no difference in the expression of features other than scale. The angel began to appear in art in the thirteenth century, followed by the infant Jesus. Both, however, were pictured as adults in miniature. Later into the Gothic period came the naked child. From this "religious iconography of childhood, a lay 3 iconography detached itself in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries." Portraits of children mingled with adults began to be frequently found in anecdotal paintings. The custom of portraits of children alone did 4 not originate until the seventeenth century . Childhood was portrayed in countless medieval texts within the theme of 'the ages of man,'