Author: Andre Coleman

Child development is multidimensional; the dimensions consist of social, emotional, cognitive and motor performance as well as patterns of behaviour, health and nutrition. Also the early years of life are essential as the foundation to later development, these factors can have a significant impact to a child or children’s life, these consist of under nutrition, poor health and parenting this also affects a broad range of outcomes such as cognitive, motor, psychosocial and effective development. For example a child is naturally motivated to explore and to attempt to master their environment but with poor health, poor nutrition and non- optical parents the child motivation tends to be less developed. Another critical element is to understand and support the child’s affective development which will help the child assemble a sense of self, to help them in learning how to deal with their emotions.

Philippe Rochat (2004) has suggested that children’s awareness of their own thoughts, beliefs and personalities emerges from their recognition of the differentness of other people’s thought beliefs and personalities.

Emotions are feelings such as love, happiness worry, sorrow, excitement, shyness, pride, anger, frustration and jealousy. Young children show all these emotional development and the child’s inborn temperament depends on the genes the child inherits. Each child varies in strength of their emotions for example some children will be more excitable while others will be considerably shy. A child often has phrases of shyness for no apparent reason and has the child reaches the age of 6 months old the child will still be friendly with strangers but will sometimes display signs of shyness. Even when a child is older like Tamas the child may become silent and shy in the company of people they do not know. Tamas lacks love and security from his family, because his mom and dad are working to support their family which results in little contact with them. Has Tamas suffers learning disabilities he does not understand what is happening has he probably has not reached the stage in emotional development which helps him to control and express his feeling. Tamas may react by showing signs of distress such as temper tantrums, jealousy and elective mute.

Bronfenbrenner states that the most important setting for a young child is his family, because that is where he spends the most time and because it has the most emotional influence on him. Other important setting may include his extended family, early care and education programmes, health care setting and other community learning sites such as neighbourhoods, libraries and playgrounds (Adapted from Bronfenbrenner, 1998, p.996). Also Bronfenbrenner states that a model of ecology of human development acknowledges that human do not develop in isolation, but in relation to their families and home, school, community and society (Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model of Child Development)

The mind is the thinking part of the brain which is used to recognise, reasoning, knowing, and understanding. This is known has the intellectual development (mental development; cognitive development). A child mind is active from the moment they are born and day by day the child mind develops and they become more intelligent. A child’s intelligence will depend on two main factors which are genes and the environment. Genes controls the amount of natural intelligence a child has and the environment influences the intelligence of a child. Throughout childhood, the genes and environment continuously interact to produce people’s mind. People’s minds develop in a variety of ways for example; a child will vary in their ability to remember, also some will acquire musical talents, skills of different languages or be a mathematical genius. Tamas who is five has a multiple of conditions which could slow down the process of brain development. Has Tamas lacks the opportunity to play and interact with other children this will hinder his development of interacting with other and knowing how to communicate effectively. Also has Tamas does not get the help required in school with his learning difficulties this will also effect and slow down the process of is development. Another factor which will slow his process down is, his mom’s constant shouting has there are six people living in a small flat. Tamas also haves to deal with language barriers which will also affect his development.

Bronfenbrenner theory is if a child is encourage and nurtured more at home and school the better he would grow and develop. Bowlby states that early experiences in childhood have an important influence on development and behaviour later on in life. Our early attachment styles are established in childhood through infant / caregiver relationship. Bowlby believes that there are four distinguishing characteristics of attachment; the four attachments are Proximity Maintenance, Safe Haven, Secure Base and Separation Distress. (psychology.about.com 2009)

Social development is a process of learning the skills and attitudes which enable the individual to live easily with others and the community. Activities which encourage social development are family outings, parent and toddler groups, playground and nursery school and an opportunity to play with friends. Children are happier and healthier if they get on well with the people around them. Children are not born with knowledge of these social skills they have to learn them and their parents needs to teach them otherwise how they will learn. Now that Tamas is five, his social skills should be where he can co-operate with his companions and understand the needs for rules and play. Tamas has insufficient social contact where there are not enough people and friends to talk and play with, thus resulting in him feeling lonely and refusing to go to school. Although there is a playground nearby where he could learn some of the social skills required his parents do not always have the time to take him due to work commitments.

At birth your baby’s senses tell him / her things they need in order to survive, for example: crying when they want to be fed, changed or sleep. These senses unfold slowly but perceptibly, and soon you realise that the baby is seeing and hearing more clearly has his / her head turns when they hear sounds. Young babies are far more aware of their surroundings than was once thought; from the day they are born they use their senses to develop awareness and understanding of the world around them. Young babies are aware of their environment in the forms of light, sound, touch and smell and they can learn by looking, listening, feeling and smelling. They are more likely to be kept alert and happy if you incorporate a changing pattern of stimulation, for baby’s repetition of the same sound and movement will often send them asleep.

There are many risk factors that can hinder a child development these factors are biological, such as genetics or chromosomal, secondly, environmental, for example violence in the home or the neighbourhood, and lastly an interaction between the two, such as stress. This can reflect the differences between how a child will react in their ‘vulnerability’ to harm or ‘resilience’ where they will overcome any difficulties they are faced with such has negative circumstances. Each individual child react in different ways to parallel environmental circumstances, For example, two children can experience the same event and interpret it differently. Some children tend to create their own experiences and contribute to the direction of their own development. (J, Empson Pg 39-40 2009)

In conclusion children between the ages of 0 – 5 years show continuing development from simple to more complicated forms of social play. Most children pass through stages of solitary play which is when they play alone then go onto parallel play where they play alongside others but not with them, also looking on play where they watch from the edge of the group when other children play. Has a child becomes more mature they start to joining – in play where they will interact and play with others for example running around together and the last stage is co – operative play where they belong to a group and share the same task by doing jigsaw, cooking and drawing.

Also deprivation can effect education has the child’s parents cannot afford educational toys. Growing up in poverty is as much has a risk has growing up in wealth to the emotional side of a child has the rich and famous children can have many emotional disorders has a child that has been brought up in poverty. If you take the film that come out many years ago called Twins with Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger where they was separated at birth and one child (Devito) was brought up in a orphanage and poverty while the other (Schwarzenegger) child was brought up in wealth and was taught a very high standard of education. Has they came from two different background and upbringing the brotherly love and compassion for each other faded their past irrelevant. The emotions and poverty Devito suffered all his life started to prevail has he was taught how to be good.

The purpose of this assignment is to give an observation of an inclusive environment that helps children feel welcome and safe. At the same time this assignment gives an opinion on how to improve the child care settings to help children feel more comfortable. The children at the child care centre are three and three and a half years old and it may be hard for children to leave their parents at that age. The setting helps the children feel at home when they come in to the child care centre. In the child care centre there are six areas where the children have the opportunity to play in, such as the block area where all the children’s toys are. The areas have different materials that are available for the children to use in order to develop and introduce the children to different experiences such as in the book area. There are books that have pictures of different animals and this will help the children identify different animals and even spark their interest later on in the day.

Schedule

Is there outdoor time schedule (or gym time for bad weather?)

In the child care centre, the schedule reflects each child’s needs. The children are restless and they need the time to have fresh air and physical activity. For example, the children have outdoor play twice a day and gym time when the weather is not suitable. The children have at least 2 hours of outdoor play in a day. There is a playground for the children where they can go on the slides, play in the sandbox and there are toys to play with outside. In the gym, there are scooters, mini cars and a smaller playground to play in. The gym has many materials for the children to choose from if they do not want to play with the scooters or the mini cars. There are other options for the children to choose from such as costumes and baby dolls with strollers.

Is the schedule explained in enough detail that you can understand what children are expected to do during this time period?

“Schedules are typically posted so that children, families and volunteers can anticipate the next event. For younger children the schedule is often displayed in picture form” (P.55)

In the child care centre, there are two schedules in the classroom. The schedule provided for the adults gives specific times such as when it is time for the children to play, eat lunch, snack and go to the washroom. For the children, the schedule is placed at eye level where they can see and it will show the time for their play, snack and lunch but with pictures for the children to understand the schedule.

1b. Describe any changes, suggestions you would recommend to make the schedule in the environment meet the criteria in the environmental assessment tool.

Bullard (2011), states that “Children should not be required to lie on their mats for long periods of time (more than half an hour) when they are not asleep” (p. 63). During rest time, some children are unable to sleep for a longer than thirty minutes. In my placement, some children move from their mats, or play with their blankets. To improve this transition I would have the children who are unable to sleep get together and go to the gym and play until they are tired, so that when they come back to the classroom the children are more likely to fall asleep.

Transitions

Are children given advance notice that an activity is changing?

“Giving a warning demonstrates that we have respect for children and their work. The time between the warning and the transition allows children to bring closure to the task they are engaged in and to begin planning for the next event” (Bullard 2010 P.61).

After the morning snack, the children are playing in the block area for at least an hour, before recall. This is from 8:30 to 9:30, before 9:30 the teacher will say “Okay, guys, five more minutes.” When the five minutes past the teacher will look at the clock and tell the children, “okay, everyone, two more minutes.” This gives the children an advance notice for the children so they do not feel rushed when the clock shows 9:30. When play time is over the children are more likely to clean up their material and wait for the next event on the schedule.

2b) Describe any changes, suggestions you would recommend to the transitions to meet the criteria in the environmental assessment tool.

“In addition to wasting valuable time and increasing the likelihood of behaviour problems, requiring children to wait with nothing to do is disrespectful” (Bullard 2010 P. 60). In my placement, lunch time has the most waiting time. Sometimes the children will misbehave because they have nothing to do while lunch is being served. The recommendation I would make in order to make this transition easier for the children and the teacher is singing a song as this will help take their minds off of waiting for their food to arrive and singing is one the best way to keep a child entertained.

A) Block Area

B) In the block area there are many materials used by the children every day. The materials vary from dolls, building blocks and construction tools. The learning experiences in the block area help children express how they feel using the materials in front of them. For example, when a child is expressing that they are sad, they might isolate themselves and use the dolls to take their minds off of what they were upset about. The block area also encourages children to cooperate and learn how to share because of the amount of toys that are available in the learning centre.

C) Are there materials that reflect the lives of children with disabilities?

Yes, in the child care centre the block area has dolls with many disabilities to give children exposure to people with special needs. They have dolls from all different backgrounds that have disabilities such as a child in a wheelchair or an elderly person holding a cane. This helps children learn that people can be different and includes every child in the classroom. In my placement there is a child who has a mental disability that is unable to move and he is bound to a wheelchair. Having these dolls in the classroom help include him and show the children that he is not different from the other children.

Are the shelves labeled so that children can easily find items and know where to put them away?

“Appropriate storage can help reduce clutter, saves time and make materials accessible, enhance the rotation of toys and equipment, and maximize the use of resource” (Bullard, 2010 P. 99).

Yes, in the child care centre the block area has many shelves that are labeled with words and pictures. This will help the children organize where they should put the material when it is time to transition to a new event. The shelves are child accessible that they are at their level to reach for the materials and it is very organized so that each child can find what they want without any assistance.

D) In the block area, I feel that the spacing is not inclusive for all children. There is little space for a child in a wheelchair to be included within the block area with the other children. This is not responsive or inclusive because the child with special needs is left out from the activities that the children are participating in. This can cause a problem when he wants to be able to see the other children play. Also the parents and teachers are unable to move in the block area because of the amount of children playing and the toys in the room. This is difficult for when the parents want to be involved with the child’s play.

E) The recommendation I would make in order for the block area to be more inclusive is to arrange the room for more space to include staff and parents. In my placement, I noticed that the amount of children and toys that are placed in the block area does not give a lot of room for the teachers to move around or parents to see what their child is doing. If there was more space, there would be more room for children, parents and staff to be side by side and interact with each other. Another reason more room is important is because the child who is in the wheelchair is unable to join the children in the block area due to lack of space. If they expand the block area the child would be able to be included in the activities with the other children. I would push the shelves back more to give space for all the children and give room for the child with the disability to be able to move inside the block area.

