Child and Youth Study -- Graduate Theses

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Graduate theses completed in the Master of Arts in Child and Youth Study program.

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Living in Canada: Experiences of Newcomer Youth from the Former Yugoslavia
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2004-04) Karlovic, Valerija
An increasing number of studies and personalized accounts recognize significant issues of Canadian immigrant children and youth as they and their newcomer families adjust to living in Canada. Challenges involved in learning English as a second language, adapting to the Canadian public education system, facing possible isolation and loneliness, and experiencing difficulty building new friendships in Canada are some of the impediments Canadian newcomer children and youth encounter following arrival, regardless of their particular cultural background and affiliation. These and other adjustment challenges are often compounded for immigrant and refugee children and youth from countries tom by conflict, and who, understandably, bring with them the impact of their extraordinary pre-immigration circumstances, their separation from, or loss of, cherished familial and other relationships, and uncertainty about their lives in a new country. The present research, utilizing qualitative inquiry, elicited the voices, attitudes, perspectives, and opinions of newcomer youth from the Former Yugoslavia, for the purpose of exploring, discovering, and understanding their earlier and current adjustment experiences while living in Canada. Three focus groups (two with younger youth, 13-15 years old, and one with older youth, 16-18 years old) and four individual interviews were conducted with 26 volunteer participants recruited from the Former Yugoslavian community in the greater Halifax Region Municipality. The interview sessions were audio-taped and collected data were transcribed, translated (one individual interview was conducted in Serbo-Croatian), and analyzed utilizing systematic cross-comparative coding, by which the researcher eventually organized the findings for discussion within four major categories: Cultural Affiliation/ Retention, Pre-Immigration Experiences, Newcomer Experiences, and Supports and Services. Recommendations, in accordance with the research findings, are presented for the participant youth and various significantly related/ impacted groups (parents, schools, media, community, educational and government sectors).
The Impact of the Read To Me! Program in the Emergency Department of the IWK Health Centre on Family Literacy Practices
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2005-05) MacDonnell, Charlene Latimer
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Read to Me! program in the emergency department of a pediatric hospital to determine if the intervention resulted in a change in family literacy practices. It was conducted at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The program is designed to support the mandate of the Read to Me! Nova Scotia Family Literacy Program aimed at helping families in Nova Scotia enrich their children’s early years with books and reading. Participants were parents who presented at the emergency department of the IWK Health Centre with a child six years of age or younger, and emergency department staff. Participants were interviewed for a period of twenty months at which time 485 interviews had been conducted. One hundred fourteen in the intervention group were interviewed in person prior to the intervention. Families in the intervention group had their child read to by a volunteer reader, were given a handout on tips for reading to young children and a list of age appropriate books. They were also given the gift of a book to take home. One hundred fourteen participants in the control group were interviewed in person when no volunteer reader was present. One hundred participants in the intervention group and 103 in the control group were interviewed by telephone approximately six weeks after the initial interview. Parents were asked a number of questions to determine if there were changes in family literacy practices. Twenty-seven staff members were interviewed at the beginning of the program and at the end of the pilot study to identify the impact of the program on their working environment and on perceived wait times. Intervention provided to parents and their children through the Read to Me! Program was predicted to increase parental knowledge and attitudes about the importance of reading to young children. The study found an increase in the number of families with library cards, an increased use of libraries, an increase in the number of times children visited the library and were observed looking at books. The number of children in the intervention group who had received books since taking part in the Read to Me! program was significant. Reading was selected as the indoor activity parents enjoy doing most with their child in both groups. There was no increase in the number of times books were chosen as a favourite activity from initial to subsequent interview for the intervention and control groups. However, when data from the control group were compared to data from the intervention group, parents in both groups reported that reading and looking at books was the activity that they enjoyed most with their child. There were more families in the intervention group reading to their children almost daily or at least weekly; however, there was not a significant difference between the intervention and control groups. Comparison of data collected from staff revealed that there was a significant reduction in inquiries from parents asking how long before their child would be seen by a doctor. Results of this study provide support for continuation of the Read to Me! program.
