Wendy Boyd Copyright (c) 2012 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd Recent documents in Wendy Boyd en-us Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:31:24 PST 3600 Attracting and retaining trained ECEC staff http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/25 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/25 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:09:47 PST The Federal Government needs to ensure that the significant investment in training the early childhood workforce results in these ECEC teachers being employed in the ECEC sector.

]]> Wendy Boyd When does the 15 hours preschool program start (and end)? http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/24 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/24 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:09:46 PST The administration and reporting of how each child receives 15 hours of preschool program could be a big task for many services.

]]> Wendy Boyd Children's agency and participation in a water awareness program in early childhood centres in Australia http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/23 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/23 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:09:45 PST This paper reports on an evaluation of this program, which was a qualitative study that explored the children’s learning and action that stemmed from children, parents and teachers engagement in the program. Data consisted of water audits and reports developed for each of the 17 participating centres, as well as from conversations with children, and interviews and surveys conducted with staff and parents at three of the centres. The results showed that, as well learning new knowledge about water conversation, the children, staff, and parents also changed their attitudes to water conservation and, importantly, adopted water conservation actions and strategies. Some centres undertook large-scale redevelopments of centre grounds, while others made substantive efforts to purchase and install water-saving devices. The study found that children influenced the adults around them in relation to improving their water conservation practices. Teachers and parents reported that they felt compelled to change their own water use habits because of the children’s advocacy for water-conserving alternatives.

]]> Wendy Boyd Policies to support maternal employment and care for the child: what does the research tell us? http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/22 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/22 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:09:44 PST Continual increase in maternal employment in Australia over the past three decades has focused attention on family friendly employment policies and provision of childcare. To fully understand mothers’ decisions regarding return to paid work and child care requires empirical, longitudinal evidence of the on-going decision-making processes beginning with their preferred options. This prospective longitudinal study investigated preferences and decisions of 124 first-time expectant mothers about paid work and child care to 12 months postpartum. The data showed women’s decisions for paid work was a complex mix of rational and emotional influences, with the majority opting for part-time paid work. Choosing care of the child was problematic and caused significant emotional strain. The desire to use informal care, where the carer is known and the environment familiar, was a significant predictor of higher levels of satisfaction with the child’s care at 12 months postpartum whereas the use of formal centre based care was associated with significantly lower levels of satisfaction with care. The data shows that policies that support women’s choices for satisfying workforce engagement and care arrangements are prudent for ensuring productivity of the economy as well as enhancing the well-being of parents and children (OECD, 2007).

]]> Wendy Boyd Maternal employment and satisfaction with care http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/21 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/21 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:09:43 PST A continual increase in maternal employment in Australia over the past three decades has focused attention on family-friendly employment policies, including paid parental leave, flexible work hours and provision of child care support. However, concern regarding quality of child care has been reported as an emotional barrier to women's engagement in paid work. Understanding women's beliefs about child care and return to paid work requires empirical and longitudinal evidence of decision-making processes. This prospective longitudinal study investigated preferences and decisions of 124 first-time mothers, from pregnancy through to 12 months postpartum. The data shows women's satisfaction with paid work diminished significantly as they made decisions to return to paid work and choose care for their child. Using informal care, where the carer is known and the environment familiar, was a significant predictor of higher levels of satisfaction with the child's care at both 6 and 12 months postpartum, while the use of formal centre-based care was associated with higher scores for postnatal depression and significantly lower levels of satisfaction with care. Results are discussed in light of child development evidence and international trends in family policy.