F) Is the environment homelike?

The environment in the block area is somewhat homelike because there are pictures of the families of each child on the wall and there are living things such as plants. The child care centre provides the pictures for the children so that when they miss their parents they are able to look at the pictures in the block area. The child care centre also allows the children to grow their own plants at the centre. This teaches the children about growing plants and gives the environment a homelike feel.

Are there pale and neutral colours used for most walls and shelving?

Yes, the walls in the centre are painted white and the shelves are a natural wood colour. This is important because bright colours cause too much stimulation, especially when the toys and the pictures on the wall should be the main attraction. Neutral colours allow the emphasis to be on the toys and materials in the classroom.

G) In part F), I mentioned that the environment of the block area is somewhat homelike in the child care centre. This is because there is no space for the children to find a quiet spot for their own purposes. According to Bullard (2010), “Solidary retreats provide children the opportunity to think and dream, engage in uninterrupted concentration, regain control of emotion and unwind after intense periods of interaction.” (P. 92). I would have a space outside of the block area for the child if he/ she wants to be alone, then they can leave the block area and sit in the space so that they are able to find their peace of mind.

Conclusion

The environment of the child care centre is homelike for children and helps the children feel comfortable in the room. The transitions between play time and recall help each child get used to the schedule. The teacher is there to assist the children through the transition through early warnings so that the children do not feel rushed when they have to clean up their materials. From my observation, the block area in the child care centre was inclusive. However, there are some recommendations that should be addressed in order to help each child feel more included and reducing the waiting time when transitioning to a new event. The recommendations I made were that they should sing songs during lunch time, expand the block area more to include a child with special needs and find a space for each child in the centre to be alone if they want to. All in all, the centre’s environment has met with each child’s needs in terms of helping them transition from different activities and make them feel comfortable in the classroom.

Home, is a place where we can relax and be our self. We do not need to pretend. While, by having a good relationship between family members is good for the development of children. It is an important role for a family.

An important study found that children of working parents did better when:

Mothers were warm and responsive with children

Child care was stable and of high quality

Children spent fewer hours in child care

Faughn.P (2006, jun 1). Working parents with young children: What’s Important? Message posted to http://parenting247.org/article.cfm?ContentID=1121&strategy=4&AgeGroup=1

Parents are the good models of constructive social and educational values. This may strongly affect children’s level of attainment. A good role model with a better relationship with children may increases the level of attainment of children.

By contributing a good relationship with children, young parents shall contact school’s management to get the news update from them. Moreover, by involving themselves in school activities may construct a better relationship with children. Time spent with children must be constant.

A research shows that playtime with parents is also important.

Children crave time with parents. It makes them feel special. Parents are encouraged to find time to spend playing with their kids on a regular basis. This should include one to one with each child and group time with all of the adults and kids in the home. If you are a single parent or have an only child, occasionally invite family or friends over to play.

In pretend play, let the child develop the theme. Get into their world. Let them go with it. Ask questions. Play along. Be silly along with them and have fun. Avoid over-stimulation. Know when it is time to stop.

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/pl5.shtml

Spending time with children helps young parents to know their children better. Hence, a bond will last for a lifetime. Moreover, children will realize that they are being concerned, loved and appreciated. Therefore, children will share their feelings with parents once they are confronted with temptations and difficulties.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of young Malaysian married couples moved out of their parents’ home after marriage. They set up their own household today. They have to manage their lives and families without anyone’s supports. They need to earn as much as they can to raise their children and fulfill family’s needs.

Young parents, whom are busy with their own work, will not have much time to accompany their children after a tiring day. Time spent with children decreased. This may lead to lack of communication between young parents and their children.

Most young parents thought of earning as much as they can, may have a better life for their children and fulfill their needs easily. Therefore, instead of spending time to understand them, they work as much as they can every single day.

This may lead to many pressures and problems among family members. For example, young parents may feel desperate, frustrated or even embarrass when there is some misunderstanding among themselves. Hence, argument might occur.

Children might be left out since young parents do not care for them. Hence to get more attention from parents, children will try to behave like a gangster or fight at school and academic performance will getting worst.

According to this report, culture and ethnicity, levels of human and material resources available within families, home language, family structure and changes in family type are linked to children’s achievement. (Fred, Jeanne,& Chris, 2003)

It is a hoped that this research would be beneficial to those who may concern, especially young parents who are busy with their carrier. Lack of communication among family members would lead to many disadvantages. Therefore, parents should have more interaction with their children to build a stronger relationship within family members.

This research benefits the community as well. This is because all these young generations are those who might lead the nation in the future.

Problem Statement:

As Malaysia is a developing country, why do lack of communication among young parents and children affect their achievement in school?

Research Questions:

RQ1: What are the factors of communication lacking among young parents and their children?

RQ2: What is the implication of communication lacking among young parents and their children?

RQ3: How to overcome this problem?

Research Objectives:

RO1: to determine what drives lack of communication among young parents and their children.

RO2: to determine the aftermath of communication lacking.

RO3: to find out the way to solve this problem.

Methodology:

Population (N) – who : (i) young parents (ii) children

Sample (n) – where : (i) office which located at KL (ii) primary schools in KL

Definition :

Main concepts

(i)Young parents

(ii)children

(iii)Lack of communication

Conceptual definition

Working young parents

Schooling children

Operational definition

Busy with their carrier.

7 – 12 years old

Instruments:

Quantitative method will be use in the research while the instruments in this research are a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be divide into four sections which is Section A, B, C and D. Section A includes questions on the demographic profile, Section B is the factors of communication lacking among young parents and their children, whereas Section C and Section D will be the implication of communication lacking among young parents and their children and ways to solve this respectively.

Home, is a place where we can relax and be our self. We do not need to pretend. While, by having a good relationship between family members is good for the development of children. It is an important role for a family.

An important study found that children of working parents did better when:

Mothers were warm and responsive with children

Child care was stable and of high quality

Children spent fewer hours in child care

Faughn.P (2006, jun 1). Working parents with young children: What’s Important? Message posted to http://parenting247.org/article.cfm?ContentID=1121&strategy=4&AgeGroup=1

Parents are the good models of constructive social and educational values. This may strongly affect children’s level of attainment. A good role model with a better relationship with children may increases the level of attainment of children.

By contributing a good relationship with children, young parents shall contact school’s management to get the news update from them. Moreover, by involving themselves in school activities may construct a better relationship with children. Time spent with children must be constant.

A research shows that playtime with parents is also important.

Children crave time with parents. It makes them feel special. Parents are encouraged to find time to spend playing with their kids on a regular basis. This should include one to one with each child and group time with all of the adults and kids in the home. If you are a single parent or have an only child, occasionally invite family or friends over to play.

In pretend play, let the child develop the theme. Get into their world. Let them go with it. Ask questions. Play along. Be silly along with them and have fun. Avoid over-stimulation. Know when it is time to stop.

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/pl5.shtml

Spending time with children helps young parents to know their children better. Hence, a bond will last for a lifetime. Moreover, children will realize that they are being concerned, loved and appreciated. Therefore, children will share their feelings with parents once they are confronted with temptations and difficulties.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of young Malaysian married couples moved out of their parents’ home after marriage. They set up their own household today. They have to manage their lives and families without anyone’s supports. They need to earn as much as they can to raise their children and fulfill family’s needs.

Young parents, whom are busy with their own work, will not have much time to accompany their children after a tiring day. Time spent with children decreased. This may lead to lack of communication between young parents and their children.

Most young parents thought of earning as much as they can, may have a better life for their children and fulfill their needs easily. Therefore, instead of spending time to understand them, they work as much as they can every single day.

This may lead to many pressures and problems among family members. For example, young parents may feel desperate, frustrated or even embarrass when there is some misunderstanding among themselves. Hence, argument might occur.

Children might be left out since young parents do not care for them. Hence to get more attention from parents, children will try to behave like a gangster or fight at school and academic performance will getting worst.

According to this report, culture and ethnicity, levels of human and material resources available within families, home language, family structure and changes in family type are linked to children’s achievement. (Fred, Jeanne,& Chris, 2003)

It is a hoped that this research would be beneficial to those who may concern, especially young parents who are busy with their carrier. Lack of communication among family members would lead to many disadvantages. Therefore, parents should have more interaction with their children to build a stronger relationship within family members.

This research benefits the community as well. This is because all these young generations are those who might lead the nation in the future.

Problem Statement:

As Malaysia is a developing country, why do lack of communication among young parents and children affect their achievement in school?

Research Questions:

RQ1: What are the factors of communication lacking among young parents and their children?

RQ2: What is the implication of communication lacking among young parents and their children?

RQ3: How to overcome this problem?

Research Objectives:

RO1: to determine what drives lack of communication among young parents and their children.

RO2: to determine the aftermath of communication lacking.

RO3: to find out the way to solve this problem.

Methodology:

Population (N) – who : (i) young parents (ii) children

Sample (n) – where : (i) office which located at KL (ii) primary schools in KL

Definition :

Main concepts

(i)Young parents

(ii)children

(iii)Lack of communication

Conceptual definition

Working young parents

Schooling children

Operational definition

Busy with their carrier.

7 – 12 years old

Instruments:

Quantitative method will be use in the research while the instruments in this research are a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be divide into four sections which is Section A, B, C and D. Section A includes questions on the demographic profile, Section B is the factors of communication lacking among young parents and their children, whereas Section C and Section D will be the implication of communication lacking among young parents and their children and ways to solve this respectively.

There are several key emotional factors that play a role in how a child feels throughout the entire process of their parents’ divorce and after the divorce has been finalized. The effect of some emotional issues may not arise until way after the divorce takes place. The following aspects often determine how divorce affects a child: age, gender, the relationship with the parents, and the maturity level of the child. Because of the amount of children who experience their parents’ divorce and the possibility that an equally high number of children will suffer same agony in the future, it’s important to understand the impact of divorce on children’s adjustment (Landucci, 16).

Divorce is an unbearable occurrence for practically all children. The children’s initial reactions may include guilt, anger, and depression (Kaplan, 244). According to Smith children tend to hide their feelings of sadness and anxiety and have difficulty expressing their true feelings (55). They may also show changes in behavior such as fear, regression, sleep disturbances and grief for the other parent, which may cause them to respond with aggression or rebellion. VanderValk, Spruijt, Goede, Maas & Meeus, suggested that problem behavior following parental separation is a warning sign that the child is having trouble adjusting to the situation (534). The children might become disruptive, disobedient, and disregard their parent requirements as a way of displaying frustration about the upcoming divorce (Landucci, 16).

The relationship between parent and child may also change during the initial stage of divorce according to Wallerstein (410). The broken connection following the divorce causes the children to make immediate emotional and behavioral changes (410). Consequently, that broken connection changes the family dynamics as well. For example, the parent with primary custody may become stricter and more controlling while the absent parent becomes more lenient and sympathetic, perhaps because they are less accessible to the children. Both parents become inconsistent in their discipline routines and stop requiring their children to mature and grow up, which in turn causes them to have difficulty communicating with the children (Kaplan, 244).

Once children go through the first stage of divorce, some show a significant capability to improve, whereas others do not. How fast children adjust to their parents’ divorce in the beginning depends on if a secure atmosphere is set up and on the support system accessible to the child. According to the USA Today, “It is best to keep kids in the same house and school so they can retain the same friends, the same routines, and have some sense of stability in their lives” (8) at this unstable time immediately following the split. Unfortunately, sometimes a secure atmosphere and support system is not available. Parents are at a loss and have to change their own lives. Family members are often critical, which may change their relationship with both the children and the parents. The children’s relationships with friends may also be affected because some feel embarrassed about what is taking place in their family. Friends of the family may feel obligated to take sides and only continue interaction with only one parent. Consequently, the main support systems are decreased at a time when increased support is very important (Kaplan, 245).

