The Children S Bureau Documentary Sources From The National Archives

As we approach the year 2000, infant mortality rates, child placement dilemmas, and appropriate socialization of children continue to challenge the field of child welfare. It is thus especially significant to reflect on the history of child welfare. The carefully selected topics explored in this volume underscore the importance of recovering past events and themes still relevant. It is the aim of this volume to illumine current issues by a review of past struggles and problems. A History of Child Welfare offers many examples of practices that have direct import for those who struggle to support children. Who is not bothered by what seem to be increasing acts of violence by children against children? The role of hidden cruelty to children in perpetuating violence is illuminated by studying the past. Historians and social researchers have gone far in examining the family, and by implication, their revelations greatly increase society's complex responses to children over time from early assumptions that children were little more than miniature adults to the discovery of childhood as a special developmental period. At the start of this century women still did not have universal suffrage and brutal child labor was not unusual. Harsh legal codes separating the races were widespread, and those bent on improving the lot of children knew that reform meant commitment to an uphill struggle. By the end of the century, much has changed: child labor, while still present, has been outlawed in most industries, women vote and hold many high offices; and de jure racial segregation is largely a memory. Yet the state of children remains precarious, with poverty a persistent theme throughout the century. The fifteen articles in this volume cover a wide range of social conditions, public policies, and approaches to problem solving. Though history does not repeat itself precisely, problems, controversies about solutions, and certain themes do. A History of Child Welfare takes up social and economic conditions that correlate with increasing rates of child abuse and neglect, and an increasing number of children in out-of-home care. This volume distinguishes approaches that have been useful from those that have failed. In this way, these serious reflections help build on past successes and avoid previous errors.

One of the prevailing myths about the American family is that there once existed a harmonious family with three generations living together, and that this "ideal" family broke down under the impact of urbanization and industralization. The essays in this volume challenge this myth and provide dramatic revisions of simplistic notions about change in the American family. Based on detailed research in a variety of sources, including extensive oral history interviews of ordinary people, these essays examine major changes in family life, dispel myths about the past, and offer new directions in research and interpretation. The essays cover a wide spectrum of issues and topics, ranging from the organization of the family and household, to the networks available to children as they grow up, to the role of the family in the process of industralization, to the division of labor in the family along gender lines, and to the relations between the generations in the later years of life. While discussing family relations in the past and revising prevailing notions of social change, these interdisciplinary essays also provide important perspectives on the present.

Focused on fully discussing what is considered to be "good" research, Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology explains quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, and incorporates the viewpoints of various research paradigms into its descriptions of these methods. The work covers four major paradigms: postpositivist, constructivist, transformative, and pragmatic. Special emphasis is provided on conducting research in culturally complex communities, based on the perspectives of feminists, ethnic/racial minorities, and people with disabilities. In each chapter, Donna M. Mertens carefully explains a step of the research process, from the literature review to analysis and reporting. Additionally, she includes a sample study and abstract in each chapter to illustrate the concepts discussed in that section of the book. Now in its third edition, Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology is perfect as a core text for research courses in departments of education, psychology, and sociology, as well as social work and other human services disciplines. It can be used by itself or in conjunction with other texts focusing on specific methodologies. Key Features Explains quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods in detail Covers four major paradigms: Postpositivist, constructivist, transformative, and pragmatic Emphasizes conducting research in culturally complex communities, based on the perspectives of feminist, ethnic/racial minorities, and people with disabilities Offers a step-by-step overview of the research process from literature review to analysis and reporting Presents sample studies and abstracts in each chapter to illustrate concepts New to this Edition Accompanied with a Student Web site with links to flashcards, mini-cases, and SAGE journal articles Produced in an attractive 2-color format Includes thoroughly updated examples and references to current developments in research methods, evaluation and cultural issues throughout the text Presents more details on mixed methods design Incorporates the third edition of the Program Evaluation Standards Presents universal design principles in data collection Offers more examples throughout the text Provides more ideas on how to write a literature review and to plan a dissertation Contains more pedagogy including "Extending Your Thinking" added throughout Gives additional depth to the pragmatic paradigm presented in Chapter 1