Spirituality in Family-Centered Practice; Parents’ and Practitioners’ Views
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2006-02) Salanski-Cleveland, Denise
This exploratory study used a qualitative research approach to acquire parents’ and practitioners’ views of spirituality within family-centered practice. Outcomes of this study were to a) gain an understanding of parents’ and practitioners’ views of spirituality and religion b) determine if these constructs are valued within family-centered practice and e) explore necessary practitioners’ competencies based on participants’ perceptions of the constructs. Parents (N= 6) and practitioners (N=7) participated in either individual interviews or focus groups to investigate their perceptions of formal and informal supports, the individual family service plan process, the family quality of life indicator of spirituality, and requisite practitioners’ competencies. Parents and practitioners actively engaged in the debate and reflection process pertaining to the integration of the constructs of spirituality and religion into family-centered practice. Results indicated that parents’ and practitioners’ views reflected the multifaceted nature of spirituality and the complexity of family-centered practice as outlined in the literature. Participants value the integration of spirituality and religion within family-centered practice. Highlighted was the fundamental nature of making spirituality and religion overt and distinct constructs to be discussed within family-centered practice. Emphasized was the strength giving nature of spirituality and religion in addition to the importance of following, honouring, and respecting the family’s beliefs. Furthermore, the data indicated that practitioners’ competencies need to be inclusive of skill, knowledge, and reflection regarding the constructs. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
Residential Youth Care Workers’ Perceptions of Self-Harm and Interventions
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2006-04) O’Rielly, Tanya
This qualitative research examined the perceptions of eight youth care workers regarding self-harm in youth. The types of self-harm encountered, the differences in self- harm between typically developing youth and youth with disabilities, and effective interventions in dealing with self-harm were addressed. The progression of youth care workers and their understanding and treatment of youth who self-harm were also examined. The types of self-harm found in the research included compulsive self-injurious behaviour, stereotypic self-injurious behaviour, and impulsive self-injurious behaviour. Three forms of self-harm emerged that were difficult to classify as they had not been previously discussed in the literature; 1) tattooing, 2) cutting off oxygen with a belt (strangulation), and 3) placing fingers in the wheels of a wheelchair (breaking bones). Low self-esteem, emotional pain, sadness, and inner turmoil were identified as characteristics common to both youth with disabilities and those who are typically developing. Behavioural disorders were also identified for both groups of youth. Differences between youth who self-harm according to whether they are typically developing or have special needs were as follows. Typically developing youth were perceived to have psychological disorders, while youth with special needs were believed to have cognitive disorders. The participants perceived the actual disability to be the root cause of self-harm for the youth with special needs. Hypersensitivity to the environment, limited verbal skills with a concomitant inability to express themselves, loneliness, and craving attention were also attributed to youth with disabilities. In contrast, typically developing youth were perceived as engaging in self-harm due to a specific intent or explicit purpose. This purpose was to release stress, and to replace their emotional stress by acute pain. Typically developing youth were also perceived as engaging in self-harm for acute attention seeking. The youth care workers reported a number of supportive interventions that they used with youth who self-harm. These included medication supplemented by emotional support, using “safe areas”, taking away objects used in self-harm, confidence boosting, and positive reinforcement. Verbal redirection and extensive discussion regarding self-harm were found to be effective with typically developing youth, while physical redirection was used more extensively for youth with special needs. Youth care workers had received limited training in self-harm prior to their employment. They described the dichotomous feelings of being intrigued and shocked, while also having feelings of sadness and pity, when they first encountered self-harm. Due to both their lack of training in self-harm and lack of agency policy, the participants felt confusion and uncertainty in how to deal with self-harm. Findings from this research are discussed within the context of confusion and uncertainty of youth care workers in understanding self-harm, interventions found to be effective in dealing with self-harm and the need for training and professional development on self-harm for youth care workers.