Several of the early reactions to divorce eventually become less difficult or go away by the end of the first year to 18 months. However, the long term effects of divorce on children can be severe. In a study conducted by Kelly and Wallerstein, on children whose parents divorced during their middle school years, children were divided into two groups: early latency (7 and 8 years old) and late latency (9 and 10 years old). The participants in the study were examined immediately after the separation, 12-18 months later, and during a follow up interview one year later. The results revealed that the 7 and 8 year olds were sad, while the 9 and 10 year olds demonstrated symptoms of denial and avoidance. Both groups of children showed increased demanding and aggressive behavior because most of their mothers lacked disciplinary knowledge. At the follow-up interviews one year later all but 4 of the children who had suffered academically hadn’t returned to their previous levels (25).

Ten years later, Wallerstein continued to follow the children in the study above. In this study she found that the majority of the older children acknowledged feelings of neediness, sadness and a greater sense of vulnerability. Although it had been 10 years since the divorce, the children were still sad about losing their two parent family and the lack of contact they had with their other parent. They feared being deceived in relationships and were very worried about personal responsibilities. One fourth of the girls and half of the boys were considered poorly adjusted and at high risk (205).

How severe the long term effects of divorce will be on children depend on many factors following the divorce. In fact, the anxiety and stress after the divorce has more impact on the children’s mental health than the divorce itself. According to Kaplan, the children suffer profoundly if the parents continue to fight because they have difficulty coping with the stress of the break up when there is a lot of conflict between parents. If parental conflict and financial problems are reduced and if social support systems are in place, children’s adjustment problems are less severe (246). “Unfortunately, parents’ difficulties involving finances, loneliness, fear, anxiety about the future, and the loss of social supports reduce their ability to give the children what they need to soften the blow of divorce” (Kaplan 245).

Children may cope with divorce in different ways; however, their reaction to divorce differs by age, gender, and maturity level. According to Smith one-third of divorces happen when children are under the age of five. This age group has the most difficulty expressing their feelings because they are so young (65). Therefore, babies may not understand that their parents are divorcing, but they may respond to their parent’s attitude and behavior changes. Preschoolers often have a negative reaction. According to Wallerstein et al., they are too young to understand what is going on; therefore, they may blame themselves for the divorce. They may also regress; have separation anxiety, and fear being abandoned.

School age children feel helpless and scared when their parents’ divorce. They frequently experience loyalty problems because they feel like they have to choose between their parents (199). According to Wallerstein et al., Approximately half of the children in this age group had severe drops in academic achievements during the first year of their parents’ divorce. This age group is also often angry at one or both parents. Teenagers tend to have difficulty coping with anger when their parents’ divorce (200). According to Smith, teenagers are vulnerable because they are starting to get an understanding of the adult world and sometimes are conflicted in how they should show their emotions (60). They often show signs of depression, acting out, emotional and social withdrawal, and have anxiety about their future (Kaplan, 245). They may also feel unloved, insufficient, ineffective, and attacked as a result of the divorce (Smith, 60).

The effect of divorce tends to be greater for boys than it is for girls. Boys are much more likely to experience academic, social, and psychological problem than girls. According to VanderValk et al., boys tend to act out their emotions through externalized problem behavior while girls tend to internalize their emotions. Girls raised by their father tend to be less responsible and less mature than girls raised by their mothers. On the other hand, psychologists believe fathers have an effect on their daughters’ development. Girls raised by their mothers tend to have difficulty relating to men later on. Girls with divorced parents are also more flirtatious, sexually precocious, and seductive. (Kaplan, 245).

Almost one in three children will undergo the pain of their parents divorcing. Therefore it’s beneficial to know how divorce affects children. Even through numerous children change from a two parent home to a one parent home with ease some face challenges as they make the transition into this new type of family. The less pain and stress there is in the home, the simpler the transition will be for the child. It is valuable to let children talk about what they are feeling so that they won’t develop behaviors that will affect them later in life. It is also valuable for parents to help their children develop coping skills to deal with their feeling regarding the divorce to guarantee that they develop strategies to help them grow personally, psychologically, and socially (Landucci, 20).

In conclusion, children first reaction to divorce can include a variety of emotions and behaviors. They usually recover from the immediate devastation of their intact family ending after a year or so; however, the long term effects of divorce can be severe if parents continue to fight and have no support system to support them transitioning into their new life. The use of divorce mediation services can ease some of the stress (Kaplan, 260).

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated there were over 9.6 million refugees living worldwide in 2003. That same year the Global IDP estimated that nearly 25 million people were internally displaced in approximately 50 countries. Most of these individuals were children, forced to live for months, sometimes years, in camps. [1] According to Grace Michel over 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict. At least 6 million children have been permanently disabled or seriously injured, and more than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families. [2] . Although numbers are difficult to verifade because of the ‘illegality’ of much of the cross-border movement of children, as well as lack reliable registration system of refugee children. These figures only account for those who are caught and repatriated but the majority of children go undetected. In addition many countries are unwilling to accept the scale and nature of the problem. Refugee children And yet despite importance of the refugee children situation only in 1993 UNHCR introduce Guidkine on protection and care refugee children In order to improve and enhance the protection and care of refugee children, UNHCR has adopted a Policy on Refugee Children, endorsed by the UNHCR Executive Committee in October 1993. The UNHCR Guidelines on Refugee Children, first published in 1988, have been updated in the light of the new Policy and are presented in this document. At their core lays the realization of the need which children

Refugee children definitely face dangers to their safety and well being than the average child. The brutal interruption of they family life and disruption of community structures by the conflict or natural disaster can deeply affect the physical and psychological well being. Children must also cope with the trauma of loss -of their family members, schools, neighborhoods and communities. In addition, millions of children have been forced to witness or even take part in horrifying acts of violence Sexual abuse and violence is another experience of many refugee children. Children are dependent on adults help, international organization and host countries generosity. Refugee children need to be providing with the basic needs like the nutrition, water and sanitation, suitable shelter and health care including health education. Also for many refugee children the basic need is accessing education to provide better future job opportunities. Many children especially on a first instance need food and urgent shelter, sleeping outdoors exposed to higher risks of contracting malaria or infections, not to mention the feeling of safety. They need safeguard against economic exploitation as they often are forced to work in fields belonging to host communities in exchange for food or low pay. Refugee children need a governments protection against ethnic and religion discrimination from host countries population and protection against sexual violence, especially refugee ophrense. . Finally

Children need to help with tracking separated family.

“A number of children called for the authorities to stop abusing, imprisoning and repatriating them to their home countries, while others said they should be entitled to free education in the host countries.”

Southern Africa Child migrants tell all 29 April 2008 Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), Southern Africa Child migrants tell all, 29 April 2008, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/48200579b.html [accessed 3 December 2009]

Health SUMMARY OF
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES TO

PROTECT CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT Internet: http://www.unicef.org United Nations Children’s Fund

UNICEF House, OPSCEN

Health is the basic need very important aspect of refuge children well-being. First instance is to secure for refugee children to basic needs like access to clean water, nutrition, sufficient shelter, and access to medical services including hospitals and psychological and professional therapy assistance.

I terms of water and shelter important is to organize a safety zone where children can fell comfortable and have access to food and clean water any time of the day and night. The emergency hospitals should provide necessary help in terms illness and injury and technical assistance for expectant mothers and maternity cases, and nursing mothers. More difficult cases should be direct to local hospitals. Good step in prevention of diesis, HIV/Aids spreads among children is health education. As well develop preventive health care and abolish harmful traditional practices, especial toward young girls comment among Africans tribes.

The disruption and insecurity in refugee situations can harm children’s physical, intellectual, psychological, cultural and social development. In addition, children suffer or witness the torture or murder of family members or other forms of abuse or violence. Unaccompanied children are particularly vulnerable.

First and foremost, the emotional well-being of children is influenced by the protection and care they receive from their families and communities. Adults often suffer greatly in refugee situations; this can

Influence their ability to provide for their children. Sometimes parental distress results in child abuse, abandonment, family strife and other forms of family disintegration.

During refugee situations, children face greater risks to their psychological development. Hardships in refugee situations are chronic. Children may be living in constant fear or anxiety; parents may be too stressed or traumatized to give good care; children may suffer from malnutrition and illness. Children are affected not only by what happens to them, but by what they are deprived of, for example missing out on developmental essentials such as play and school.

Children need more than services which are directed just to them. Preschool play groups, for example, serve an important purpose, but if a parent cannot meet the child’s emotional needs because the parent is too physically weak or emotionally stressed, then the child’s greater developmental need is for the parent to receive help.

First objective must be to restore normalcy, that is, to help the family function as normally as possible ensure existing a daily routine which increase they security and feeing of prediction. When life becomes stable, when they can rely on good things happening on a predictable basis, such as eating, going to school, playing, the sense of normalcy gives psychological security. Important from point of psychosocial well-being of refugee children is long assistance with information regarding they situation, rights and responsibilities as well as future possibilities.

Education is a basic service which should be provide to all children, including refugee children. Unfortunately this service is less reachable for them despite fact that many young people believe that education is essential to their survival, protection and full recovery from their experience of armed conflict and disasters. They see in education the answers to their need for self-respect, economic and job opportunity and the voice in society. Education also represents an essential condition to peace and security of community and family. Yet, despite of central role in their lives, refugee children find quite often difficultly to access education. While the primary school education is more accusable for children, younger people find more difficult to get into higher education The major barriers to enter education can lay in sort of obstacles like is high cost of attending school and transportation problems, language and custom barriers, especially for girls. For example in Uganda, although Universal Primary Education was instituted for all children including refugee, costs for materials and uniforms remained out of reach for most young people in the war-torn north. Non-tuition costs for primary school in northern Uganda averaged $120 per year, and secondary school costs were about $350 per year in a country where the estimated annual per capita income was $140 in 2001

Competing responsibilities are next major obstacles to enroll education. Teen parents, heads of households and orphans have particular difficulties obtaining education because, in addition to caring for themselves, they had the added responsibilities of caring for younger siblings and sometimes their own children. On the top of this obstacles there is the lack of facilities accommodate children and teaching staff, lack of flexible hours to accommodate work and family responsibilities and/or vocational and skills training linked to jobs . Sierra Leone is a good illustration of this problem where young people viewed education as a way to establish the peace, and said that access to education opportunities would help them feel less excluded from society, especially for demobilized soldiers who need to gain skills and access trainings to help them in job market. Educational opportunities and jobs are denied to girls who drown them into commercial sex work market or early marriages.

The barriers can lay also in the host country policies. In Albania during the refugee crisis of 1999, Albanian Kosovars were welcomed to take refuge in camps and urban areas in Albania, but the government did not allow all young people immediate access to public education. Some refugees entered public schools, and some did not. Some refugees set up their own schools without initial external support and still others were attracted to schools opened by religious groups during the crisis.

Girls’ situation is even more dramatic, despite commitments to gender equality in education. Girls don’t have equal access to education, compared with their male refugee. For instance, 60 percent of girls in Sierra Leone were not attending primary school, and at least 76 percent did not attend secondary school, compared to 71 percent of boys. In northern Uganda, boys were more likely to complete primary school and did better on Primary Leaving Examinations than girls, and fewer girls went on to secondary school. Most girls and boys in each region agreed that, in general, parents valued boys’ education more than that of girls. Girls also said inadequate clothing, security and sanitary supplies kept many out of school.

