Abstract
Military life is a normal style of life for many Americans. Nowadays, the United States has to participate in numerous political and military conflicts to support order, justice, and citizenship comfort. Military families may be observed in different states, and military children have to get access to appropriate education and other conditions that may promote their personal growth and development. The U.S. government supports the choice of citizens to be a part of military service and introduces several special programs for military families. Childcare programs represent a significant part of the military care system. In this research study, the discussion of the military lifestyle is developed to clarify its possible effects on young children regarding their families’ needs and expectations. A mixed research design is chosen to answer the main research questions. 20 families and 10 childcare providers are invited to participate in interviews and a survey about the connection between military service and the childhood care system. The results should prove that the military lifestyle has a certain impact on young children and their families. As soon as the needs of military families are recognized, they have to be compared with the conditions under which children receive professional care and education. In the early stages, children can memorize huge amounts of information. However, they are not aware of how to interpret all data and develop relationships with the world. Appropriate childcare, the worth of military service, and the peculiarities of military families have to be discussed in this study to understand the effects of the military lifestyle on children.
Summary of Proposal
This research proposal aims at discussing the conditions under which Americans have to serve, create families, and bring up their children. The impact of the military lifestyle on military children and the early childhood care system will be discussed in terms of a thoroughly developed literature review and the findings from surveys offered to military families and interviews conducted with military families and childcare providers. Military families may have special needs, and the existing care systems should meet these needs. The research proposal proves the importance of the chosen topic and introduces the problems military families face while promoting their children’s development. The appropriateness of the research methods and the literary sources is proved by the possibility to answer the main research questions and create a basis for future recommendations to childcare providers. In general, it is expected to cooperate with different people and work with multiple sources to obtain enough qualitative and quantitative information.
Introduction
Nowadays, there are many ongoing conflicts the United States has to be involved in. The inevitability to avoid these conflicts and the necessity to make certain preparations for wartime promote changes and improvements in military service. Due to the existing all-voluntary force concept, many Americans are ready to change their ordinary civilian lives to military service (Clever & Segal, 2013). The number of military-connected children has been raised, as well as the number of needs and affordable programs. There are more than one million children who have at least one parent serving in the military and about 700,000 children who have already experienced parental deployment (Sories, Maier, Beer, & Thomas, 2015). However, the number of military families has not been decreased, meaning that the military lifestyle is not as bad or challenging as it may seem to be. Though some certain challenges and requirements cannot be neglect, the U.S. government and special organizations work hard to develop appropriate living conditions, including the military early childhood care system.
The goal of this study is to investigate credible peer-reviewed sources to create a solid basis for a future research project based on mixed methods. The main research questions of this project are as follows: “What effects does the military lifestyle have on young children?” and “What are the needs military families may face in the military early childhood care system?”. It is not enough to prove that the military lifestyle differentiates from the conditions offered to civilians. It is important to understand what needs and conditions make military children special and worth further investigation in terms of early childhood studies, management, and leadership.
The importance of the chosen topic may be explained by the presence of certain problems connected with child development, behavioral challenges, health, and unpredictable or hard-to-control emotional changes. Many research studies are based on the necessity to identify the health and psychological problems of military children or the peculiar features of military services and the reasons why many Americans are ready to leave their ordinary civilian lives to become servicemen and servicewomen. There are millions of military families in the United States, and about 50% of such families are with children. Not to be challenged by the uniqueness of the military lifestyle, such children should have access to specially developed early childhood care systems and programs.
Education is an important field that provides children with an opportunity to make their own decisions, succeed in critical thinking, and understand the world around them. The development of military children is challenged by the necessity to move constantly, change schools and friends, and experience parental neglect, maltreatment, and loss regularly (Siegel & Davis, 2013). These problems have to be identified and explained to be confident in the effectiveness of care systems offered by the government or special non-profit organizations like the Military Child Education Coalition (2017) or Child Care Aware of America (2017). Military families, as well as all members of such families, may use different programs and supportive guides to facilitate their lives. In comparison to a civilian style of life, military traditions, cultures, and expectations are hard to predict. At the same time, military parents try to take numerous steps to support their children and offer them the best options.
