Reflection of activities we have done

One of the requirements of our activities is that we are responsive. In my single-child project this means responding to single child. I am keen to provide more meaningful activities to single child and keen to do something about the long terms goals and aspirations of my project. We took sporting activities and after hours schooling activities separately in May. Sporting activities are vital to the life of a single child. The activities allow time with other children and help build team skills. Children also learn that they may not always come first. This is an experience for a single child who has generally been the first consideration in his household and therefore expects the world to work the same way. After hours schooling are a way for a single child to interact on an informal basis. It is vital that a single child learns basic social skills, like how to chat informally or talk to members of the opposite sex. Often, children from single child homes are incredibly spoilt and throw tantrums when things do not go their way. This is something most parents are aware of, but do not guard against.

A possible activity?

In the project proposal stage I intended to adopt family therapy into my project action. It does sounds like a social work as Lynda thinks.
However,where the thoughts come from is regarding Chinese parents’ expectations for their child, they place a disproportionate emphasis on their child’s educational achievement. Also, parents pay too much attention on very narrow educational content and in many cases parents have very simple ideas of how to motivate their child to study more. I considered how children are aware of this type of parent-child relationship. I am also doing family therapy course this moment and this method came into my mind naturally. Family therapists with only child family can coach parents during interactions with their child to strengthen the parent-child bond; decrease harsh; improve child social skills and cooperation; and reduce child negative behaviors. I believe it is important for children to develop the most appropriate emotions during each stage of their precious childhood. Family therapy is new for most Chinese and people have less access to family therapy. I thought what I can do more for single child families is providing a choice and opportunity taking from developed countries.

After hours schooling

After hours schooling activities were planned to bring children together to build relationships and trust. This initial gathering took place on Tuesday, 25th of May from 17pm – 18pm. The activities were fully embraced within this primary school, with 10 children being involved in this day. After hours schooling are a fantastic way for a single child to interact on an informal basis. It is vital that a single child learns basic social skills, like how to chat informally or talk to members of the opposite sex. Often, children from single child homes are incredibly spoilt and throw tantrums when things do not go their way. This is something most parents are aware of, but do not guard against.

My reflection

I learnt much from Lynda'scomments about my project plan.These make me clear what I need to strength. My project collective action might require at a “high” levels over long period before I can see any real evidence of those actions resulting in change. My road is out of community development and sounds so ambitious. It is important to recognize that different stakeholders bring a different preference for action.
If my project aims can be achieved sustainability; I need to aspire to deeper questioning. By using the iceberg model, the questions I ask the children and parents from single child family remains at the “what has happened” level, the corresponding action is to seek more methods: reaction. If the questioning goes one level deeper to “what has been happening”, perhaps those additional ways would be built ahead of demand: anticipation. I should be aware of that I am dealing with a complex problem. I need to develop a different kind of questioning that leads to very different types of action.

Reflection

Community development is about creating a better future, achieving community goals and aspirations. The role of a community development worker is to support communities in the journey of understanding and achieving our aspirations. An important part of the community engagement and participation done by community workers involves listening. Often we will be listening to individuals and groups who are marginalized, alienated or oppressed. Listening is one of the most important roles of a community worker. Listening is an art, a skill and a discipline. The individual needs to understand what is involved in listening and what factors can hinder listening. In my project after sporting activities we still continue to respond to children needs when they request us to. We want to make our work with children more proactive, more meaningful in achieving long term development.

Sporting activities

Sporting activities took place on 20th of May from 3pm to 6 pm at Wulan primary school.

listenning to children and meeting with parents

Active participation in community activities requires time, stamina and considerable personal and economic resources. My single-child project activities are difficult to take in China while I am in Australia. Two colleagues cooperate with me to take these activities. We have a power from a primary school’s principal to take activities at school. My workmates listened to children from single child family voices and stories outside of formal processes. We also hold a meeting on 18th of May at 17 pm at Wulan Primary school and parents was informed about this project and the purpose of single child families’ participation in the activities, emphasising that they have been invited because they are the parents who have the best understanding of their child.