According to UNHCR approximately 1 million refugee children are enrolled in UNHCR education support program. 40 percent of enrolled are girls and adelnece women, 8 percent are enrolled at pre=school, 82% are attending primer school and 9 percent benefit from secondary school. Only 1 percent is attending higher education system. Page 7 Document Summary note on UNHCR ‘s strategy and Activities Concerning refugee children Geneva may 2002 http://docstore.ingenta.com/cgi-bin/ds_deliver/1/u/d/ISIS/53779900.1/oup/reflaw/2003/00000015/00000001/art00149/08C6A8EBB1C9214B1259885548168C930EA581BF55.pdf?link=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/error/delivery&format=pd

The major solution to education problem is ensuring that all refugee children have access to primary and basic education and where possible secondary and professional education will help reduce the risk of exploitation. Special programs should be tailored to the needs of girls who have dropped out of school to reduce the risk of violence abuse. Children not only refugee should be educated on their rights. Various forms of social and life skills training will help young people to make better life choices and help them protect themselves from exploitation. Equal participation of girls in school should be actively promoted. The community also should be involved in recruiting and managing teaching staff and educators whom they feel they can trust, as teachers can also be sexual abusers. Cancellation of school fees or low cost of education should be placed. Furthermore, the clubs and counseling after school offering support and relax.

Ensure Access to Education SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Disp

Important is to mention of education for disable refugee children who quite often safer isolation from community due to their conditions. Children with disabilities often do not get any support and services they need like physical rehabilitation, specialized education and social integration are sometimes neglected. Some times families, health workers and teachers have not understood the importance of including disabled children in normal patterns of activity. In some refugee situations, rehabilitation services are not provided because nationals do not have access to such services but still teachers should be encouraged to include disabled children in their classes whenever possible. Clear guidelines should be given on the physical needs of children with various types of disabilities. A positive attitude towards children with disabilities must be encouraged.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons

Refugee children, particularly unaccompanied and separated from families children often can find them at risk of sexual abuse and violence. Their limited ability to protect themselves and limited protection or lack of protection from the law of the host countries and international institution make them varounable to sextioal explotaion.

In many cases, trafficking may involve payment to child family or even child themselves Child abuse and exploitation within the family is much more complex challenge as sexual violence within the family is almost always seen as a private matter that should not involve outsiders; as a result, an abused child may be blamed for the incident and be further victimized. Also the abuse is cared by the person responsible for protecting and caring for the child.

The teenage mothers especially described pitiful and harsh lives: “I have to sleep with so many men to make 1500, so that I can feedmyself and my child. They pay me 300 each time, but if I am lucky and I get an NGO worker he can pay me 1500 at one time and sometimes I get 2000” (girl mother in Guinea) or “I sleep with different men but mostly NGO workers because I have to eat and feed my child” (girl mother in Liberia) Guinea

“It’s difficult to escape the trap of those [NGO] people; they use the food as bait to get you to sex with them.” (refugee child)

page 17 Protecting children from the protectors: lessons from West Africa by Asmita Naik 15 october 2002 Force Migration review

Displaced children and adolescents: challenges and opportunitiesPer

Protecting Children in Emergencies Escalating Threats to Children Must Be Addressed VOL.1, NO.1 SPRING 2005 Safe the Children SC-glob-apr05.pdf

Although numbers are difficult to estimate because of the ‘illegality’ of much of the cross-border movement of children, as well as lack relaible registration refugee children. These figures only account for those who are caught and repatriated but the majority of children go undetected. In addision many countries are unvilling to accept the scale and nautre of the problem

The children who told their stories in the book called for better protection in host countries, teaching children and communities about the dangers of travelling to and living in foreign countries, and for a halt to the abuse, imprisonment and forced repatriation often inflicted on them.

Refugees from armed conflicts worldwide increased from 2.4 million in

1974 to more than 27.4 million in 1996, with another 30

million people displaced within their own countries. Children

and women make up an estimated 80 percent of displaced

populations.*

Children are affected by war in many ways, but one of the

SUMMARY OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT

At any one time, more than 300,000 children worldwide

are fighting as soldiers with government forces or armed

opposition groups,13 accounting for 10 percent of the

combatants in ongoing conflicts.14 Children under the

age of 18-some as young as seven-are actively

participating in hostilities in 27 countries worldwide.15

Since 1990, over 2 million children have died as a direct

result of armed conflict. At least 6 million children have

been permanently disabled or seriously injured, and

more than 1 million have been orphaned or separated

from their families. 1 Graca Machel, The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, delivered September

2000, www.unifem.org/index.php?f_page_pid=97, accessed 11 March 2005.

In 2003, the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees (UNHCR) estimated there were over 9.6

million refugees living worldwide.24 That same year the

Global IDP Project estimated that nearly 25 million

people were internally displaced in approximately 50

countries.25 Most of these individuals were children,

forced to live for months, sometimes years, in camps.

When disaster strikes, families suffer multiple and severe

disruptions: not only do they lose their homes and

livelihoods, but they often lose their autonomy,

livelihoods, and dignity in the camps that are supposed

to provide humanitarian relief and protection.

Protecting Children in Emergencies Escalating Threats to Children Must Be Addressed VOL.1, NO.1 SPRING 2005 Safe the Children SC-glob-apr05.pdf http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/OCHA-6BCNE8/$file/SC-glob-apr05.pdf?openelement

SUMMARY OF
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES TO

PROTECT CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT Internet: http://www.unicef.org United Nations Children’s Fund

UNICEF House, OPSCEN

In the past decade, two million children have been killed in armed conflict. Three times as many have been seriously injured or permanently disabled. Armed conflict kills andmaims more children than soldiers. Civilian fatalities in wartime have climbed from 5 percent at the turn of the century

to more than 90 percent in the wars of the 1990’s. Refugees from armed conflicts worldwide increased from 2.4 million in 1974 to more than 27.4 million in 1996, with another 30 million people displaced within their own countries. Children and women make up an estimated 80 percent of displaced populations.*

Children remain susceptible to the physical dangers, as well as to the lasting psychological and social effects of war, once a conflict has ended. Children are vulnerable to physical dangerfrom millions of existing landmines and unexploded ordnance. Children must also cope with the trauma of loss -of their family members, schools, neighborhoods and communities. In addition, millions of children have been forced to witness or even take part in horrifying acts of violence. One UNICEF survey in Rwanda found that nearly 80 percent of the children had lost immediate family members and more than one-third of these had actually witnessed their murder.

Children have become targets, not incidental casualties, of armed conflict. War violates every right of a child -the right to life, the right to be with family and community, the right to health and education, the right to the development of the personality, and the right to be nurtured and protected. It is a

basic need of children to be protected and cared for when conflicts threaten, and the implementation of international human rights and humanitarian law addresses these needs. A number of international treaties exist to provide for the legal protection and care of children. Too often these treaties are

ignored, and the world community must do everything possible to see that these treaties are complied with in all areas of the world.

*

Education is a basic service which should be provide to all children, including refugee children. Unfortunately this service is less reachable for them despite fact that many young people believe that education is essential to their survival, protection and full recovery from their experience of armed conflict and disasters. They see in education the answers to their need for self-respect, economic and job opportunity and the voice in society. Education also represents an essential condition to peace and security of community and family. Yet, despite of central role in their lives, refugee children find quite often difficultly to access education. While the primary school education is more accusable for children, younger people find more difficult to get into higher education The major barriers to enter education can lay in sort of obstacles like is high cost of attending school and transportation problems, languge and custom barriers. especially for girls. For example in Uganda, although Universal Primary Education was instituted for all children including refugee, costs for materials and uniforms remained out of reach for most young people in the war-torn north. Non-tuition costs for primary school in northern Uganda averaged $120 per year, and secondary school costs were about $350 per year in a country where the estimated annual per capita income was $140 in 2001

Competing responsibilities are next major obsticuls to enroll education. Teen parents, heads of households and orphans have particular difficulties obtaining education because, in addition to caring for themselves, they had the added responsibilities of caring for younger siblings and sometimes their own children. On the top of this obticols there is the lack of facilities accommodate children and teaching staff, lack of flexible hours to accommodate work and family responsibilities and/or vocational and skills training linked to jobs . Sierra Leone is a good illustration of this problem where young people viewed education as a way to establish the peace, and said that access to education opportunities would help them feel less excluded from society, especially for demobilized soldiers who needs to gain skills and access trenings to help them in job market. Educational opportunities and jobs are denied to girls which drow them into into commercial sex work market or early marriages.

The barires can laiy also in the host country policies. In Albania during the refugee crisis of 1999, Albanian Kosovars were welcomed to take refuge in camps and urban areas in Albania, but the government did not allow all young people immediate access to public education. Some refugees entered public schools, and some did not. Some refugees set up their own schools without initial external support and still others were attracted to schools opened by religious groups during the crisis.

Girls’ situation is even more dramatic, despite commitments to gender equality in education. Girls don’t have equal access to education, compared with their male refugee. For instance, 60 percent of girls in Sierra Leone were not attending primary school, and at least 76 percent did not attend secondary school, compared to 71 percent of boys. In northern Uganda, boys were more likely to complete primary school and did better on Primary Leaving Examinations than girls, and fewer girls went on to secondary school. Most girls and boys in each region agreed that, in general, parents valued boys’ education more than that of girls. Girls also said inadequate clothing, security and sanitary supplies kept many out of school.

According to UNHCR approcimetly 1 million refugee children are enrold in UNHCR education support program. 40 precent of enlode are girls and adelnece women, 8 pecent are enrold at pre=school, 82% are attending primeryschool and 9 precent benefict from secondary scholl. Only 1 precent is attending higher education system. Pade 7 Document Summary note on UNHCR ‘s strategy and Activities Conserning refugee children Geneva may 2002 http://docstore.ingenta.com/cgi-bin/ds_deliver/1/u/d/ISIS/53779900.1/oup/reflaw/2003/00000015/00000001/art00149/08C6A8EBB1C9214B1259885548168C930EA581BF55.pdf?link=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/error/delivery&format=pd

The majjoir solution to education problem is ensuring that all refugee children have access to primary and basic education and where possible secondary and professional education will help reduce the risk of exploitation. Special programmes should be tailored to the needs of girls who have dropped out of school to reduce the risk of vailence abuce. Children not only refugee should be educated on their rights. Various forms of social and life skills training, will help young people to make better life choices and help them protect themselves from exploitation. Equal participation of girls in school should be actively promoted. The community also should be involved in recruiting and managing teaching staff and educators whom they feel they can trust, as teachers can also be sexual abusers. Councelation of school fees or low cost of education should be placed. Furthermore, the clubs and counseling after school offerring support and relax.

Ensure Access to Education SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons

Important is to mention of education for disable refugee children who quite often saffer isolation from community due to their conditions. Children with disabilities often do not get any support and services they need like physical rehabilitation, specialized education and social integration are sometimes neglected. Some times families, health

workers and teachers have not understood the importance of including disabled children in normal patterns of activity. In some refugee situations, rehabilitation services are not provided because nationals do not have access to such services But still teachers should be encouraged to include disabled children in their classes whenever possible. Clear guidelines should be given on the physical needs of children with various types of disabilities. A positive attitude towards children with disabilities must be encouraged.

