PS100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Parental Leave, Social Stigma
Developmental Psychology - Review Question 3 Assignment
For this review question, I want you to explore some of the issues associated with the topic of childcare and
early development (see Ch 5 pp. 165-166).
Despite the fact that there is a growing number of Australian children being cared for and spending more
time in non-parental care outside of the home, the argument continues to rage between the pro-child care
camps and those in the anti-child care camps.
While engaging in this debate may seem somewhat fruitless given the number of children and families
requiring this community service, I want you to consider this issue while looking at some of the contextual
factors that can and do impact children in non-parental care situations.
Question: Identify and discuss some of the issues that can impact children and their development in
non-parental care situations. What additional issues can you think of that can impact a parents
decision to place their children in non-parental care situations and why?
In the second part of your answer, while you are thinking about some of the factors that can impact a
families decision to place their children in childcare external to the home, consider as well as those factors
that keep them in care or not.
Remember you will need to consider your answer from the three different levels of analysis:
- Individual (e.g., the child's needs)
- Relational (e.g., family structure and/ or situation, staff of the care facilities - e.g., carer to child
ratio, qualifications, etc.)
- Collective (e.g., Government in terms of parental leave policy, costs of childcare etc.)
In the second part of your answer you may want to consider such topics such as:
• the impact of parental leave on a parents decision to go back to or stay at work;
• the philosophy of childcare in Australia;
• how we define what childcare is;
• the ratio of children to staff for effective care;
• the level of training of staff and qualification requirements;
• the costs associated with childcare as well as increases due to staff training changes;
• stability of staffing (high turnover of staff and impact on children and local business);
• resources provided to centres or facilities from government and private industry;
• access to childcare at work or on work sites;
• affordability of care;
• social stigma attached to children and parents who put children in childcare;
• levels of socialisation, education, and stimulation for children;
• policies and guidelines that regulate the industry;
• issue of home childcare centres vs corporate or private centres; and
• what issues might arise for rural vs urban families / communities.
Please note: you DO NOT need to cover all of these topics in your answer but you do need to consider
some and discuss them. It is not sufficient just to repeat this list as your answer. You will need to consider the
ones that you choose, ensure that they link with the first part of your answer and discuss them. As you only
have 2 pages to do this, you will need to choose your topics carefully and discuss how they might relate
with each other.
For this question, I have provided you with two peer-reviewed journal articles. You DO NOT need to
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
For this review question, i want you to explore some of the issues associated with the topic of childcare and early development (see ch 5 pp. Question: identify and discuss some of the issues that can impact children and their development in non-parental care situations. Remember you will need to consider your answer from the three different levels of analysis: Relational (e. g. , family structure and/ or situation, staff of the care facilities - e. g. , carer to child ratio, qualifications, etc. ) Collective (e. g. , government in terms of parental leave policy, costs of childcare etc. ) Please note: you do not need to cover all of these topics in your answer but you do need to consider some and discuss them. It is not sufficient just to repeat this list as your answer. You will need to consider the ones that you choose, ensure that they link with the first part of your answer and discuss them.