My project framework

My project framework is based on human-orientation, accumulating social capital, creating a harmonious community.
People are the important recourses in a community. The idea of people-centered seeks to meet people needs and make the community development sustainable. It means ensuring that people have the sense of responsibility, ensuring that the people are able to break boundaries, ensuring that people have the skills and behaviors needed to be able to work in different environments.
Social capital refers to connections among individuals-social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness. Social capital in community development enables people to collectively resolve common problems and achieve common goals. An effective social capital manifests itself through equity, empowerment, community spirit, social bonds, community networks, friendships, social resources, or good neighborliness.
The theme of harmonious is from policies in China. In my framework a harmonious community based on respect and responsibility, where everyone is made to feel welcome and valued. Creating a harmonious community can work together to create a warm atmosphere.
Therefore I wish through human-orientation, social capital to create and maintain a harmonious community and to achieve sustainable development as a goal.

The overview of collective action

-raising awareness and advocacy.
-organizing workshop for different department cooperation.
-seeking international cooperation.
-providing training on skills of parenting to parents.
-developing a website
-opening a platform of information to strengthen the cooperation and promote information exchange and resource sharing.
-setting up network and developing interacting activities.
-survey are also necessary. Survey can be conducted by telephones, webs, questionnaires, interviews to parents parenting situation and so on.

A helpful book

One reading I did is “Bowling Alone” written by Robert Putnam who is a political scientist. According to Putnam, Social capital refers to connections among individuals-social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness. This definition also identifies three dimensions of social capital: bonding, bridging and linking capital. ‘Bonding’ capital refers to social connections that build on commonality and homogeneity . Some illustrations of this form of capital include the bonds between family members and close friends. ‘Bridging’ capital refers to networks across ‘diverse social divisions’. This form of capital may be present in neighbourhood networks where people form relationships across identity differences. ‘Linking’ capital refers to alliances between communities and individuals with formal power, particularly power over resources required for social and economic development. The definition of social capital help me identify issue and project because it emphasizes that networks based on trust and reciprocity that enable people to collectively resolve common problems and achieve common goals.

Reasons for one child policy in China

Initially, after 1949, the founding of People’s Republic of China, Chairman Mao was ideologically disposed to view a large population as an asset (U.S. Library of Congress). The married women in china were encouraged to be mother hero. Mother Hero was an honor in the Soviet Union and China to all mothers bearing and raising 10 or more children (Wiki). In addition, the Chinese traditionally prefer early marriage, early child-bearing, and large families. Moreover, after the long period of war, the death rate was reduced markedly due to the stability of the society, the development of production and the improvement of medical and health care conditions (China.org.cn 2002). Therefore, rapidly growing population soon became in later years. The population increased dramatically during the 1950s and 60s, from 540 million in 1950 to 850 million in 1970(Zhu 2003). During the years from 1958 to 1961, the government aimed to use China’s vast population to rapidly transform China from a primarily agrarian economy by peasant farmers into a modern communist society through the process of agriculturalization and industrialization (Wiki). However, after the interval of the Great Leap Forward, Chinese leaders realized that this rapid population growth was a disadvantage or to development (U.S. Library of Congress). China faced serious social and economic problems associated with overpopulation. Overly populated regions led to degradation of land and resources, pollution, and detrimental living conditions and poor public health as well. In addition, during the three-year difficult time (1959-1961) fertility rates remained high, which put considerable strain on the government’s efforts to meet the needs of its people. It was difficult to provide enough food, clean water, and health care and so on for those starving people. Therefore the Chinese government tried to find a solution to the problem of increasing population with moderate success (Cook 1999). On the other hand, the challenge posed by the population question not only has a bearing on the survival and development of the Chinese nation but also affects the stability and prosperity of all human society. China with the biggest population has responsibility for the world where human beings live together. According to statistics, in 1960 China had the largest population in the world, more than 666million, which was nearly 22% of the world population (3039 million) (The world mapper n.d.). Consequently, Chinese leader started practicing the birth control. In 1964 Birth control offices were set up in the central government and some provinciallevel governments (U.S. Library of Congress). Population policies and campaigns have been ongoing in China since the 1970s. The so called “late, long, few” policy was introduced in that time. This policy consisted of the encouragement of later child bearing, longer spacing, and fewer children (Zhu 2003). This policy led to a fall in the total fertility rate from 5.9 in 1970 to 2.7 in 1979(Zhu 2003).