Futhermore access to secondary school was nearly impossible for most young people in Sierra Leone and northern Uganda, virtually guaranteeing that they would not have the skills necessary to contribute to the economic development of their communities over time. While young refugees from Kosovo attended secondary school more often over all, they still faced major barriers. Fearing overcrowding, the Albanian government delayed entry into secondary school, and mandated that a summer school program be set up for refugee adolescents seeking to enter secondary school in the fall-a policy decision that left many young people idle. Later, Albanians returned to “normal” secondary schools in Kosovo after years of participating in a parallel school system, but the schools were in bad condition. Many young people in rural areas, especially girls and minority Romas, could not complete or move beyond primary school. Under very difficult security constraints, many Serb young people separated from family members in order to complete their secondary education. Internally displaced young people often face even higher barriers to education than do refugees. For example, some young Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda fared better than Ugandan internally displaced youth because the refugees had help from UNHCR. By contrast, no international agency was charged with the protection and care of all IDPs. Less than 30 percent of school-age children in IDP camps were enrolled on a full-time basis, compared with the 93 percent primary school enrollment rate in other parts of Uganda. Despite the same security constraints, 77 percent of refugee students in northern Uganda were enrolled in primary school in one settlement that also benefited local Ugandan children. At the same time, both IDPs and refugees had equally poor access to secondary school. Young people who were able to attend school said it was difficult to learn. Their classrooms were often overcrowded and broken down or even without walls and a roof. In the Achol Pii refugee settlement in northern Uganda, each teacher served a class of 110 children in their primary school. In all areas, paper, pens and books were lacking. Many teachers had been killed or had taken other jobs for their own economic survival. Those who remained, according to young people, were often unsupportive and badly prepared. Young people disliked teachers talking at them and called their methods old-fashioned and boring. Young people asked for more participatory approaches to teaching and for more opportunities to learn practical and vocational skills. They also asked for more support to help teachers. One young person said, “We bring our teachers lunch, so that they will come back to us eac

YOUTH SPEAK OUT:
New Voices on the Protection and Participation
of Young People Affected by Armed Conflict
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
January 2005

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons

Refugee children often can find themselves at risk of sexual abuse. Their limited ability to protect themselves and limited protection or lack of protection from the law of the host countries law and international institution make them varounable to sextioal explotaion.

Refugee children, particularly unaccompanied and separated

from families children often can find them at risk of sexual abuse and violence. Their limited ability to protect themselves and limited protection or lack of protection from the law of the host countries law and international institution make them varounable to sextioal explotaion.

In many cases, trafficking may involve payment to child family or even child themselves Child abuse and exploitation within the family is mauch more complex challenge as sexual violence within the family is almost always seen as a private matter that should not involve outsiders; as a result, an abused child may be blamed for the incident and be further victimized. Alsow the abuse is cared by the person responsible for the protection .

since the person who is responsible for protecting and caring for the child, in many cases a male relative, is doing neither. Sexual violence within the family is almost always seen as a private matter that should not involve outsiders; as a result, an abused child may be blamed for the incident and be further victimized

The teenage mothers especially described pitiful and harsh lives: “I have to sleep with so manymen to make 1500, so that I can feedmyself and my child. They pay me 300 each time, but if I am lucky and Iget an NGO worker he can pay me 1500 at one time and sometimes I get2000” (girl mother in Guinea) or “I sleep with different men but mostly NGO workers because I have to eat and feed my child” (girl mother in Liberia) Guinea

“It’s difficult to escape the trap of those [

The purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of a company which operates in the global medical devices industry and its employees, in order to assist the Director with the decisions he needs to take regarding the extension of the company’s offshoring operations.

The report covers four areas. Firstly, an external analysis examines the key factors for the management of people and organizations affecting the global medical devices industry. To identify the key factors and the implications for people and organizations in this industry, a PEST analysis is also conducted.

Secondly, using relevant MPO concepts, a critical analysis of the internal environment of the company under consideration is provided, focusing also on the key implications for the successful future management of the company and its employees.

The impact of offshoring on employees’ motivation and commitment is the third point being discussed, with reference to the company’s desire for further offshoring its operations into other markets. The key implications for the successful future management of the company and its employees are also being examined.

Finally, this report provides the company’s Director with recommendations on whether the company should enter the Chinese market in the near-term through a major offshoring project, or whether it was better to concentrate first on its internal organizational challenges. Based on the previous analysis, the report recommends that before taking the next step in a major offshoring project to China, the company under study, should first tackle the internal organizational issues that might otherwise become more complicated and complex in the future. Details on why and how the company should deal with the internal organizational challenges are provided.

Introduction

Coloplast A/S is a multinational company which operates in the global medical devices industry and specializes in the manufacturing of ostomy and urology and continence care, as well as breast care, skin health and wound care products. It also provides associated, medical services that aim to contribute to the improvement of the people’s quality of life.

Coloplast was founded in 1957 in Denmark and soon established a strong worldwide presence. In 2005, 97% of the Company’s sales were generated outside Denmark with Europe and the Americas being its largest geographical markets. Coloplast, has a vast number of subsidiaries, and the manufacturing of its products takes place in Denmark, Germany, Hungary, the United States, Costa Rica and China.

In 1999, searching for ways to cut expenditures, and as a result of the increased economic expansion and globalization, the Company decided to undertake a major offshoring project and relocate part of its production to a low-cost area. In 2001, Coloplast’s first offshoring project was implemented in Tatabanya, Hungary. During the relocation process, the Company encountered many internal challenges requiring significant changes to be made in order to exploit the full potential of the foreign production unit. Implementing these organizational changes and dealing with the challenges effectively, would enable the company not only to exploit the full potential of the Hungarian unit but to take the next step in a bigger offshoring project to China.

External environment of the global medical devices industry

Increasingly, organizations have become aware that, in order to survive and prosper, they must constantly evaluate both the internal and external environment in which they operate, so that they obtain a clear picture of the pertinent components surrounding their situation.

The concept of “external environment” is a key consideration for an organization as it comprises of all the forces that exist outside its organizational boundaries but have a considerable effect on its organizational performance. An analysis of the external environment is of pivotal importance because it enables the organization to recognize these forces and identify which of them provide facilitating or inhibiting influences on its survival and growth. However, due to the fact that the organization has little or no influence on these forces it needs to constantly monitor the environmental domain for changes and take appropriate actions to adapt its strategy and behaviour to these external changes.

Figure 1: External factors that influence an organization

In order to recognize and examine the external forces that influence the global medical devices industry, a PESTLE analysis will be developed. Detecting and identifying the broad, long term trends will provide an understanding of the risks associated with the market and will be the basis of determining the medical devices business structure.

Political Factors

The medical devices industry is a sector that political factors have significant implications for its performance. Healthcare reforms, which are any changes of governmental policy that affect healthcare delivery in a given place, influence this industry significantly. Companies operating in this sector depend indirectly on public reimbursement schemes and possible policy changes that concern reductions of reimbursement schemes have a negative impact on their profit margins. Harmonization of healthcare systems also poses a risk factor at the macro level as it affects the profitability by pushing the prices of the medical devices down.

Economic factors

Companies operating in such dynamic and competitive sectors like the medical devices industry, seek to lower their costs by offshoring some of their operations in low-cost regions. Potential benefits of offshoring to low-cost regions include lower wages resulting in increased profitability and lower prices for customers, increased productivity and quality, and increased innovation which can lead to the formation of new markets and thus, create new jobs. In addition, when companies operating in the medical devices industry relocate part of their operations abroad, they improve margins and make available cash for activities like R&D.

Socio-cultural factors

Another important factor is the growing share of ageing population in society which is advantageous for the medical devices industry. As the number of elderly people increases, the demand for medical devices and healthcare products increases too. Generally, socio-cultural factors are not considered to be influential for the business of medical devices industry, as most of the developed products are necessary for every patient in spite of their social or cultural backgrounds.

Technological factors

Medical devices industry is highly dependent on technology, as technological advancements continue to increase demand for advanced medical device products. Technological innovation has also enabled companies to uphold their operating margins since new products carry high unit prices. Unit prices are introduced into the marketplace at a higher price since device manufacturers need to recoup their investment in product development for the initial early adopters of new products. In addition, patent-protection can sometimes lead to abnormally higher pricing in some markets (Medical Equipment Industry Report, 2003) [1] .

Legal factors

The sector of medical devices is characterized by various rules and regulations which ensure that best practices are being deployed and people are being protected from the risks of unsafe technology. An EU regulatory framework has been in place since 1990, with a number of key Directives, supported by a series of amending or implementing Directives (Balcerowicz, 2009) [2] . Current standards are voluntary and non-binding, and despite the broad range of products covered, these Directives have generally worked well, although some weaknesses could be improved (Balcerowicz, 2009) [3] . Countries are urged to establish national standards management systems and, where possible, to adopt international standards and to participate in their development and amendment (World Health Organization, 2003) [4] . Effective national policies have a legislative base and although this is regrettably not always the case, they still serve as a framework of rules for decision-making and guidance (World Health Organization, 2003) [5] .

Environmental factors

Environmental factors affect the medical devices industry to the extent that environment has a direct relationship with health issues. In countries or regions with poor environmental conditions (e.g. heavily industrialized, populated, polluted regions etc.) the need for medical devices and health care products may be higher than in regions with good environmental conditions.

Internal environment and key implications for the successful future management of Coloplast A/S and its employees

In order to improve its capability for meeting the increasing global demand as well as reaching its growth and profit objectives, Coloplast undertook a major offshoring process which concerned relocation of volume production for mature product lines to Hungary. Moving part of the volume production to Hungary would enable the Company to access low-cost resources (e.g. human labour, favourable corporate tax of 16%), take advantage of the economies of scale and increase productivity. Although the relocation enhanced Coloplast’s opportunities to achieve its strategic goals, it generated a number of issues that had to do with the internal environment of the company and also brought serious organizational challenges into focus.

One of the main issues which Coloplast had to deal with was the reconsideration and optimization of its organizational structure. As George & Jones [6] (2005, p.538) suggested, “organizational structure is the formal system of task reporting relationships that controls, coordinates, and motivates employees so that they cooperate and work together to achieve the organization’s goals”. A correct organizational structure determines how the decision-making is implemented at all levels of the business, allows the effective allocation of responsibilities for all tasks and processes to the employees, facilitates working relationships between different sections of the organization, retains order and command while at the same time promotes flexibility and creativity. Thus, it is imperative for an organization to have an efficient organizational structure in order to accomplish its strategic objectives.

Coloplast, like several other global organizations, had a decentralized organizational structure which means that decision-making power was delegated from higher to lower levels, relatively away from the central authority. In this kind of organizational structure, there is a high degree of autonomy and subordinates are expected to demonstrate initiative and managerial efficiency while in a highly centralized authority structure, only a few powerful individuals or groups retain decision-making power and subordinates are likely to operate within relatively narrow latitudes.

The optimal degree of centralization of authority depends upon a complex array of interrelated factors (Wexley and Yukl, 1977) [7] . Generally, maintaining a decentralized structure enables decisions closer to the operational level of work, increases responsiveness to local circumstances (Mullins, 2005) [8] , promotes managerial efficiency and improves employee satisfaction (the result of giving people greater opportunities to take responsibility for their own actions) (Delta Publishing, 2006) [9] . However, problems in coordination of individual entities and loss of control may occur.

On the other hand, centralization has the advantages of easier implementation of a common policy, more consistent strategy, improved economies of scale, improved and faster decision making and greater use of specialization (Butler, 2008) [10] . According to Connors et. al [11] (2005), centralized structures are more desirable to the extent that “(1) there were good communications with subunits; (2) higher-level managers have access to staff specialists or other information sources which are not readily available to lower-level managers; (3) higher-level managers have the same knowledge of local conditions as do lower-level managers; and (4) decision speed is only a minor consideration”. However, the fact that it encourages the authoritative leadership style, and the fact that its use may limit the response of an organization to an external environment, is the main disadvantage of a highly centralized organizational structure.

Figure 2: Centralized vs. Decentralized Organizational structure

The reason why Coloplast encountered organizational structure issues was the large distance between the new production facilities in Hungary and the other plants located in Denmark. The fact that Coloplast had a decentralized organizational structure worked very well for its Danish production facilities (the distance between them is short and the communication is relatively easy), but when the Hungarian plant was added, major problems occurred in terms of control and communication between the different production units and the management. Decentralization of the production facilities, combined with the lack of fixed procedures and structured interfaces, complicated the tasks of documentation of planning and standardization of production systems. Furthermore, the lack of documentation of the company’s production techniques and equipment operation (due to the fact that the Danish process operators knew how to handle inconsistencies in operation of equipment but this knowledge was not documented in manuals) had serious effects on the operational performance of the Hungarian unit and needed to be tackled.

