Examining the Effects of the Training Program Applied to Institutional Caregivers of Child Care Services
Project no. 28496 · Status: Kapanmış · 2023
Summary
<p>Under normal circumstances, children spend most of their time with their families, but for a variety of reasons, family unity may weaken and parents may be physically, mentally and socio-economically unable to care for their children. Especially in such situations, the state and society have a number of responsibilities about the care and upbringing of children. Children who grow up away from the family environment are supported by care personnel in institutions who provide them with the same support as in the family. Studies aimed at these personnel should contribute to the development and education of children under protection and care. Children growing up in institutional care spend most of their time in the institution and with the staff there. Therefore, it is important that staff have knowledge about early childhood development and education. Under normal circumstances, when families positively support their children’s education, children’s educational achievements increase; in the same way, it is important for children in institutions to be supported and encouraged by caregivers in order for children to reveal and use their talents and to realize themselves. In this respect, studies on care personnel should contribute to the development and education of children under protection and care.</p><p>In this study, it was aimed to support the caregivers of children in institutions with the Child Development, Communication and Care (3C) Training Program prepared by the researchers. In this study, which used a quasi-experimental design with pre- test-post-test-control group, the 16-session Child Development, Communication and Care Training Program (3C) was applied to the staff in the experimental group via distance education via EGESEM (Ege University Continuing Education Centre). Data were collected from the participants before and after the start of the training program by using the Child Education Competence Scale-Parent Form (CEES), Personal Information Form, and Training Evaluation Questionnaire via Google Forms. As a result, significant differences were obtained between the experimental and control groups in favour of the group receiving training (z=3.57, p˂0.05). Accordingly, it can be said that 3C is effective in improving caregivers’ skills in contributing to the holistic development of the child. In addition, while there was no significant difference between the groups in the categories of “Guiding the Child” and “Developing the Child” from the sub-dimensions of the Child Education Competence Scale before 3C (p˃0.05); it was determined that there was a significant difference between the groups in favour of the experimental group in these sub- dimensions after 3C (p˂0.05). At the same time, it was determined that the participants were satisfied with the 3C Program, they were supported in child development and they would recommend 3C to others.</p>