The development of international relations, globalization, online activities, recent technological achievements, and cultural diversity are the factors that may influence the United States in terms of its military field. On the one hand, it is easy to offer options to military families and support childhood development. On the other hand, military life turns out to be a complex issue with several expectations and unpredictable decisions. It is necessary to investigate the peculiarities of the military lifestyle, identify the gaps in the studies concerning the external factors, and evaluate the changes the military early childhood care system may undergo due to all these changes. Today’s U.S. military families may demonstrate different attitudes to the importance and the role of military services in their lives, and the task is to clarify if these differences are integral for early childhood development and personal growth.
Literature Review
The U.S. Military Life Peculiarities
Military life maybe not easy for many people; however, the Americans have already developed a special attitude to military services and the military lifestyle. In 1973, the United States made a transition to all-volunteer force (AVF) programs according to which all American manpower consisted of volunteers rather them mandatory services (Clever & Segal, 2013). Servicemen and women were provided with high salaries and appropriate living conditions in case they chose the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps (Cline, 2014). During the last years, the U.S. military has been defined as one of the largest and most effective systems in the whole world. There are “1.12 million people on active duty, with 1.9 million dependents” (Cline, 2014, p. 3). Children or old parents usually create a group of dependents. About $756 billion is spent on the Department of Defense budget annually. Since 2001, the United States participated in the war in Afganistan, and, since 2002, the war in Iraq began promoting the deployment of military servicemen and servicewomen in the United States (Cozza & Lerner, 2013). The events of 9/11 made the government pay greater attention to the military lifestyle and recognize possible threats to military families, including sacrifices, support, and obligations (Clever & Segal, 2013). However, the number of military families was not decreased.
Today, military families are introduced as a diverse population with their own needs and expectations. Service members do not find it necessary to delay their marriages and children but find it normal to support family lives across different ranks of service (Clever & Segal, 2013). Though military life is not easy, there are more than one million people devote their lives to serving in the U.S. military, with 55% of them being married, and 43% of them having children (Walters, n.d.). It is wrong to neglect the fact that the military lifestyle does not have an effect on children, and the analysis of up-to-date journal articles, organizational reports, and academic books may be used to prove this idea.
Importance of Early Childhood Care
The importance of education in the early years has been considerably improved and brought to public awareness due to certain changes in the U.S. economy, family life, and public support (Essa, 2012). Family adults have to work to earn a living and meet the needs of all family members. Children, in their turn, have to face the reality and the amounts of information that has to be interpreted and understood. Most children try to develop trustful and friendly relations with the world and its people and use the early years to acquire skills and knowledge (Essa, 2012). The U.S. government takes all necessary steps to provide children from military families with similar opportunities as civilian children receive. Still, there is always a certain distance between the values of the military and civilian society (Brooks, 2016). Many children may not pay attention to the existing differences, and some children can be challenged by such requirements. Therefore, special attention should be paid to an early childhood care system in military families.
Children and Military Families
Military families
Military children, as well as their families, have to get used to several familiar and expected requirements, including frequent movements, possible job reassignments, no regular friends and same communities, and new schools at different ages (Lester & Flake, 2013). There are two main types of military families: active-duty families the members of which have to live close to military installations and receive the necessary portion of training and education and reserve components, also known as reservist families, the members of which may live in civilian communities and be trained and deployed during a certain period (Hutchison, 2016). In both types of families, children are usually exposed to such psychological and emotional challenges as loneliness, poor parental attention, or the lack of support. Therefore, the government focuses on the development of appropriate care systems to promote education, physical training, communication, and socialization.
