Parent and Staff Expectations for Continuity of Home Practices in the Child Care Setting for Families with Diverse Cultural Backgrounds

Abstract

THE USE OF CHILDCARE SERVICES for very young children (birth to three years) has increased dramatically in the past two decades (Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, 2004). This article investigates the expectations for cultural continuity of caregiving practices (with particular emphasis on sleep and feeding) between home and the early childhood setting. Findings showed that 1. Parents hold expectations for the execution of caregiving practices; 2. Ongoing oral communication is seen as a support for understanding practices, and staff with the same cultural background as families are pivotal in this process; and 3. Concealed practices by staff may be the result of a lack of communication, or of staff responding to their own macro-cultural beliefs. Continuity of micro- and macro-cultural practices is dependent upon staff attitudes and the process of communication.