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25 June 2008
NO 1313
Systems of upbringing
Our Children -Their Lives: National Children's Strategy (Government of Ireland, 2000) has adopted a "whole child" perspective as a means of expressing the holistic needs of children and young people. This perspective, which promotes a coherent and inclusive view of childhood, identifies nine key dimensions of children's development, all of which must be addressed if a child is to enjoy a positive upbringing: physical and mental health; emotional and behavioural well-being; intellectual capacity; spiritual and moral well-being; identity; self care; family relationships; social and peer relationships; and social presentation. The "whole child" perspective takes an active view of children in which they both affect and are affected by the world around them. It identifies the capacity of children to shape their own lives as they grow, while also being shaped and supported by the world around them.
This appreciation of the individual child in his/her unique context is grounded in the ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Garbarino & Eckenrode, 1997). This approach consists of a systems model for analysing the social ecology of families, with the welfare of the child depending on the interactions between the child's developmental needs, the parenting capacity available to the child and the family, and environmental factors that exist (Jack, 2000).
The micro-system refers to situations in which the person has face-to-face contact with influential others (Garbarino, 1992). The most powerful micro-system is the family environment into which the child is born; this will exert a long-lasting influence over his/her development (Jack, 2001). The Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hEireann, 1937) and the Commission on the Family (1998) support this view and strongly assert the parent's role as the primary carer and educator of their child. However, this role is placed under pressure by activities in the "macrosystem".
The macro-system is the "blueprint" for defining and organising the institutional life of society, and is expressed in its social policy (Garbarino, 1992). For instance, the administration of social welfare payments by the government ameliorates absolute poverty. However, a central concern of social policy in this area is to avoid making social welfare an attractive option; therefore, policy that intends to deter dependency on welfare must inevitably allow recipients to fall into poverty (Hardey & Crow, 1991). Participation in paid employment presents the best prospects for improving income and opportunities, forcing more and more parents out of the home and into the labour force. In recent years parents have increasingly sought to have their children cared for and educated outside the home from a very young age (Government of Ireland, 1999). This inevitably reduces the time available for their children and necessitates the creation of close emotional bonds between the child and other adult caregivers. The childcare centre therefore constitutes another microsystem in the developing child's world. However, while the early years practitioner makes a "uniquely significant and lasting impact on children's experiences as young learners, and consequently, on their life chances", their purpose is not to supplant the primary caregiver but to "extend the role of parents/guardians in children's early lives" (National Council for Curriculum & Assessment [NCCA], 2004, p. 42).
The meso-system consists of the interrelationships among the various settings in which the developing child is immersed (Vander-Zanden, Crandell, & Crandell, 2000). While the child's development is enhanced as a direct function of the number of structurally different settings in which they participate (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), how these systems interrelate directly impacts on the likelihood of successful outcomes (Jeffrey, 2004). For instance, open and positive relations between the parent and early years practitioners can positively benefit the development of the child.
Parents are no longer viewed as "empty vessels waiting to be filled with professionally derived child development knowledge but as active partners in search of formal and informal supports necessary to carry out the difficult task of parenting" (Whittaker, 1993, p. 6). Indeed, Pinkerton, Dolan, and Canavan, in a review of family support in Ireland for the Department of Health & Children, identified partnership with parents "as an integral part of family support" (2004, p. 20).
ANNE PRENDIVILLE
Prendiville, Anne. (2006). A retrospective critical
analysis of family support in practice: Facilitate not dictate.
Child Care in Practice, 12, 1. pp. 64-65.
REFERENCES
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. London. Harvard University Press.
Bunreacht na hEireann (1937). Dublin. Stationery Office.
Commission on the Family. (1998). Strengthening families for life: Final report to the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs. Dublin. Stationery Office.
Garbarino, J. (1992). Children and families in the social environment (2nd ed.). New York. Aldine de Gruyter.
Garbarino, J., and Eckenrode, J. (1997). Understanding abusive families: An ecological approach to theory and practice. San Francisco. Jossey-Boos Publications.
Government of Ireland. (1999). Ready to learn: White paper on early childhood education. Dublin. Stationery Office.
Government of Ireland. (2000). Our children-their lives: National children's strategy. Dublin. Stationery Office.
Hardey, M., and Crow, G. (1991). Lone parenthood: Coping with constraints and making opportunities. Hertfordshire. Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Jack, G. (2000). Ecological influences on parenting and child development. British Journal of Social Work, 30. pp. 703-720.
Jack, G. (2001). Ecological perspectives in assessing children & families. In J. Howarth (Ed.), The child's world: Assessing children in need. London. Jessica Kingsley.
Jeffrey, K. (2004). Working with children & families: What the literature is telling us? Retrieved October 18, 2004, from www.bensoc.org.au
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. (2004). Towards a framework for early learning: A consultative document. Dublin. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
Pinkerton, J., Dolan, P. and Canavan, J. (2004). Family support in Ireland-definition and strategic intent: A paper for the Department of Health and Children. Dublin. Stationery Office.
Vander-Zanden, J. W, Crandell, T. L. and Crandell, C. H. (2000). Human development (7th ed.). Boston. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Whittaker, J. (1993). Changing paradigms in child and family services: Challenges for practice, policy and research. Dublin. Social Studies Press.