Needs of military children
To build successful military communities of care, the government, as well as all stakeholders in the U.S. military, has to recognize the needs of families and their children, in particular. Approximately two million children were exposed to a wartime deployment of their parents during the last 20 years (Siegel & Davis, 2013). In addition to the fact that these children need understanding and support, professional care and knowledge should be used to address all possible traumas and concerns (Sories et al., 2015). The needs of military children vary by their nature. On the one hand, there are certain financial and public needs based on the necessity to move and change locations, follow special training programs and orders, and meet the expectations of military service. On the other hand, several health and personal challenges have to be taken into consideration.
At a very young age, children experience loss, emptiness, and abandonment that lead to feelings of sadness, vulnerability, and numbness (Siegel & Davis, 2013). Childhood care should be based on the needs connected with effective parenting, existing social, racial, and ethnic diversity, and available educational opportunities (Trautmann, Alhusen, & Gross, 2015). The peculiar feature of the needs of military children is the inability or several difficulties to identify true reasons for emotional, social, or health problems. The needs of such children are closely connected to frequent separation from parents or the unpredictable loss of parents. Children are not able to comprehend the importance of such changes, and it is hard to explain the uniqueness of military conditions.
Helpful organizations for military families
There are many specific organizations in the United States the goal of which is to promote effective childhood care for military families. For example, the Military Child Education Coalition (2017) aims at ensuring high-quality educational opportunities for military children and providing support to deal with such issues as family separation, frequent transitions, and a lack of friends. Child Care Aware of America (2017) is another national network that provides American children with care resources, including the children from military families who need affordable and quality opportunities. Sometimes, military families are ready to use the services offered by such organizations and provide their children with the best available practices. Some parents believe that they can bring their children alone even being in military services. Many military families support the idea of developing their own cultures and special tools, including discipline, professional identity based on knowledge and control, military ceremonies and etiquettes, and esprit de corps and cohesion (Hall, 2012). Still, the support and professional help offered by the above-mentioned organization turn out to be a significant contribution to child development.
Implications of Research Studies to the Current Research
To answer the chosen research question and develop an effective investigation of the offered topic, it is necessary to create a solid literary background. Almost all sources chosen for this literature review are peer-reviewed articles and academic books. They help to clarify what has been already discussed about the military lifestyle and the needs of children in military families. The publication date of all articles and books is between 2012 and 2017 proving that the latest knowledge and achievements are used for this research. Several official sites of the U.S. organizations were used in the review to underline the kind of work supported by the government in its intentions to meet the needs of military children. Also, one story of a military person from Care.com’s help was chosen to prove the urgency of the topic and the reality of the events that should be discussed in a future paper.
Every source offered is a good opportunity to understand what kind of work has been already done to support military families, what effects the military lifestyle may have on children, and if the U.S. government can develop appropriate child care systems for military families. Relying on the information gathered from the books, journals, and official sites of U.S. organizations, it is possible to start developing credible recommendations for military families to support the development of their children and explain what improvements can be made to the living conditions offered by the government.
Methodology
In this section of the research proposal, attention will be paid to the methodology of a future project, the importance of research design, the choice of participants and data collection methods, and the discussion of ethical issues, expected challenges, benefits, and limitations.
Research Design
The study methodology is closely connected to the phenomenology concept in terms of which it is possible to give clear descriptions of human experiences and behaviors and take into consideration different external factors. To understand the peculiarities of early childhood care systems and the effects of the military lifestyle on children, it is expected to develop research using a mixed design with the possibility to use qualitative and quantitative data (Creswell, 2014). The chosen research design will provide the researcher with the possibility to gather, analyze, and interpret different types of information within the same study. In this study based on mixed research, certain variables have to be identified and discussed. The primary independent variable will be parental military services which are divided into active-duty families, reservist families, and deployed-to-combat-zones families. In regards to this particular variable, several dependent variables can be offered, including the quality of life, access to education, child behavior, and care systems.