Another internal organizational issue that Coloplast had to deal with was the effective transfer of knowledge from the Danish to the Hungarian employees. Transferring knowledge regarding the Company’s production systems and techniques to new employees was a very challenging and complex procedure that required great deal of human interaction and a lot of time devoted to training. Nevertheless, it was particularly important for the Company’s management to create avenues for exchanging knowledge, so that it was accessible and useable by everyone in a way that it would positively affect the overall organizational performance.

Although, Coloplast solved the problem of transferring knowledge by sending Danish operators to Tatabanya to train their Hungarian colleagues, it faced a new challenge, which thus threatened the company’s future growth. In particular, the problem was that there were natural differences between the organizational culture of the Danish employees – which had evolved and successfully served the company over time – and the organizational culture of the Hungarian employees. The unsympathetic approach of these differences by the Danish workers combined with the lack of communication (due to the language barrier) created misunderstandings and some underestimation of the Hungarian workers’ skills, despite the fact that they were technically proficient. Due to this challenge, the Danish workers also failed to learn new, useful skills from their Hungarian counterparts.

Coloplast management sought to deal with this organizational challenge – and at the same time prevent conflict from occurring – by creating a forum where all employees could share their opinions and openly discuss their views. This approach was very effective since all employees had the chance to exchange interesting ideas, get to know each other, and hence understand each other better. The management also could become involved with the various issues that employees faced and could therefore formulate solutions to the problems.

Critical analysis of the employees’ motivation and commitment

When Coloplast took the decision to offshore part of the volume production to Hungary, this posed a serious threat to employee motivation and a major challenge for the company’s management, since many employees were not familiar with the consequences of such change. Being aware of this fact and in order to remove the uncertainty among the employees, Coloplast’s management carefully involved them in the process and ensured that all of them had access to a high level of information from the start. Communicating directly and clearly while being honest and open, the management also ensured that it obtained feedback from employees on their opinions and questions for the forthcoming relocation. This was very important in avoiding a negative impact on employee motivation and commitment, which would negatively affect their performance and the overall productivity of the company.

It is widely acknowledged that companies find it hard to adjust to any organizational change due to the fact that many employees become de-motivated and therefore resistant to change. This behaviour of scepticism, hesitation and resistance to adapt to new work conditions is typically based on the fear of increased tasks, demotion or even loss of jobs and often causes tension between management and employees. These tensions, if allowed to continue, usually have as a result decreased company productivity and loss of competitive advantage.

Employees’ attitudes towards change are decisive to whether an organization’s efforts for change are either successful or unsuccessful. “When employees possess a strong, positive attitude towards change, they are likely to behave in focused, persistent, and effortful ways that support and facilitate the change initiative being implemented. However, when employees possess a strong, negative attitude towards change, they are more likely to resist, oppose, scorn, thwart, and attempt to sabotage the change initiative” (Lines, 2005) [12] . Therefore, it becomes clear that in order to ensure a successful organizational change, a company must focus on the human side of change, by influencing the employees’ behaviour, keeping their motivation and commitment high, giving them the drive to change, and aligning their goals with those of the company.

Motivation has no standard definition. It has been defined as: “the psychological process that gives behaviour purpose and direction” (Kreitner, 1995) [13] ; “those psychological processes that cause an arousal, direction and persistency of voluntary actions that are goal oriented” (Mitchell, 1982) [14] ; “a person’s unique set of needs in relation to particular situations. These needs explain what drives a person, what his or her reaction will be to various stimuli, and the strength of behaviour, its consistency and persistency based on conscious decisions” (Winfield et. al., 2004) [15] . Employees’ motivation is a key concept for any business because it strongly affects the organizational performance and, thus, the survival and success of the business. Understanding what motivates employees and what boosts their morale will not only help their individual goals to be achieved but it will ultimately help the organizational objectives to be accomplished.

Communication plays a vital role in maintaining or even increasing the employees’ motivation. Sharing the decision making and allowing real participation in the problem solving, heightens the employees’ commitment and reinforces their confidence. When it comes to change, effective communication involves gathering important information in relation to the change process and distributing this information to everyone affected. Clear, frequent, honest and timely communication is crucial because it allows the employees to understand how these changes will affect them personally. Furthermore, the development of an efficient feedback system that measures the success of transition not only through the eyes of management, but also through the eyes of employees, is one of the most important components in the motivation cycle.

From the above analysis it is clear that in relation to the impact of offshoring on its employees’ motivation, Coloplast dealt with the challenge appropriately. The management used communication very effectively by providing all the necessary information to its employees, developed an efficient feedback system where they could express their opinions and questions, and generally ensured the involvement of all employees in the change process. Furthermore, it lessened their reasonable concerns over layoffs by offering new positions and additional training to those who were about to be affected by the relocation. This approach, improved the employees’ morale, strengthened their commitment and maintained their motivation at a high level.

The fact that Coloplast approached this challenge effectively, identifying employee motivation and commitment as key factors to the successful implementation of organizational change, will help the company achieve its future plans for growth. Having the view that employee commitment, and thus performance, comes via consistency in communication, motivation and leadership is a strength that will most likely lead to success.

Recommendations

Having analyzed the internal environment of Coloplast and the challenges that the Company had encountered during the relocation to Hungary, it is advised that Coloplast should concentrate first on dealing with its organizational issues before proceeding with the offshoring project to China. Of course, a future move is not ruled out but unless some major changes happen, taking the next step would be very dangerous.

Coloplast should primarily focus on redesigning its organizational structure in a way that it reflects and supports its organizational strategy. As previously discussed, the company’s Denmark-based facilities are characterized by a decentralized, less formal organizational structure while in Hungary the workers learned to work under more standardized procedures and a more centralized structure. By centralizing its organizational structure and maintaining a high level of authority, the company will achieve uniformity and consistency of the organizational procedures and will ensure that the overall control and coordination of its different production units is effective and efficient. In addition, the fact that the senior management will be the only responsible for setting the overall goals of the company will ensure that every production unit is aligned towards the same organizational goals. Coloplast can achieve the coordination and control through building an Information System that would link all its production units together, as well as organizing frequent meetings and webinars between the managers of the different plants and the senior management.

Another challenge that Coloplast has to tackle is the effective knowledge transfer from Denmark to the foreign production units. In the case of the Hungarian unit, Danish employees were sent to Hungary in order to train their colleagues. However, this solution may not be efficient in future offshoring projects because the distance may be an obstacle. A different approach to this issue would be to assign the training of the employees to a local company which specializes in relevant professional training; however, this option would probably be more expensive and not compatible with Coloplast’s philosophy and culture. Documenting all production techniques and equipment operation, standardizing this documentation and translating it into the offshoring countries’ languages would be the first big step towards the solution. Uploading this documentation on the aforementioned Information System (that would link all the production units together), and providing detailed, translated, up-to-date webinars that would explain any operational inconsistencies and special uses, would effectively and permanently solve the knowledge transfer issue.

The purpose of this paper is for prospective teachers to reflect on major issues that are associated either with positive or negative behaviour management. I have chosen to focus on the topic of behaviour management problems in a classroom setting, based on the particular experiences of an eight-year-old Afro- French boy called Dean, who grew up in a two-parent household in an urban neighbourhood. The case scenario presented in this assignment took place at The Kingston Primary School in London [1] where I did my eight week school placement. The observation took place in a third grade classroom, which consisted of about 26 pupils.

The first question that this raises is why focus on behaviour management problems? The answer lies in a multitude of observations I have made in most schools I have worked in. Educators face a variety of challenges in the classrooms. Behaviour management is a major issue they are confronted with. Disruptive pupils are ubiquitous in a classroom setting. These pupils come to school with all sorts of emotional and behavioural problems ranging from defiance, attention deficits, aggression and hyperactivity, resistance to authority, temper tantrums and low motivation, which may cause them to be inattentive during lessons.

No matter how well organized, interesting or thought- out a lesson is, it is difficult to hold their interest. Inappropriate behaviour is dealt with by using different methods of interventions to promote development and learning opportunities which enhance pupils’ self-control while promoting their positive achievement.

The incident was as follows: Mrs Bucks has been a teacher at the school for 30 years. Dean, one of her pupils has a reputation for disrupting lessons. Whenever the whole class is on the mat, Dean has difficulties paying attention so he distracts himself with looking about the classroom instead of at the teacher or Smartboard. When a topic captures his attention, he is very alert and interrupts the lesson by shouting out the answer, mainly because he is too impatient to wait for his turn. Mrs Bucks is firm with him and disciplines him as a result of his behaviour. She sternly tells him to go move his name onto the Red Light Traffic System from the Green Light Traffic System. Annoyed she adds “Don’t you ever learn to raise your hand?” With his head down he does what he is told, and calls her a “stupid cow” under his breath. Several of his peers hear this and giggle. Unfortunate for him, Mrs Bucks hears him too and sends him to stand outside in the corridor. In addition she angrily says “I have had enough of you, I do not think I want you in my class anymore”. Defeated the boy walks out of the class with his head hung even lower. Dean disturbed the class with his hyperactivity. Surprisingly enough his inability to behave did not come into conflict with his academic performance. He was a very intelligent boy, and he proved this in oral and written work. He also was placed in the high attainer group.

Different teachers interpret a child?s action as a’ breach of discipline’ depending on who misbehaves, where it happens, when the incident took place, why it happened and so on. Age, class, gender and ethnicity may also play a role in judging the incident. Steed, Lawrence and Young (1983) suggest that educators perceive the incident more seriously if the pupil?s misbehaviour recurs on a regular basis. (Watkins & Wagner, 1987; pg 9). Although Mrs Bucks shouted a lot to get the children?s attention, she was not quick to discipline her other pupils as often as she did Dean. In an attempt to explain why her pupils misbehave Mrs Bucks said “Back in my day corporal punishment was used to keep pupils in place. Children had more respect then.” That explanation gave me an insight into her personality. She had lower tolerance for him and labelled him as one of her “problem children” Was it an urgent need to try to cope and carry on with school life although she feel powerless with using the school disciplinary system? After 30 years of teaching, and with retirement looming, she openly admitted that she was ready to start a new chapter in her life.

Unfortunately the strategies where largely ineffective as evidenced by the fact that Dean repeated the same disruptive behaviour every time he was under Mrs Bucks’ supervision.

Some pupils are definitely harder to manage than others but teachers have to stay calm at all times. Pupils bring their own diversity into the classroom. Mrs Bucks should have regained her composure before she responded to Dean. Secondly she should have avoided humiliating, intimiding and isolating him from the rest of the class.

Mrs Bucks is a very good teacher but the vital key that she was missing was building relationships with Dean. I had a feeling that after she had labelled him as a problem child she treated him thus.

Disciplinary systems are applied in the classroom setting by educators in order to enable effective teaching and learning. Maintaining good discipline controls student behaviour which leads to the establishment of a healthy learning environment. In 1987, the Secretary of State Lord Elton, created a legislation (Discipline in schools, Reports of Committee of enquiry) for classroom teachers who were facing difficulties in the area of discipline (Adams, 2009).The publication of the Elton Report on Pupil Behaviour was altered however in 2005, by Sir Alan Steer who conducted a review (Learning behaviour) which put emphasises on how ‘the quality of learning, teaching and behaviour in schools are inseparable issues’ (Ibid). The legislation was guidance to schools on procedures to overcome disruptive behaviour, which includes mild behaviour (interrupting the teacher, entering the classroom late) and aggressive behaviour (bullying and verbal/physical abuse) (Blandford, 1998). The legislation also advices each school to formulate a whole school plan that includes a code of behaviour that encourages students to develop a strong sense of personal responsibility towards others and towards attending and participating in classes on a regular basis. The legislation emphasizes the role parents play in moulding the attitude which produces good behaviour in school, therefore it is very important that educators, parents and pupils communicate and work together on a regular basis (National Educational Welfare Board).