Meanwhile the economic reform, which has produced tremendous changes in China, occurred in China in the end of 1970s. Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of China's reform and opening to the outside world, made an in-depth analysis of China's basic national conditions on the basis of the experience and lessons of socialist construction since the founding of the People's Republic (Information office of the state council of China 1995). He pointed out the goal of the four modernizations in China. It was imperative to take into consideration the basic features of the Chinese environment, that is, the vast scale of the country, its weak foundation, its massive population and the low ratio of cultivated land, and this demonstrated the objective need for the development of population to be coordinated with the development of the economy, society, resources and environment (Information office of the state council of China 1995). Deng Xiaoping clearly also pointed out that China's population policy was an important policy of strategic significance (Information office of the state council of China 1995). In addition, although there was a fall of fertility rate, it was not enough for the economic reform programme (Zhu 2003). Projections showed that the population would continue to increase sharply, because around two thirds of the citizens were under 30, and because the baby boomers of the 1950s and 60s were entering their reproductive time (Zhu 2003). Therefore family planning policy or so-called one child policy was introduced in 1979.

Project Proposal

The single-child family community

There have been a growing number of single-child families in china especially in cities since one-child policy was introduced in 1979. China's one-child family policy has had a great effect on the lives of nearly a quarter of the world's population since. The policy has been beneficial in terms of curbing population growth, aiding economic growth, and improving the health and welfare of women and children.

On the negative side there are concerns about demographic and sex imbalance and the psychological effects for a generation of only children in the cities. Responsible parents should know that family is the first little community where the personality of a child develops and if there are more than three in the family the children can learn in a more natural and easy way how to cope with every day problems and learn to compromise in an argument, as well as understand others and love them. However under the strict rule it is much more difficult to bring up the only child as the process of teaching him the terms of living in a society is rather artificial. Many young people who are the first generation of single child in china give a lot of evidence that one child families provide a less psychological and socially healthier environment for development. Although, some research has shown that only children are more highly motivated to academic achievement ,have higher self esteem, have better relationships with parents, on the negative side the only child may find it hard at first to relate to other children and to manage aggression. Thus, the project of single child family union aims to deal with or prevent from some issues related to one child family via a strong connection between such families and a good relationship net between each child

To achieve the project’s aim, I will look for the cooperation of departments from health, education, policy. Another level of participants also includes single child families and volunteers who are adult single child.
I will utilize a range of activities covered from setting up a website, providing parent training workshops, offering family therapy, to creating a children social network.
The website may include forum where participants can exchange information and ideas, and collection of blogs where only child families share their experiences.
Parent training workshops may have volunteers who are only adults without siblings share their stories and offer a unique educational program which aims to prevent severe behavioral, emotional and developmental problems in children by enhancing the knowledge, skills, and confidence of parents.
Family therapists with only child family can coach parents during interactions with their child to strengthen the parent-child bond; decrease harsh; improve child social skills and cooperation; and reduce child negative behaviors.
A children social network can help children make friends. Team sport or musical activities are provide to help children learn to cope in a group environment and interact with others.

In undertaking this work I will need to be mindful of the some risks. One could be thinking is how to meet participants’ interests and needs especially local authorities’, only child families’ and varying levels of children’s. For example, I will aware of is that parents of an only child may have different expectations via joining the only child community. Some look for parent training skills. Some want to develop a bond or connection with other families for kids. Children also are varying. Some are happy to amuse themselves with solitary activities such as reading or art, some may be naturally sociable.