Full Description
First published in 1975, this book compiles a number of studies concerning institutional care and children, which address the question of why institutions that serve apparently similar functions differ so much.
The book uses comparative methods such as measurement of different 'dimensions' of institutional care and analysis of interrelationships among specific structural and functional features which characterise particular institutions. As a result, the book draws broad conclusions about the importance of factors that have dynamic influence on the manner in which institutions function and the reasons why they differ.
The editors reject the 'steampress' model which postulates that institutions are more or less alike. They discuss ideological and organisational variation, differences in staffing and the manner in which children respond to them, and consider these issues as factors that influence the way in which an institution functions 'as a whole'. Subsequent chapters describe comparative studies carried out in institutions for the mentally handicapped, approved schools, residential nurseries, probation hostels, other 'correctional' institutions and units for autistic children. The book enables the reader to appreciate achievements and shortcomings of contemporary research and thinking in this field.
Contents
Preface; Contributors; 1. Introduction Jack Tizard, Ian Sinclair and R. V. G. Clarke 2. Residential care of children: a general view Peter Moss 3. Quality of residential care for retarded children Jack Tizard 4. Organisation and change in children's institutions Kevin Heal and Pat Cawson 5. Varieties of residential nursery experience Barbara Tizard 6. The influence of wardens and matrons on probation hostels: a study of quasi-family institution Ian Sinclair 7. Measurement of treatment potential: its rationale, method and some results in Canada Tadeusz Grygier 8. The measurement of staff-child interaction in three units for autistic children Lawrence Bartak and Michael Rutter 9. A conceptual scheme for the comparative analysis of residential institutions Spencer Millham, Roger Bullock and Paul Cherrett 10. Socialisation in residential communities: an illustration of the analytical framework previously presented Spencer Millham, Roger Bullock and Paul Cherrett 11. A study of absconding and its implications for the residential treatment of delinquents R. V. G. Clarke and D. N. Martin; Notes; Index