Reacting to a student’s disruptive behaviours seems to have the effect of reinforcing that behaviour. This is evidenced by the strategy implemented a couple of days later when a substitute teacher, Mrs Hartbrot, takes over the class for the duration of the morning. The very first thing she did when all the pupils sat on the carpet was place Dean at the very back where he did not come into contact with any one of his peers. He was fidgeting about, shouting out answers, moving the nearby chairs about, but he got no response from her, so eventually he calmed down.

Mrs Hartbrot took the time to understand Dean’s behaviour. As a result, she was in a better position to avoid or prevent any negative behaviour. Even when he shouts out the answer she praises him for saying the correct answer but will kindly remind him that he should raise his hand or if it recurs too often he is ignored, but once he actually raises his hand he is praised for it. Many teachers would agree that to prevent misbehaviour is by encouraging good behaviour. Certain behaviours are not harmful to others but rather annoying for educators, but they should take the time to decide whether or not to intervene or not. (Wright, 2005)

Looking at Dean?s home situation might explain a few things about him. Dean lives with both of his parents and 3 siblings, 2 older brothers and a baby sister. His father works and his mother is a housewife. Often he would come to school in the morning exhausted and bragging about how he spent the night playing with the Wii box accompanied by his teenage brothers or how his new puppy would cry all night so he would have to comfort him. It is questionable whether he suffers from middle child syndrome, a syndrome which generally arises when parents give the oldest and youngest child more attention than the middle child. Could lack of attention or sleep be the root cause of the problem? Whatever the case, Mrs Bucks could have diffused his inappropriate behaviour by meeting his needs.

In 2005, the psychologist David Wright drew on the theories of Abraham Maslow to explain personality and human motivation. Maslow developed a theory called the hierarchy of human needs which include general types of needs such as physiological, safety, love, and esteem that need to be met. As long these needs are met, individuals can move towards growth and towards self-actualization. Maslow’s ideas can be applied to the classroom. Maslow would probably explain Dean?s behaviour as seeking to fulfil the need to feel safe. The behaviourist strongly believes that humans are good hearted and that instead of making violence (or lying, stealing and cheating) they want love and peace. Violence is only used when their human needs are hindered. By Mrs Bucks saying that she does not want him to be part of her class anymore she excluded him, making him feel alone, unaccepted, and unsafe. That sense of belonging was thwarted. One of a teacher’s main responsibilities is to make a pupil feel safe and comfortable in their environment and she emotionally or physically abandoned him, leaving him to feel unloved and unworthy. Although he did wrong, belittling him in front of his peers was not necessary. Regardless of any behaviour issues, the boy should still have the feeling that he is a valued part of the class, that he is unique, respected and appreciated. Naturally children who experience traumas such as sexual/physical/ verbal abuse, neglect or in some cases those that are victims of war may experience a blockage in their mind that prevent them from functioning “normally”(Wright, 2005). Many children who are unhappy fail to inform us what is troubling them; instead they show us through their behaviour that they are unhappy, scared or troubled about something. Is Dean?s constant disruptive behaviour a cry for help? Behaviourists, B.F. Skinner and Albert Bandura, also established different theories on the learning behaviour of human beings: the theoretical perspectives of Operant Conditioning Theory developed by B.F. Skinner and Social Learning Theory developed by Albert Bandura. The behavioural theory, which was promoted by Burrhus Frederic Skinner (originated in the first part of the 20th century), indicates that a person’s behaviour is influenced by the environment. This is called “operant conditioning”, which is based on the idea that actions taken by a person have consequences, which can either result in reinforcement or punishment. The concept of reinforcement is rewarding desired behaviour with a stimulus (sweets or money) and this process encourages behaviour to be repeated. On the other hand, undesired behaviour is punished (McLaughlin &Muncie, 2006). Skinner demonstrated the idea of operant conditioning through experiments involving animals (rats, dogs and pigeons) in which they were taught to respond by using food as positive reinforcement as a result of the response. In this way he trained or “shaped” animals into what he wanted them to become. Skinner transferred this knowledge to explain human behaviour. Unlike animals, however humans have the freedom to make choices of their own and can choose not to be easily manipulated. The main weakness in Skinner’s behaviourist model is the dismissal of the human variable. In “Beyond Freedom and Dignity” the psychologist (1972) reduces behaviour strictly to stimulus and response. Skinner fails to acknowledge that human beings have thoughts and feelings that influence them to react the way they do in certain situations. In Dean’s situation Skinner would have probably claimed that his behaviour was reinforced by his peers giggling, and that punishments would discourage from such misbehaviour in the future, but that was not the case. Dean got himself into trouble on a daily basis, and mostly for the same reasons such as interrupting lessons by being disruptive, defiant, and disrespectful. The boy was repeatedly disciplined whether it was moving his name on the Red/Green light traffic system, missing out on his break, or standing in the corridor. In the course of my eight week placement it appeared that he was becoming more and more rebellious with each punishment that he received. I realized that he was experiencing a sense of a sense of low self-esteem and worthlessness after he had been sent into the corridor. After the incident I approached him to see how he was doing and he told me he wanted to be moved into another classroom. Clearly, he knew he was not wanted and may have acted the way he did so that his chances of being moved into a new classroom were higher. He was hoping to receive some type of response, and he did although it was in the form of punishment. Dean was definitely seeking attention.

At the age of four, D was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For that reason he was identified as a perfect candidate for an Individualised Educational Plan (IEP).The rude disruptive behaviour was unjustifiable, for children should know that all people should be treated with respect. However, if Mrs Bucks had taken the time to accept that he learns differently, and accommodated the differences, like Mrs Hartbrot did, she could have avoided the situation from escalating. All she saw was a child who failed to respond to her behaviour management methods and whose misbehaviour persisted over time.

ADHD is also known as minimal brain dysfunction or hyperactivity. ADHD is a common behavioural disorder, which is recognized as an important social-medical problem among children but also found in adolescents. An estimated 3% to 5% of school aged children are diagnosed with the disorder, but boys are more likely to be affected than girls (Porter, 2003). Hinshaw (2000) states that having ADHD

‘ leads to a lack of emotional regulation, poor judgement, lack of organisational skills, problems with self-monitoring, a high rate of accidental injuries, impaired relationships with peers and family, emotional difficulties including depression and anxiety, and learning difficulties such as poor phonological awareness (despite having average intellectual abilities overall) ‘ (Porter, 2003; 152).

Neuropsychological researchers imply that the cause of ADHD could be the result of family environment, the mother’s health during pregnancy or genetic processes in the body. The use of medication such as Ritalin is an intervention that is used to help reduce the severity and frequency of challenging behaviour. Due to side effects (loss of appetite, nausea and headaches) other forms of non- medical intervention such as behavioural therapy or Individual Behaviour Plan (IBP), are also used to discipline behaviour with controlling discipline methods (Porter, 2003, Wright 2005). Skinner’s idea of negative and positive reinforcement is used in these therapy sessions by therapists to help patients overcome maladaptive behaviour. (Rabiner, 2010)

Wright (2005) states that ADHD is not a learning disability but it will limit the child’s school performance. The child may say something hurtful or act before s/he thinks about the consequences of her/his actions. Southall (2007, pg. 64) claims that often teachers, physicians and parents misdiagnose children with ADHD. They tend to forget that behaviour is a result of adapting to their environment they live in and things that they experience. Along with genes researchers believe that environmental factor contribute to children`s mental health. Southall (2005) suggests that in the 21st century there is a decline in families spending time together. Parents seem to have less time to monitor or teach their offspring. Parental involvement and lack of communication is affecting many families. Children are not encouraged to play outside anymore instead many hours are spend with the children glued on video games, on the computer or television screen, which with their fast pace tend to overload their senses. It is not surprising then that their ability to focus in school is limited and that they have short attention spans. The brain gets used to being overstimulated by the flickering lights and the loud noises and fast moving action on the screen. By comparison school life is boring so they seek to create the same level of stimulation by being hyperactive and impulsive. (Southall, 2005)

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, also called observational theory, derives from Skinner?s learning theory. The theory states that children learn by observing then imitating their models (peers, parents and teachers). In many cases children imitate their “models”, even behaviour that the latter would like to discourage such as smoking or cursing. Children are constantly learning whether it is good or bad behaviour by observation. Unlike the counterpart theory the learner has a more active role and it singles out self-regulation in explanation of behaviour. Rosenthal and Bandura (1987; 80) acknowledge in their theory that ‘learning occurs through direct experience; a large body of research across different contexts and populations has supported the idea that observation of others influences individuals’ self-referent thoughts. Lickona (1991) points out that teachers should be role models, who exemplify the qualities they wish their pupils to follow such as responsibility, tolerance, fairness, honesty and respect. (Earl, 2008) When trying to explain why Dean was disrespectful one has to consider his peers and the adults that influence him. If he is treated with little or no respect, he will probably not know how to treat others with respect. If for example his father or his siblings dismiss him as unimportant or belittle his mother, he too will see no wrong in disrespecting women in general. He needs someone to display good character, but if his teacher also belittles him, then the message that he gets is that it is fine to behave in that manner.
Basically all children look to teachers who are fair, who admit when they are wrong and who are honest; all these qualities are ones that can be easily imitated by children. The influence of teachers can be life changing or damaging.
Behaviour will always be an issue of concern, but it is our job as teachers to establish a supporting and trusting relationship with our pupils and their families in a collaborative manner. Only by promoting pupil`s self control and self esteem teachers can positively influence their learning, well being and academic achievement.
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In this research paper I will be explaining all the different psychotherapy theories and practices from the past to the present. Theories researched consist of psychoanalytic therapy, Alderian therapy, existential therapy, person-centered therapy, gestalt therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, reality therapy, feminist therapy, and family systems therapy.

Psychotherapy Theory and Practice 3

“Psychoanalytic therapy seeks to help the patient understand unconscious past forces which affect emotions and behaviors.”(www.depression.about.com) A patient meets with their therapist at least once a week and ranges from several weeks up to years.

The founder of psychoanalytic therapy was Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. People who would benefit from this therapy are people with a depressed mood, anxiety, and repetitive patterns of behaviors that result in a sense of limited choices and enjoyment.

Alderian therapy is named after its founder Alfred Adler in the early 1900s.” Alderian psychotherapy takes the early view that we are all in control of our own destiny and not subject to the whims of fate.” (http://whatispsychology.net/what-is-adlerian-therapy/)

Alderian therapy is used for individuals, groups, and families. It is used to increase interest in social interaction, reduce or modify self-destructive patterns of behavior, and to help them solve problems in a more positive manner.

Existential therapy was founded by Rollo May, Irvin Yalom, and Victor Frankl in the early 20th century. ” Existential psychologists believe that it’s not only important to identify and reduce the systemtomatology of mental illnesses, addiction, relationship issues, and other psychological issues, but to go beyond the symptoms, addressing how a person defines meaning, purpose, and a life well lived.”( http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/topics/existential-psychology.html)

Psychotherapy Theory and Practice 4

“Person-centered therapy, which is also known as client-centered, non-directive, or Rogerian therapy, is an approach to counseling and psychotherapy that places much of the responsibility for the treatment process on the client, with the therapist taking a nondirective role.” (http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Person-centered-therapy.html) Person-centered therapy was founded by Carl Rogers in the 1930s.

Rogers believes that you need to create a close personal relationship between the client and the therapist. The client determines the general direction of the therapy. In person-centered therapy, the therapist should seek to increase the client’s insight through informal clarifying questions. Rogers believed the most successful therapy was the therapist’s attitude.