]]> Wendy Boyd et al. Parent decisions regarding paid work and care of the child http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/20 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/20 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:13:11 PDT Australia has witnessed a continual increase in maternal employment over the past two decades, which has placed focus on child care- its effects on the child and on early childhood education and care policy and provision. The engagement of women in the paid workforce contributes to national economic development, and is recognised in government policy incentives such as cash subsidies and tax relief for child care fees. These incentives are targeted towards mothers, to encourage them to engage in paid work. Making a contribution to the family’s economy and to a mother’s economic self sufficiency are two key drivers for women’s engagement in satisfying paid work. Many women also seek to maintain a personal investment in the development of their career, simultaneously ensuring that the child is experiencing suitable care. Policies that support women’s choices for satisfying workforce engagement and care arrangements are prudent for ensuring productivity of the economy as well as for enhancing the wellbeing of parents and children (OECD, 2007). Policies that provide family friendly employment arrangements, paid parental leave, and child care support, directly affect maternal employment decisions. Availability of family friendly employment policies is viewed as one way to not only promote gender equity in employment opportunities but also support the wellbeing of children and families (OECD, 2007). Yet there are not comprehensive and coherent policies on work and family in Australia. Australia is due to implement its first paid parental leave scheme in January, 2011. At the time of the data collection of this research, June 2007 to December 2008, Australia had no statutory provision for paid parental leave. To date, most research has focused on the consequences of paid work and care decisions made by women. Far less is known about the processes of decision-making and reasons underlying women’s choices. Investigation of what is most salient for women as they make decisions regarding engagement in paid work, and care for their child is important in order to inform policy and practices related to parental leave, family friendly employment and care for the child. This prospective longitudinal research was of 124 Australian expectant first-time mothers who completed questionnaires in their third trimester of pregnancy, and again at six and twelve months postpartum. First-time expectant mothers' decisions regarding engaging in paid work and selecting care for their child represent those of a group who are invested in motherhood and have usually had direct experience of engaging in paid work. They therefore provide an important insight into society’s idealised views about motherhood and the emotional and social uncertainty of making personal decisions where the consequences of such decisions are unknown. These decisions reflect public beliefs about the role of women in contributing to the country’s productivity and decisions about providing for the economic and emotional care needs of their family. As so little is known about the reasoning and processes of decision-making of women’s choices regarding paid work and care of the child this research was designed to capture expectant first-time mother’s preferred options for engaging in paid work and the care of their child, and investigate their actual decisions made at six and 12 months postpartum. To capture preferred options, decisions and outcomes of decisions regarding paid work and care of the child a prospective longitudinal research design was utilised. This design had three important components that addressed key limitations in the extant literature. First the research commenced in pregnancy in order to investigate preferences and beliefs about paid work and care and to examine baseline data that may influence decisions made as the women returned to paid work. Second the research involved longitudinal tracking from the antenatal time point to six and 12 months postpartum in order to identify the influences on decisions made. Third the research measured outcomes of the decisions made at each time point. This research examined the intentions, preferences, beliefs, influences, and outcomes of the decisions about engagement in paid work and choice of care. The analyses examined factors predicting return to paid work, the timing of return and extent of engagement in paid work; the care for the child; satisfaction with paid work; satisfaction with care for the child, motherhood and fulfilment; and maternal wellbeing at six and 12 months postpartum. The factors of interest were both rational/economic (availability and extent of paid and unpaid maternity leave; flexible work patterns) and emotional/affective (career satisfaction, investment in motherhood, and concern with quality of care for the child). Results indicated a group preference, and realisation for, return to paid work within the first year after the birth of a child but with reduction in hours to part-time. Most women saw paid work not only as a source of income but also as source of personal satisfaction. There were four key themes arising from this research. First, the women strived to feel emotionally secure when deciding about engaging in paid work and care of the child. To achieve emotional security women made their decisions for paid work and care of the child differently. A woman’s decision for maternal employment is a function of her personal beliefs, preferences and context regarding paid work and care of the child. She adjusts her established work identity with her new identity as a mother. The second key theme from this research is that the women made their decisions for maternal employment in response to their personal context and there were different levels of opportunities between the women’s choices. There is inequity of entitlement regarding work conditions associated with a woman’s education level. This has implications for the woman’s engagement in paid work, and her child’s health and wellbeing. The third key theme is that the quality of the child’s care mattered to the women in the research. They preferred care provided by parents and/or relatives more than any other types of care. The fourth key theme identified that satisfaction and wellbeing outcomes experienced as a result of maternal employment decisions were a complex interaction between multiple factors that change across time with the ongoing development of the mother’s identity, and the development of the child. The implications for policy within Australia are that the employment of mothers in the workforce necessitates that non-parental care becomes a public concern, where there is universal access to good quality affordable care for every child, not just for those who can afford it. This is equitable and represents real choice while supporting the rights of the child (Thorpe, Cloney & Tayler, 2010), protecting and promoting the public interest (Cleveland & Krashinsky, 2010). Children’s health and wellbeing will be supported (Moore & Oberklaid, 2010) while children are in non-parental care, and they will be exposed to environments and experiences that support their learning and development. The significant design of the research enabled the trajectories of first-time expectant women to be tracked from the antenatal point to 12 months postpartum. But there were limitations: the small sample size, the over-representation of the sample being highly educated and the nature of a longitudinal research that is set within the economic, social and political context at that time. These limitations are discussed in relation to suggestions for future research.