Contemporary Identity and Social Experiences of Acadian Youth
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2006-04-24) Doucet, Louanne
The present study obtained the perceptions of Acadian adolescents regarding the personal significance and meaning of their Acadian cultural affiliation, traits of and influences upon their contemporary Acadian lives, and their social relationships with both Acadians and non-Acadians. This study intended to explore the nature of their everyday cultural experiences and interactions in order to identify factors that more positively or adversely affect daily functioning, well-being, and on-going development as Acadian youth. Utilizing a qualitative research approach, two focus groups were held. The first consisted of 4 males and 4 females between the ages of 13 - 15 years old, inclusive. The second was comprised of 3 males and 3 females between the ages of 16 - 18 years old, inclusive. Three individual interviews were also conducted. All participating youth were born and raised in the Municipality of Clare and were currently students of the local secondary school. École Secondaire de Clare. Transcribed interviews (data) from these discussion sessions were analysed employing discovery-based, cross-comparative data analysis generally associated with grounded theory methodology. Results of the analysis were organized by four major descriptive categories specifically. Forming Acadian Identity, Experiencing Acadian Identity, Maintaining Acadian Identity, and Acadian Resources. Findings of this study indicated a vital need among interviewed youth in the Clare community for enhanced cultural awareness, and development and maintenance of their forming Acadian identity. With an identified need by the youth for increased resources, opportunities and supports for cultural interaction and exchange in the local community, and expressed mixed feelings of both pride and discomfort within their Acadian experience, recommendations are offered to facilitate the healthy development of contemporary cultural identity on the part of these Acadian youth.
Hope in Child and Youth Care: An Ecological Perspective
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2006-06-12) Smith, Mark E.R.
Hope involves having a direction in life, combined with external support and internal spirit, which enables people to move forward on a diversity of personal life long dreams. Too often, challenging life circumstances, contexts, labelling, and expectations lead to hopelessness and its consequences, such as a loss of dreams or life purpose. Child and Youth Care practice is based upon caring relationships that occur within the very life context in which children and youth exist and uses an ecological perspective. Parallel ‘marginalizing journeys’ can develop within youth-serving programmes that co-join to create an atmosphere of hopelessness, to the detriment of the youth, the workers, and the organization (i.e., ‘burnout’ or ‘delinquency’). Given that youth services look to promote youths’ sense of security, self-worth, efficacy, and optimism, and that organizations and staff should also be equally secure and healthy, there is a critical need to better understand factors surrounding the role of hope and its impact upon daily Child and Youth Care practice. Other studies generally look at one group’s experiences of hope or hopelessness but little is known about how two highly interactive groups impact each other’s level of hope. Through the use of qualitative methodology this study looked to discover pertinent themes and concepts aimed at a better understanding of the dynamics surrounding the role of hope and its interactive effect upon daily Child and Youth Care practice. Focus group discussions were, respectively, held with youth and youth care staff connected with residential and/or community-based youth service programmes. Qualitative analysis of the focus group discussions resulted in the identification of four major categories. Generating Hope, Elements and Sources of Hope, Dynamics and Patterns of Hope, and Generating Hope, and three principal influences, Relationships and Activities, Tensions, and Peer Support upon the daily states of hope and hopelessness, on the part of participant staff and youth. Recommendations for staff, youth, and other key stakeholders are offered to promote the development and maintenance of hope for all participants within youth care programmes, settings, and daily supportive interactions.
