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Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is one of the most highly sex-segregated sectors globally. Adopting frame analysis and drawing on 96 semi-structured interviews, this study asks how female educators, who are numerically dominant, discursively construct men's reluctance to seek roles in ECEC and/or sustain participation in the sector. Three primary frames were identified: men are viewed with suspicion; men lack the capacities required for ECEC work; and ECEC does not deliver on men's career aspirations. The findings advance knowledge of how female educators make sense of socially constructed norms and expectations and the workforce and workplace dynamics that impact the recruitment and retention of men in early childhood settings. The study facilitates a deeper understanding of gendered phenomena in a highly feminized education context and informs structural and workplace initiatives which may contribute to a more gender-equitable ECEC workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Families of children with Down syndrome experience complex lives and needs, yet the few existing studies on these families are written in conventional academic prose that is not optimal for knowledge translation beyond academia, particularly for busy healthcare professionals. In this paper, we Depart Radically in Academic Writing (DRAW) (Mackinlay, 2022) and present data poetry and two case studies that draw upon semi-structured interviews with mothers, fathers, and siblings, who were interviewed separately about their experiences of having a child/sibling with Down syndrome. We introduce our interdisciplinary team that includes academics and clinicians to contextualise our focus on research translation. We demonstrate that writing with creative criticality (i.e. 'DRAWing') contributes an embodied and affective understanding of research participants' stories, which is largely lacking in the academic literature on families of children with Down syndrome and the sociology of health and illness field more broadly. Moreover, DRAWing can impact audiences emotionally as well as intellectually (Richardson, 2003, p. 924), which has important knowledge translation implications for both healthcare professionals and these families. DRAWing can capture healthcare professionals' attention, prompting them to critically reflect on their practices and opportunities for improving care and treatment for these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School closures across Australia in response to COVID‐19 have persisted since 2020, with rising mental health problems in children and adolescents, alongside rising negative family health and socioeconomic outcomes. Further, some children and young people who were already experiencing disadvantage pre‐pandemic may be at heightened risk of poorer educational outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify the factors for poorer educational outcomes that may be exacerbated by COVID‐19 amongst disadvantaged school students. Key development stages of disadvantage were identified: young children who started school behind, older students already at risk of disengagement from school and children and young people who have had contact with the child protection system. Five databases were systematically searched, across two search periods. A total of 69 Australian, peer‐reviewed articles, published in 2005–2021, examining risk factors for poor educational outcomes for children attending school met the inclusion criteria and were included in final analyses. Our findings provide evidence of key risk factors that make these populations susceptible to worsening outcomes resulting from the COVID‐19 pandemic, and of the critical importance of ongoing research to guide policy and practice support for these at‐risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retention rates for men in early childhood education and care (ECEC) are low. Exit is associated with experience of feeling 'other' perpetuated by judgements of men's sexuality, motives, and ability. In this paper, we take the unique circumstance of many men working together in ECEC to ask whether more men on staff improves experiences of inclusion. We analyse interviews with 10 men working in two Australian ECEC centres in which male educators comprise >20%, of the staff; ten times the international representation of men in the ECEC workforce. Our data identify a developmental process in which supports and mentorship, from female and male colleagues, are critical to retention early in career. Beyond, the building of a distinct male contribution underpins continuing career engagement. However, with the presence of more men new tensions emerge as the 'alien invader' becomes the face of the centre, potentially eclipsing the contribution of female colleagues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative researchers can discard data that are unsaturated or unrelated to research questions, but what do we do when these data affect us, or 'haunt' us, 'long after collecting "it"' (Taylor 2013, 691)? In this paper, we draw upon Sara Ahmed to guide our engagement with 'discarded data': young children's gendered accounts of violence that unexpectedly arose during interviews about rest-time and relaxation in childcare. We show what it feels like to be affected by children's accounts throughout the non-linear and zig-zagged 'data analysis' processes. Applying Ahmed's conceptualisation of power as 'directionality', we critique the power of qualitative research conventions to define our focus as researchers and pay attention to what children raise: how they are directed towards gendered futures. We find that, in children's accounts of violence, boys have more agency than girls as they participate in – and respond to – violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical perspectives, and a large body of empirical research examining sex-segregated occupations, identify the attitudinal barriers of the majority as pivotal for both workplace well-being and the retention of minorities. Globally, where more than 90% of the early childhood education and care workforce is female, understanding the attitudes of the majority is critical in informing actions to sustain men's participation. So too are female educators' understanding, acceptance and responses to the attitudes of other key stakeholders. The extent to which decisions in the workplace reflect personal, organisational or parent perspectives is not well understood. In this study, the authors analyse interview data from the female majority to distinguish personal voice and attributed beliefs regarding the inclusion of men in the early childhood education and care workplace. They analyse interview data from 96 women working as educators in a representative sample of long-day-care and kindergarten services in Queensland, Australia. The analyses suggest that the view of male educators as assets was claimed, while concerns about risk or competency were typically attributed to others. Attributed views were not often contested, but