]]> Wendy Boyd Who wants to work in childcare? Pre-service early childhood teacher’s consideration of work in the child-care sector http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/19 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/19 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:42:35 PDT Australia is currently witnessing considerable change in conceptualisation of the role of child care. This is a response to the strong evidence from developmental science that demonstrates the lifelong impact of early experiences. The recent commitment made by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) (Communiqué, December 2009a) to improved qualifications and quality of those working in child care is a manifestation of this shift and highlights the importance of the childcare workforce. This study focused on the considerations of a third year cohort of B.Ed (EC) pre-service teachers (n = 55), about entering the childcare workforce. It examines their willingness to work in child care and identifies barriers and incentives for so doing. Our results indicate that, although attitudes to maternal work and child care were largely positive, few would prefer to work in child care under the current conditions. Key barriers were the pay and work conditions, particularly as they compare to other forms of potential employment. Incentives were the opportunity for leadership, creativity and a commitment to advocate for the rights of children. Those more willing to consider work in child care were distinguished from those less willing by altruism—foregoing personal gain to advocate for improved quality as a child’s right.

]]> Karen Thorpe et al. Preferences of first-time expectant mothers for care of their child: I wouldn’t leave them somewhere that made me feel insecure http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/17 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/17 Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:24:45 PDT Australia has witnessed a continual increase in maternal employment over the past two decades, which places focus on both supply of childcare and a demand for high-quality care. This study examined childcare preferences regarding the return to paid work of 124 Australian women who were expecting their first child. In contrast with most studies that have retrospective designs, the design of this study presents the perspectives of women prior to the birth of their first child – that is, before they have made a final decision about child care. This study found that the majority (78 per cent) of the women intended to re-commence work within the 12 months after the birth of their child. There were two factors that were the most salient features in their decision-making – the quality of care and the personal satisfaction of engaging in paid work. The findings suggest that family-friendly employment practices and access to secure, high-quality child care are the key to women’s secure participation in the paid workforce.

]]> Wendy Anne Boyd et al. Returning to work? Preferences and decisions of first-time mothers about engagement in paid work and care of their child http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/14 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/14 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:05:02 PDT This prospective longitudinal study investigates the preferences and decisions of first-time mothers about engagement in paid work and care of their child. The study tracks 124 mothers as they negotiate their preferred options through to their actual decisions about paid work and care in the first year of their child’s life. Such evidence provides better understanding of the influences on and processes of maternal decision-making regarding engagement in paid work and care of the child. A continual increase in maternal employment in countries with developed economies over the past three decades has focused attention on provision and quality of care for the child. The importance of care for the child is twofold: it enables participation of women in the workforce and provides early educational experiences for children. In a national economic environment where loss of women from the workforce represents loss of much-needed skill and productivity (OECD 2006) and loss of employment can result in personal poverty and family stress the maximisation of re-entry to the workforce following birth of a child is viewed positively. Yet the quality of child care has been reported as being an emotional barrier to women’s engagement in the work force (Bourke 2006; Harris 2008). Women’s attitude to employment, and work commitment are associated with their child care choices and are modified across the period of decision-making and early parenthood (Pungello and Kurtz-Costes 2000). To fully understand women’s child care needs and the association with re-entry to the workforce require empirical, longitudinal evidence of the on-going decision-making processes regarding engaging in paid work and care for the child. This paper presents a longitudinal study of Australian first-time mothers tracked from pregnancy across the first year of their child’s life as they negotiate decisions about employment re-entry and care of their child. A cohort of 124 Australian expectant first-time completed questionnaires in their third trimester of pregnancy, and at six and twelve months postpartum. The analyses examined factors predicting return to paid work (number of hours, timing of return to paid work; patterns of paid work, and satisfaction with paid work); and factors that predicted arrangements of care for the child. These factors included access to care for the child - including affordability, availability, proximity and flexibility of care; the quality of the care for the child as perceived by the mother and the characteristics of the child.

Data will be presented on the factors that predict first-time mothers’ decisions to engage in paid work and care of the child. The impacts of economic, cognitive and emotional factors on these decisions are analysed. The study informs policy on maternity leave provision, and the interaction of child care provision and the decision to re-enter the work-force.