The Role of Child and Youth Care Practitioners in the Treatment Planning Process
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2006-09) Kissoon, Gail
Many professions, whether implicitly or explicitly, claim a higher status than they afford to child and youth care practitioners (Beker, 1976; VanderVen, 1991). However, child and youth care practitioners have also contributed to this nescient view in not understanding how profoundly they can affect the lives of others, or by not explaining the depths to their practice. Whether for these reasons or others, Beker (2005) feels that child and youth care practitioners are kept on the peripheral when it comes to treatment planning. Moreover, although considerable research has examined these workers’ struggles to be seen as credible practitioners, minimal research has examined a child and youth care practitioner’s role in treatment planning. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative research was to explore the role of child and youth care practitioners within the treatment planning process, their knowledge of and comfort with the process, and the areas in which they feel capable or might want or need additional training. Data were gathered through structured interviews from eleven purposefully selected child and youth care practitioners with diverse backgrounds, though the majority had experience working in settings such as schools, group homes, day treatment and private practice. Modified grounded theory from qualitative methodology was used to analyze the data. Research questions were broken down into three topic areas, general role, treatment plan role, and perceptions of child and youth care practitioners. Results emerged around four interconnected themes: giving the client primacy of focus, marginalization of the child and youth care practitioner, a child and youth care practitioner’s desire for change, and dynamicism of treatment plans. In a client-centred approach, the child and youth care practitioner maintains the child as the focus of treatment, though other environmental factors are taken into account and worked with, when possible, and there is a sense of closeness to the client that other professionals may not have due to role constraints. Secondly, marginalization restricts access to and input into treatment plans. The third theme, desire for change, speaks to empowerment of the children and youth and giving credence to the child and youth care profession. Lastly, is a focus on the treatment plan itself and on the understanding that it is a working document that must be permitted to change and grow according to the changing needs of, and demands on, the client. However, a meta-theme emerges upon review of results. This theme is one suggesting that structures and practices of power that are exerted on child and youth care practitioners in their contact with other professionals, parallels those exerted on their clients. The following questions arise: Where would full membership of the child and youth care practitioner in the society of other professionals leave the relationship between the child and youth care practitioner and the client? Where would it leave the client?
Family Centred Practices in Early Intervention in Nova Scotia: Quality of Life Issues for Families.
(2007-04) Melanson, Sarah; French, Carmel
Family-centred practice is comprised of three main components: family choice, working from a strengths perspective, and acknowledging and embracing the family as a unit, as opposed to merely the child or mother-child dyad (Allen & Petr, 1996). Within family centred practice, the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is used to outline the family’s goals and hopes for the future for their family (Garguilo & Kilgo, 2000). Developing IFSPs can be challenging (Jung & Baird, 2003; Jung & McWilliam, 2005; Mahoney & Bella, 1998) as service providers often lack training around family centred practices. Resulting IFSPs become documents created by professionals for the families with goals that are child focused, often ignoring quality of life issues for the family (Katz & Scarpati, 1995). The aim of this research was to gain deeper insight into family centred practices in Nova Scotia. Specifically, issues related to family centred practice such as the IFSP, quality of life issues for families, and formal and informal supports were examined from the perspective of parents and early interventionists. A qualitative research design was used to gather families and early interventionists perspectives and experiences in early intervention in Nova Scotia. Families (N= 8) and early interventionists (N= 3) from three rural early intervention programs were individually interviewed. Participants eagerly shared their experiences, frustrations and joys with early intervention. Results demonstrated that while early interventionists had a basic understanding of family centred theory, service delivery and IFSP development, practice and knowledge did not always blend. Of note was the disconnect between the knowledge of early interventionists and the experiences of families. Early interventionists discussed the pressures of meeting imposed deadlines for IFSP development while families lamented that goals were too child focused or not always in line with how the family functioned. Further, family quality of life issues did not iv appear to be formally addressed and there was some debate regarding the appropriateness and fit of these issues within the early intervention construct. The need for continued training and entry level qualifications to be an early interventionist in Nova Scotia was evident from the data. Early interventionists in NS need a means to share information and engage in ongoing professional development to ensure that new techniques and philosophies become part of their practice. This can only lead to more family focused practice and family led IFSPs. Continued in-depth training on the underlying philosophy of family centred practice and collective empowerment will help the early intervention community to truly understand and appreciate the notion of empowering each other and result in early intervention programs that truly reflect best practices.