instead accepted or excused. The findings suggest that while the inclusion of men in the early childhood education and care workforce is explicitly accepted by female colleagues, actions within the workforce may be influenced by the attitudes of those outside or by latent personal attitudes distanced by positioning as the voice of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical perspectives, and a large body of empirical research examining sex-segregated occupations, identify the attitudinal barriers of the majority as pivotal for both workplace well-being and the retention of minorities. Globally, where more than 90% of the early childhood education and care workforce is female, understanding the attitudes of the majority is critical in informing actions to sustain men's participation. So too are female educators' understanding, acceptance and responses to the attitudes of other key stakeholders. The extent to which decisions in the workplace reflect personal, organisational or parent perspectives is not well understood. In this study, the authors analyse interview data from the female majority to distinguish personal voice and attributed beliefs regarding the inclusion of men in the early childhood education and care workplace. They analyse interview data from 96 women working as educators in a representative sample of long-day-care and kindergarten services in Queensland, Australia. The analyses suggest that the view of male educators as assets was claimed, while concerns about risk or competency were typically attributed to others. Attributed views were not often contested, but instead accepted or excused. The findings suggest that while the inclusion of men in the early childhood education and care workforce is explicitly accepted by female colleagues, actions within the workforce may be influenced by the attitudes of those outside or by latent personal attitudes distanced by positioning as the voice of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time pressures around work and care within families have increased over recent decades, exacerbated by an enduring male breadwinner culture in Australia and manifested in increasingly long work hours for fathers. We identified fathers who spent relatively long hours actively caring for children despite long work hours and we compared them with other fathers who did less work, less childcare, or less of both. Using 13 waves of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, we explored characteristics associated with the time fathers spent in work and care. The age and ethnicity of fathers differentiated those who spent long hours in both work and childcare from all other groups of fathers, yet other factors were also important for the time fathers spent at work or with children. By examining fathers at the margins of the distributions of work and childcare hours, we add valuable insights into associations between work and care for families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unintended pregnancies are linked to adverse parental mental health, yet little attention has been given to this relationship in fathers specifically. We aimed to meta-analyse associations between unintended pregnancies and mental health problems in fathers with children aged ≤36 months. We conducted keyword searches of Medline, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, PsycInfo and Embase to February 2, 2022, and hand searched included reference lists. Of 2826 records identified, 23 studies (N = 8085 fathers), reporting 29 effects, were eligible for meta-analysis. Included studies assessed depression, anxiety, stress, parenting stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol misuse and psychological distress. Pooled estimates, from random effects meta-analyses, for all mental health outcomes (k = 29; OR = 2.28) and depression only (k = 19; OR = 2.36), showed that the odds of reporting mental health difficulties were >2-fold higher in men reporting unintended births compared with those reporting intended births. However, there was no evidence of association with anxiety (k = 2) or stress (k = 2). Overall, mental health problems were greater in low-income countries. No differences were found across parity, timepoint of mental health assessment, or instruments used to measure mental health symptoms. Analyses were limited by the use of retrospective assessment of pregnancy intention, and heterogeneity of measures used. Further, assessment of fathers' mental health was restricted to the first year postpartum. This review was limited to English language studies. Unintended pregnancies present an identifiable risk for postpartum mental health problems in fathers. • 23 studies (N = 8,085 fathers) of unintended fatherhood were identified for analysis • Unintended fatherhood is associated with a doubling of the odds of depression • Effects are stronger in low- compared to high-income countries • Few studies exist on men's reproductive intentions and other mental health outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments are increasingly implementing policies that encourage early father-infant bonding. However, to date, research has not systematically examined fathers’ perspectives and experiences of early bonding. Using a social constructionist embodiment perspective we argue that paternal bonding is best conceived as a process of repeated, embodied performances that are shaped by gendered parenting discourses. Drawing on 100 semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of Australian fathers of young infants, we argue that most men believe they are capable of developing early strong bonds. They assume that bonding is a product of spending sufficient time with a child, irrespective of the parent's gender. In contrast, a sizable minority of fathers assert that physiology means fathers are ‘largely useless’ to very young infants, and tend to remain distant in the early months. We conclude that social policies promoting early paternal bonding must engage with and challenge gendered/physiological discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how couples negotiate and rationalise gendered divisions in infant care. We take a social constructivist approach to analysing qualitative data from 11 couples with infants (aged 6 to 8 months). We find that even where fathers are actively involved in infant care there are strong gendered divisions in the types of care that parents provide. These divisions are rationalised by gendered discourses regarding mother's superior ability to care for and nurture infants and embedded in the 'silences' or taken-for-granted gendered assumptions within couple's accounts. Dominant gendered discourses implicitly defend a father's decision to opt out of infant care tasks they find more difficult, such as soothing an irritable infant. Our study contributes to work and family policy by capturing couples' care negotiations in the early stages of the parent-child relationship. This is a critical time when gendered care patterns are established within families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]