]]> Wendy Anne Boyd et al. The impact and potential of water education in early childhood care and education settings (AWA Conference) http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/13 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/13 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:05:01 PDT With increasing numbers of children spending time in early childhood centres, there is a ready cohort of potential participants- children, carers, parents and other community members- who could be educated around sustainability issues. One of the most important sustainability issues in Australia is water consumption and water conservation, and many schools across Australia have been engaged in a wide range of water education and water conservation programs. Queensland University of Technology, in collaboration with ROUS Water, on the North Coast of NSW, engaged in pilot research to gather baseline data about water use in early childhood centres services; and to evaluate the impacts – environmental, economic, social, educational - of the current “Water Aware Centre” program.. This presentation reports on the findings of this study and makes recommendations for future practices and research.

This presentation comes from the work of Dr Julie Davis, Megan Gibson, Wendy Boyd, Hilary McLeod and Clevo Wilson from QUT in collaboration with Barbara Jensen, Rous Water.

]]> Wendy Anne Boyd et al. 'I wouldn’t leave them somewhere that made me feel insecure': Preferences of expectant first-time mothers for care of their child http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/12 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/12 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:05:00 PDT Australia, like other developed economies, has witnessed continual increase in maternal employment over the past two decades – 40% in 1983 to 53% in 2007. This trend has placed focus on both supply of child care1 and demand for quality care. This study examined preferences for care of the child among 124 Australian women expecting their first child. Expectant first-time mothers’ perspectives provide valuable insight into broader societal views. While focused on the forthcoming birth of their child, they have not had direct experience of engaging in paid work and utilising care for the child, and so develop their views vicariously. In Australia, statutory provision for maternity and parental leave is unpaid, market-led child care often inaccessible, and there exists populist views that child care can be harmful to the child and that children are best cared for by a single carer, their mother. This study found that, while the majority of women expected to re-commence work within 12 months postpartum, at a greatly reduced rate of employment, the personal qualities of engaging in paid work and the quality of care were deemed to be the most salient at this stage of motherhood in influencing intentions.

]]> Wendy Anne Boyd et al. The impact and potential of water education in early childhood care and education settings (NSW Environmental Educators Conference) http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/11 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/11 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:05:00 PDT With increasing numbers of children spending time in early childhood centres, there is a ready cohort of potential participants- children, carers, parents and other community members- who could be educated around sustainability issues. One of the most important sustainability issues in Australia is water consumption and water conservation, and many schools across Australia have been engaged in a wide range of water education and water conservation programs. Queensland University of Technology, in collaboration with ROUS Water, on the North Coast of NSW, engaged in pilot research to gather baseline data about water use in early childhood centres services; and to evaluate the impacts – environmental, economic, social, educational - of the current “Water Aware Centre” program.. This presentation reports on the findings of this study and makes recommendations for future practices and research. This presentation comes from the work of Dr Julie Davis, Megan Gibson, Wendy Boyd, Hilary McLeod and Clevo Wilson from QUT in collaboration with Barbara Jensen, Rous Water.

]]> Wendy Anne Boyd et al. Parents’ decisions regarding paid work and care of the child (Creche & Kindergarten Conference) http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/9 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/9 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:04:59 PDT Wendy Anne Boyd Re-thinking the management of community-based early childhood services http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/10 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/10 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:04:59 PDT Wendy Anne Boyd The impact and potential of water education in early childhood care and education settings (Early Childhood Australia Conference) http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/7 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/7 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:04:58 PDT Wendy Anne Boyd et al. Undergraduate early childhood education students and their talk about child care http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/8 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/8 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:04:58 PDT Joanne Ailwood et al. A report on the impact and potential of water education in early childhood care and education settings http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/6 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/6 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:04:57 PDT Julie Davis et al. Parents’ decisions regarding paid work and care of the child (Family Day Care Professional Development Conference) http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/5 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/5 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:04:57 PDT Wendy Anne Boyd Comparing early childhood education and care across Australia http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/3 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/3 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:04:56 PDT Wendy Anne Boyd et al. Supporting the caregivers of infants and toddlers http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/4 http://works.bepress.com/wendy_boyd/4 Thu, 28 May 2009 18:04:56 PDT Wendy Anne Boyd