Preschool and Kindergarten Teacher’s Views on School Readiness: A Comparison between Silkeborg, Denmark and Truro, Nova Scotia
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2007-04) Gillis, Jenny
The question of which skills children should possess upon entrance into the public school system has been a topic of much debate for decades (Elkind, 2006; Katz, 1996). Due to beliefs and values held by many individuals in North American society, parents often feel pressured to help their children have an edge over other children when it comes to academics and therefore feel the need to expose their children to academic materials from a very young age. Other parents, however, feel that children are best prepared for a successful transition into kindergarten by having lots of opportunity to play, explore and he creative in their formative years. These divergent views often place early childhood educators in a difficult position. They must decide how they will help foster children’s growth and development based on what they have learned, what they believe to be true, what they feel parents are looking for in terms of early learning experiences, and which skills teachers expect children to possess when they enter kindergarten. Therefore, this research looks at preschool and kindergarten teachers’ views on school readiness in Silkeborg, Denmark and Truro, Nova Scotia. It explored the notion that teachers’ perception of readiness can, and do vary, depending on the beliefs and values held by the society in which the teacher lives. It also takes a look into what teachers feel is currently working within their respective settings, how much support they feel they are receiving, and where they would like to see change. Preschool and kindergarten teachers in both communities were sent research packages via their principal or director. Each package contained: I) a letter outlining the purpose 3 of the research, 2) a demographic survey, 3) a School Readiness Surveys, 4) a consent form to complete if they were willing to participate in an individual interview, and 5) a return envelope. Approximately 60% (n = 93) of the surveys were returned. Eight teachers were interviewed, two preschool teachers and two kindergarten teachers from each community for a total of eight. Results from the survey analysis and the interviews were consistent, indicating few differences by professional group but philosophical and functional differences between responses from teachers in Silkeborg in comparison to teachers in Truro. It appears that both preschool and kindergarten teachers in Silkeborg feel relatively well supported and content. They have a holistic view of children and feel it is their responsibility to keep children engaged in learning. They believe in preschool teachers, teachers parents and communities working together to help make a child’s transition into school run smoothly. Conversely, teachers in Truro felt substantially under resourced and often unsupported. They struggle to maintain balance between academics and other skills related to the overall well-being of the child such as social skills, independence and emotional competence. Developmentally appropriate practice seemed to be well understood and often talked about, but not always practiced. Teachers in Truro indicated that they would like to see more support provided to them from their respective government departments. In-service training opportunities should be offered on topics such as developmentally appropriate practice so as to raise the general public awareness regarding how children learn, and therefore lead to a broader understanding of which skills are most valuable for children to possess upon entrance into the public school system.
Do Better Nights Mean Better Days? An Examination of a Behavioural Sleep Treatment Program on Health-Related Quality of Life on School-Aged Children
(2007-08) Woodford, Kimberley; Corkum, Penny
The present study was designed to determine if successful treatment of sleep problems results in improved health-related quality of life (HRQL) for school-aged children both with and without Disruptive Behaviour Disorders. The main hypothesis was that improved sleep would result in improved HRQL (physical, social, and emotional/behavioural health, as well as family well-being). The current study analyzed data collected from a larger sleep study, Better Nights, Better Days: Treatment for Sleep Difficulties, a module of the Family Help Program at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The current study demonstrated that the behaviourally-based sleep intervention of the larger study improved the overall sleep of its child participants, which in turn improved the HRQL. These results indicate that HRQL improves in children whose sleep problems were reduced after completion of a behavioural treatment delivered via distance. This was particularly the case in the psychosocial health domain, which is comprised of scores on subscales from the CHQ-PF50 and measures children's functional health and well-being. Results of the current study are in keeping with the extant body of literature which indicates that treatment of sleep difficulties can lead to improved health across multiple domains of a child's life.

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