Family Day Care Educators' Knowledge, Confidence and Skills in Promoting Children's Social and Emotional Wellbeing: Baseline Data from Thrive

Davis, Elise; Corr, Lara; Ummer-Christian, Rahila; Gilson, Kim-Michelle; Waters, Elizabeth; Mihalopoulos, Cathrine; Marshall, Bernie; Cook, Kay; Herrman, Helen; Mackinnon, Andrew; Harrison, Linda J.; Sims, Margaret

doi:10.1177/183693911403900309

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To be eligible for the study, centres had to provide care for a minimum of 15 preschool aged (3–5 years) children with the classification of day care program, as opposed to family day home or after school care program. A sample size of 100–200 participants was identified for phase 1 based on an anticipated response rates ranging from 40 to 80% [6, 24–26]. In phase 2, a convenience sample of ECEC centres, with the same criteria as described above were recruited from one large urban location for director participation and centre-based direct observation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating a healthy eating and active environment survey (CHEERS) for childcare: an inter-rater, intra-rater reliability and validity study

Lafave

2019

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe CHEERS is a self-administered tool to measure gaps, weaknesses, and strengths of an early childhood education and care (ECEC) centre-based nutrition and physical activity environment. ECEC settings have the potential to profoundly influence early dietary and physical activity behaviours. Content validation of the CHEERS tool has been previously reported. The purpose of this study was to develop reliability and validity evidence for the CHEERS audit tool and the proposed subscales of food served, healthy eating environment, program planning, and physical activity environment in ECEC centre-based programs.MethodsThis cross-sectional study consisted of 2 phases: Phase 1 included inter-, intra-rater and Cronbach’s α. A subset of this sample was invited to participate in a second survey (Trial 2) for intra-rater assessment within 3 weeks of completing the first survey (Trial 1). Phase 2 included concurrent validity assessment between a nutrition expert and the ECEC director using within a one-week period.ResultsOne hundred two directors and 85 educators (total of 187) returned the survey. Of these, there were 75 matched pairs for inter-rater reliability analysis providing a CHEERS ICC score of 0.59 and ICC scores ranging from 0.40 to 0.58 for the subscales. The ICC for intra-rater reliability of the CHEERS score was 0.81 for 40 participants completing the survey a second time and a range of 0.72 to 0.79 for the subscales. The CHEERS tool demonstrated very good internal consistency (α = 0.91) and α scores ranging from 0.73 to 0.79 for the subscales. In phase 2, concurrent validation was ICC = 0.65 (n = 30) CHEERS scores with a range of 0.42 to 0.69 for the subscales.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence of inter-, intra-rater reliability, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of an environmental assessment audit tool to assess the nutrition and physical activity environment of ECEC centre-based programs. The results demonstrate that the self-administered CHEERS instrument is stable overtime and between evaluators at the same ECEC centre. The scores obtained with CHEERS self-administered audit tool are reasonably accurate compared to an expert rater (dietitian) assessment. This study adds additional support to establishing the psychometric soundness of the CHEERS tool.Supplementary informationSupplementary information accompanies this paper at 10.1186/s12889-019-7719-8.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating a healthy eating and active environment survey (CHEERS) for childcare: an inter-rater, intra-rater reliability and validity study

Lafave

2019

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A number of studies (e.g., Davis, 2014;Desta, 2017;Isaksson et al, 2017) have investigated early childhood educators' mental health knowledge in specific countries around the world. Understanding early childhood educators' ability to identify and respond to mental health needs in early childhood is an essential step toward lessening the impact of untreated mental health needs among young children.…”

Section: Early Childhood Educator's Mental Health Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Educator Perspectives of Early Childhood Mental Health: A Qualitative Study in Colorado

Stein

Russell

2021

School Mental Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mental health problems in early childhood (e.g., depression, anxiety) have a similar prevalence as for older individuals, with 10-15% of preschoolers meeting criteria for clinical diagnosis. Research has shown that intervention to support mental health in early childhood is important to mitigate later problems. However, early intervention is predicated on early identification; by the time young children encounter specialists (e.g., psychologists), problems are often severe. Early childhood educators have the potential to identify mental health concerns in young children. Yet, little is known about early childhood educators' understanding of early childhood mental health, necessitating pilot research. The present study used focus groups to better understand early educator's perceptions of young children's mental health. Participants identified four primary themes that guide their understanding: causes of mental health problems, observable signs of mental health problems, knowledge of mental health supports, and barriers to mental health supports. Implications and suggested future directions are also explored.

show abstract

“…Furthermore, sufficient resources (child wellbeing plans, decision making plans and information) and confidence are both key to FDC educators' propensity for help-seeking. Davis et al (2014) found that FDC educators with concerns about a child's wellbeing would wait until the situation became more serious before seeking support, fearing they did not have the confidence or the resources to handle it appropriately. Building the confidence of FDC educators and equipping them with appropriate resources can thus help them to support children early on before their situation progresses to crisis point.…”

Section: Supporting Children's Mental Health and Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian family day care educators’ experiences of supporting children’s mental health, and their own mental health and wellbeing

McGuffog

Fitzgeraldson

Lyford

et al. 2021

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This mixed-methods study explored (1) family day care (FDC) educators’ confidence and capability to support children’s mental health, and (2) assessed their own mental health and wellbeing. Descriptive analysis of the survey ( n = 144) highlighted that most participants were in the normal range for mental health and wellbeing; however, identifying mental ill-health in children, access to resources and awareness of support services were areas where participants were less likely to feel confident or capable. In the interviews ( n = 14), three themes were identified in the interviews for the first research question (including the central role of the FDC educator, lack of training and resources and limited professional support) and three themes were identified for the second research question (the importance of mental health for educators, being a small business owner and connecting with other educators). The results highlighted a need for additional support and resources for educators specifically targeting the mental health and wellbeing of children.

show abstract

Family Day Care Educators' Knowledge, Confidence and Skills in Promoting Children's Social and Emotional Wellbeing: Baseline Data from Thrive

Cited by 6 publications

References 12 publications

Creating a healthy eating and active environment survey (CHEERS) for childcare: an inter-rater, intra-rater reliability and validity study

Creating a healthy eating and active environment survey (CHEERS) for childcare: an inter-rater, intra-rater reliability and validity study

Educator Perspectives of Early Childhood Mental Health: A Qualitative Study in Colorado

Australian family day care educators’ experiences of supporting children’s mental health, and their own mental health and wellbeing

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About