Sampling
A purposive sample will be used to gather the required information. It is expected to cooperate with local care organizations to identify military families with one or more children no older than 8 years who are enrolled in special military childcare programs. The period between January 2012 and June 2017 will be established as a time frame. Among the group of participants, there should be families with different military services, including active, reserved, and in deployment. All participants should be English-speaking people who are ready to cooperate, answer the researcher’s questions, and share their thoughts and attitudes to the quality of care offered to military children. If there is a chance to cooperate with families from different states distantly, it should be chosen. The study should be based on cooperation with about 20 American families. Exclusive and inclusive criteria are based on language, child age, and military services. It is also expected to cooperate with 10 childcare providers and gather information about the quality of care offered, the conditions under which military children are provided with care, and the challenges care providers face while working with military families.
Data Collection Methods
To answer the research questions, two types of research methods will be used. On the one hand, qualitative data will be gathered through interviews with military families and childcare providers. The interviews with military families will be conducted via Skype or face-to-face regarding the preferences and accessibility of the participants. The date and time should be offered by the researcher. Still, if the participants have their time limitations or duties, they have to inform the researcher to establish appropriate periods. Every family will be informed about the conditions under which interviews will be developed, the reasons for why this study occurs, and the outcomes that will be expected. Interviews with care providers will be developed at their places of work after their agreements to participate in the study are received. In both cases, interviews should not last more than one hour. A friendly environment is anticipated.
A survey will be offered to military families. It will consist of 15 questions about the main needs of their children, the appropriateness of childcare programs, and the effects the education system may have on children and military families in general. A survey will be sent to each family via e-mail with a request to send the reply in the next five days.
Ethical Considerations
The study should be approved by a special research ethics committee. All participants have to be informed about the peculiarities of the study and the goals to be achieved. All contacts have to be voluntary. If a participant refuses to answer questions or wants to withdraw a project, such demand should be met. Confidentiality and anonymity of all participants are the two obligatory issues in the study.
Benefits, Limitations, and Challenges
The main benefit of a mixed research method is the possibility to cooperate with real people who have experience in military services and bringing up children regarding the military lifestyle. This research is based on qualitative and quantitative data that can help to achieve a better understanding of a research problem and develop a discussion from different perspectives. A small sample is the main limitation of the work. However, regarding the fact that it is an initial step in research, this number of participants should be enough to make the first conclusions and develop the first recommendations. The challenge of the study is to find the required number of the participants and convince them to answer all questions. Some military families may not have enough time for interviews and surveys. Many families prefer not to share their personal experiences with the public. There are also servicemen and servicewomen whose reactions are hard to predict.
References
Brooks, R. (2016). Civil-military paradoxes. In J. Mattis & K. Schake (Eds.), Warriors and citizens: American views of our military (pp. 21-68). Danvers, MA: Hoover Press.
Child Care Aware of America. (2017). Child care aware of America overview. Web.
Clever, M., & Segal, D.R. (2013). The demographics of military children and families. The Future of Children, 23(2), 13-39.
Cline, L.S. (2014). Today’s military wife (7th ed.). Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.
Cozza, S.J., & Lerner, R.M. (2013). Military children and families: Introducing the issue. The Future of Children, 23(2), 3-11.
Creswell, J.W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Essa, E.L. (2012). Introduction to early childhood education (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Hall, L.K. (2012). The military lifestyle and the relationship. In B.A. Moore (Ed.), Handbook of counseling military couples (pp. 137-156). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Hutchison, E.D. (2016). Essentials of human behavior: Integrating person, environment, and the life course (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Lester, P., & Flake, C.E. (2013). How wartime military service affects children and families. The Future of Children, 23(2), 121-141.
Military Child Education Coalition. (2017). About us.Web.
Siegel, B.S., & Davis, B.E. (2013). Health and mental health needs of children in US military families. Pediatrics, 131(6), 2002-2015.
Sories, F., Maier, C., Beer, A., & Thomas, V. (2015). Addressing the needs of military children through family-based play therapy. Contemporary Family Therapy, 37(3), 209-220.
Walters, J.M. (n.d.). 12 things you didn’t know about military families. Web.