“Gestalt therapy, which was founded in the 1940s, is a form of experimental psychotherapy in which the patient is encouraged to become aware of his/her emotions as they exist in the present moment.”(http://www.crchealth.com/types-of-therapy/what-is-gestalt-therapy/) Gestalt therapy was founded by Fritz and Laura Perls.

Gestalt therapy is successful in adults and teens that are being treated for substance abuse, addiction, behavior disorders, mood disorders, grief, trauma, sex addiction, compulsive gambling, bipolar, and depression. It promotes a focus on the present and an awareness of the mental and emotional processes that impacts a person’s decisions, actions, and behaviors.

“Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps patients understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behaviors.”

Psychotherapy Theory and Practice 5

(http://psychology.about.com/od/psychotherapy/a/cbt.htm) The founders are Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis in the 1960s.

Cognitive behavior therapy is short term. It is used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, and phobias. This therapy is not expensive because of it being short term.

“Reality therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on problem-solving and making better choices in order to achieve specific goals.” (http://www.crchealth.com/types-of-therapy/reality-therapy/) It was founded by Dr. William Glasser, MD in the 1960s.

The goal of reality therapy is to solve problems and rebuild connections. It is focused on the here and now instead of the past. This therapy is effective in resistant teens struggling with substance abuse, defiance, and manipulation.

“In a world where the male sex dominates, feminist therapy realizes that a woman is affected by social pressures which reveal themselves through her identity,” (http://www.goodtherapy.org/feminist-therapy.html) It was founded by Olivia Espin, Jean Miller, Carolyn Enns, and Laura Brown in the 1960s.

In feminist therapy clients are encouraged to take social action. The therapist is to help the client understand the impact of gender roles in their lives and help them recognize different kinds of power that they possess.

“Family systems therapy is a type of psychotherapy which involves family members or people in a close relationship rather than just individual clients. “(http://www.disorders.org/what-is-family-systems-therapy/)

Psychotherapy Theory and Practice 6

Family systems therapy is a talk therapy. They talk about boundaries and how someone crosses those boundaries. The key to changing an individual’s understanding is working with the entire family.

Psychotherapy Theory and Practice 7

REFRENCES

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychotherapy/a/cbt.htm

What is Adlerian Therapy?

http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/topics/existential-psychology.html

http://www.crchealth.com/types-of-therapy/reality-therapy/

http://www.crchealth.com/types-of-therapy/what-is-gestalt-therapy/

http://www.disorders.org/what-is-family-systems-therapy

http://www.goodtherapy.org/feminist-therapy.html

http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Person-centered-therapy.html

www.depression.about.com

Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany. His original name was Erik Salomonsen. When he finished studying school, he attemped to study painting for an year, and that played a big role in his life. While painting children, he had been offeredn a job as a fill in tutor at the Hietzin School by Anna Freud. Soon after his start working there, it was realized his depth of his compatibility with the children and was offered to be teached a child analyst. It’s important to say that that school was organized aˆzorganized according to psychoanalytic principles and geared to cooperation with the analyst”. His teacher was Anna Freud, who was the sixth and last child of Sigmund Freud. At the same time he attended a Montessori school to get a degree, together with visiting the meetings of Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, where he bacame a member in 1933. His most important work actualy is in United States, where he wrote his books, and most important – his theory for psycho-social development. There he also became one ot the first child psychoanalysts and a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association. (Jessica McComas ’00).

Erik Erikson had accepted all the theories of Freud. He also added the Oedipal complex to his theories. Erikson’s work was more oriented to the culture and the society as it seems in his theory of the psycho-social development. His theory is based on eight stages. In them hi expands and refines the Freud’s theory. He claims that we pass from one to other stage because of our success, or lack of one in the previous. That he calls the “epigenetic principle”. In his theory he has so called “tasks” and “crisis”. The tasks are those things, which we have to achieve during the stage, and uses the crisis in Freudian tradition. He also has an optimal time to pass through one stage to another. When the person is obsessed with the success he could miss some stages, i.e. to go through stages without completing them all. Erikson also tells us about the virtue. That is when we manage one or another stage well.

Dr. C. George Boeree putted the eight stages of Erik Erikson in a charge which looks like that:

Stage (age)
Psychosocial crisis
Significant relations
Psychosocial modalities
Psychosocial virtues
Maladaptations &malignancies

I (0-1) —

infant

trust vs mistrust

mother

to get, to give in return

hope, faith

sensory distortion — withdrawal

II (2-3) —

toddler

autonomy vs shame and doubt

parents

to hold on, to let go

will, determination

impulsivity — compulsion

III (3-6) —

preschooler

initiative vs guilt

family

to go after, to play

purpose, courage

ruthlessness — inhibition

IV (7-12 or so) —

school-age child

industry vs inferiority

neighborhood and school

to complete, to make things together

competence

narrow virtuosity — inertia

V (12-18 or so) —

adolescence

ego-identity vs role-confusion

peer groups, role models

to be oneself, to share oneself

fidelity, loyalty

fanaticism — repudiation

VI (the 20’s) —

young adult

intimacy vs isolation

partners, friends

to lose and find oneself in a

another

love

promiscuity — exclusivity

VII (late 20’s to 50’s) — middle adult

generativity vs self-absorption

household, workmates

to make be, to take care of

care

overextension — rejectivity

VIII (50’s and beyond) — old adult

integrity vs despair

mankind or “my kind”

to be, through having been, to face not being

wisdom

presumption — despair

He adapted it from Erikson’s “Identity and the Life Cycle”.

The first stage is first year and a half from child’s life also known as “Oral – sensory stage”. The task is forming of trust. The parents ‘part here is very important because they have to learn the child to trust his own body and what to do with his/her biological needs. But the problem is that if the child is given everything he or she may starts thinking that the world is such a safe and happy place, where everything is given to you. So that the child (baby) could misunderstand that everyone is as kind, good and loving as the parents.

Otherwise, if the parents don’t give enough to the child, developing mistrust is possible. It means that the child will be suspicious around people. But that doesn’t mean that they have to be near the child all the time because a sensory maladjustment may appear. The child may develop malignant tendency or even a psychosis.

The parents need to find the proper balance. Then the child will develop virtue hope. He/she would know that even it’s going bad; they would help him for a better end. The sign that the first stage is passed well is that the child is not overly upset, when it doesn’t get what hi/she wants immediately.

The second stage, also called anal-muscular stage. It between 18th month up to the third year. The main task to achieve is autonomy and to minimize the feelings of doubt and shame.

The parents have to be “firm but tolerant”. That means that they don’t have to discourage their child, but at the same time they don’t have to push it. The balance between them is required. If it’s so, the child will develop both self-control and self-esteem.

This is a difficult, because for the child is easier to develop sense of doubt and shame. The parents have to be very careful, because even a simple laugh in front of child’s efforts may cause doubts in his/her own abilities.

Erikson also talk about Impulsiveness, which is a sort of shameless willfulness, that leads the child, to jump into some things that the child don’t have the proper consideration of his abilities.

Compulsiveness is worse than impulsiveness. That is too much doubt and shame. Everything they do must be perfect and all the mistakes must be avoided at all cost.

Stage three is also called genital- locomotor stage. It’s from three-four to five-six years and the child has to learn initiative and have to avoid the guilt.

The term initiative means “positive response to the world’s challenges, taking on responsibilities, learning new skills, feeling purposeful” (Dr. C. George Boeree). In this stage the parents have to encourage their children to try out their ideas. This is the period where the imagination of the child is greater as never before. This is the time for games, playing, not formal education. But together with the games parents have to be careful of what their children are doing, because they are not capable of planning their own future. It the time where the moral judgment has to arrive. They have to develop guilty for their actions.

When there is too little guilt and more initiative, Erikson calls it ruthlessness. This people make their own plans and don’t care what’s around, no matter of the school or their career. They don’t care who they step on for achieving their goals.

Stage four or latency stage is the period from six to twelve years. The task is to develop industry and avoiding sense of inferiority.

In the life of the child appear teachers and other member of the community. They must learn the feeling of the success, no matter where they are – in school or on the playground. They must learn the rules of the society – how they have to behave and that the success comes because you try hard to achieve it.

The Narrow virtuosity appears when the child is not allowed to be a child, i.e. when parents push their children into one area of competence, without letting them to become competent in other areas.

Inertia includes all who suffer from the “inferiority complex” ( if at first you don’t success don’t ever try again).

The best is to develop the proper balance between industry and inferiority. This is called competency.

The adolescence or stage five begin with the puberty and ends around 18 or 20 years old. The achieving of ego identity and avoiding role confusion are the tasks here. In fact exactly this stage interested Erikson the most.

In this stage you have to understand who you are and how you fit in to the rest of society. You take all you have learned about life and yourself and put the knowledge into practice in the society.

The society provides clear rites of passage to help distinguish the adult. Those are the tasks and the tests in the primitive societies. Without this we will be confused about our own place in the society we live in and will ask to ourselves the question “Who am I?”.

There is a problem with the ego identity- fanaticism and repudiation. When there is too much it’s fanaticism. They believe that this is the only way, everything I black-and-white. When there is lack of identity is repudiation. Those people repudiate their need for and identity. Some of them allow themselves to “fuse” with a group and could involve in destructive activities, drugs and alcohol.

The next stage is the sixth – young adulthood. It’s between the 18 and about 30 years old. The task is to achieve degree of intimacy rather than isolation.

Intimacy is the ability to be close with the others – friends, lover and as a part of the society. You already know who you are and what is your place in the society, so it’s easier than in childhood. There is a problem called “fear of commitment” – an example of immaturity in this stage. “Everything will be all right when I finish school, start a job, get married” etc.

The main problem comes from the fact that our society hasn’t done a lot for young adults. When you get to that age, everyone start having troubles with the isolation of urban living and lack of idea of real sense of community.

When there is no depth in your intimate relationships and the relation with your friends and neighbors it’s called promiscuity. Exclusion is the tendency to isolate ourselves from love and friendship. But if you successfully negotiate this stage you will get a psychosocial strength – love. In the context of Erikson’s theory this means being able to put aside differences and antagonisms through “mutuality of devotion””.

The middle adulthood stage is the next one. It’s difficult to pin a time for it, but it include the period in which we are actively involved in raising children.

Generativity is an extension of love into the future. The parents don’t have to be “selfish”. There is a reality that if we love someone, and he/she doesn’t return the love we don’t consider this as true love. It’s the same with the parents, who have great ambitions for their children and expect a “return on their investment”.

The other aspect – stagnation – is self-adsorption, caring for no-one. That kind of person is a productive member of society. These people care about their problems and their life.

This is also the stage of the “middle crisis”. The most common question in that case is “What am I doing all this for?”. The focus is on themselves, they are asking for whom are they doing all that. Most of the times people separates searching for the answer of that big question.

The last stage – late adulthood or maturity comes after the kids have gone, at about 60. The task is to develop ego integrity and minimal amount of despair. It is the most difficult stage of all. Retire from your job, sense of usefulness and biological uselessness and most of the parents are coming too close to their children (becoming annoying). The ego integrity means coming to terms with your life, and thereby coming to terms with the end of life (Dr. C. George Boeree).

Those who approaches death without fear, that strength Erikson calls wisdom – because “healthy children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death”. He suggests that a person must be gifted to be wise.

Erikson makes a revision of Freud’s theory for the stages. They both say that the child have to achieve each stage (according Erikson – tasks) to be part of the society. The difference is that Freud made his theory on the base of clinic research and interviewing parents and talks about the crisis of self-recognize. In his theory he also talks about the problem with the parents, not because of them and the complex, which may appear during growing up. Erikson gives prominence to the role of the parents in children’s life. Both theories have certain period of time for each stage and explain what kinds of problems may appear during that stage and how to avoid that. In both theories by adolescence, individuals are asked to form a sense of identity. Finally, toward the end of the life, one is asked to form a sense of ego integrity according Erikson. Freud gives prominence to the id, ego and superego.