When I Think of Research...

Blog Assignment Week # 8 – A Reflection on my Experience

There are many insights that I have gained about research from taking this course. However, the three most outstanding ones that I wish to emphasize are: data quality, equity and ethics. When I think of data quality, I am reminded of how critically important it is for the researcher to be accurate, consistent with the data resources so that there is reliability and viability which is “establishing the truth of the research outcomes” (Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010).

In the light of equity, the aim of researchers is to ensure that they are going beyond what is equal (Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). The challenge of equity is to be able to do what is fair and just. Thus whether the field of study has sought to utilize quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods approaches for analyzing the data collected, it is essential that the information and solutions sought will serve fairly and justly and without partiality or bias, the children, the families, the people and the society the researchers want to uplift.

Ultimately, as researchers strive for equity, they have to move towards leveling the playing field especially when considering early childhood research. Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010, p.186) in summarizing the role of equity state that “ensuring that research activity reflects the diversity   of particular groups being studied is a particularly important equity consideration and research activity, therefore, needs to appreciate the heterogeneity of participants in research projects”(p.186).

An understanding of ethics is of vital importance to research considerations since ethics directly impact “the rights and well-being of all those who may be affected by the research” (p.365). In research connected with children especially, everything needs to be done to ensure that they are safe and before they can become participants in any research program, informed consent must be obtained from both parents/guardians and children alike. No child or children should be charmed into participating in a research project and “out of respect for the privacy of the participants, confidentiality [must be maintained]” (p.77).

The nature of doing research has helped me to understand that we have to be sensitive, honest and fair. Each step in the research process is guided by a “set of feasible, practical research procedures” (p.117). My ideas have changed because I must remember that I am no longer “imagining an ideal study, but I am concentrating on the complexities of real research, with real people, in real settings and with real limits on resources” (p.117).

In the areas of planning, designing and conducting research in early childhood, I have gained greater understanding about the complexities of the processes. Teaching and learning are no easy feats. Therefore, I am better prepared from this knowledge to know how to utilize collaboration and the growth or evidences from research. I am better able to make informed decisions in a more equitable way on how to improve educational opportunities especially for marginalized and under served children and their families.

Challenges that I encountered came in the form of deciphering new terminologies and reading the materials on research and follow sequentially on how to develop the research simulation. However, with the help of Professor Myers and my colleagues’ insightful posts, I was able to make the connections as I immersed in the research processes.

As a result  of this course, My perceptions of an early childhood professional has been strengthened and as an early childhood advocate, I now realize that I must have keen insight when using research as a tool. I must continue to be an avid reader, ensuring that I pay closer attention to details and as I continue to go above and beyond the call of duty, I pledge once more to be the best I can be for my students and their families.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Myers and All my classmates for their sterling contribution to my understanding of this course. Once again, I wish everyone success in this Masters Program and I look forward to working again with everyone. Thank you very much.

Reference

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International

perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Research Around the World

Blog Assignment Week # 5: European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA)

What are some of the current international research topics?

On this International website, some of the topics being researched include the following:

“Revealing the interactional features of learning and teaching moments in outdoor activity” written by Jane Waters & Amanda Bateman, and published online May 24, 2013

“The business of childcare in Europe” by Helen Penn and published online May 01, 2013

“Parent Partnership and “quality” early years services: practitioners’ perspectives written Michelle Cottle & Elise Alexander and published online April 20, 2013

One outstanding topic that I liked very much was “Foundations of character: methodological aspects of a study of character development in three to six year old children with a focus on sharing behaviors.” In this research, it is stated that the researchers, James Arthur, Sacha Powell & Hsing-Chiung Len conducted the “major research project involving five separate studies, mostly multi-method, looking at different aspects of character development in different age groups in different populations.”This results of this research was published online September 10, 2012 and it now has open access to anyone wishing to view it.

 What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

EECERA is an independent, self-governing, international association which promotes and disseminates multi-disciplinary research on early childhood and its applications to policy and practice. EECERA is a non-profit organization, wholly-owned and subscribed to by its substantial and influential world-wide membership. It generates its own revenue, receives no external funding and thus ensures its independence, radical attitude and innovative openness

EECERA seeks to sustain and develop the rich tradition of European early childhood thought, the legacy of Pestalozzi, Owen, Froebel, Steiner, Vygotsky, Piaget, Malaguzzi and other pioneers, whilst looking forward to encourage the exploration of new paradigms, methodologies, concepts and applications in the ever-changing context of early childhood studies. Its reach and interest is resolutely international and, whilst wanting to identify with Europe’s pluralist and diverse cultures, it is open to learn of, and to share in, the equally rich early childhood traditions and concepts of the World.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

The EECERJ, the Journal of EECERA, is one of the most prestigious early childhood journals in the world. It is one of only four early years journals indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information.

For further information on this website we can access the following web link:

http://www.eecera.org/

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

EDUC 6163: Building Research Competencies

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

The field of research has been significantly contributing to early childhood education.  As the research continues to progress, I believe that one of the most important  topics that I would  want to be involved in to make a major positive contribution  for the well-being of children and /or their families, is that of the powerful  impact  of nutrition on brain development  in children 0-8 years of age.

It is my firm belief that proper nutrition during pregnancy is foundational for proper brain development and will set the stage for enhanced learning in the future. If the mother is deprived of healthy nutrition during pregnancy, this can have serious repercussions on the weight of her baby as well as the size of her baby’s brain. Therefore, conducting research on how nutrition will affect brain of children 0-8 years of age will certainly be insightful for mothers and families in general to know how to make informed decisions about choices that will affect them and their children in the long run.

Murphy (2011) emphasizes the need for proper nutrition in children when she states that “insufficient nutrition takes its toll on a child’s learning experience … [and] a balanced, moderate approach to better nutrition can make a positive difference in school performance (p.1). From this statement, in my research it would be my desire to probe what “insufficient nutrition” would entail and what examples would I give to families of what a “balanced nutrition” would look like?

As the research continues, I hope that I would be able to mitigate deficiencies, and many learning disabilities that are directly related to proper nutrition. There are also research being conducted to show the correlation between aggressive behavior and proper nutrition. This is definitely a significant area of research that as an educator I am interested in to assist teachers and families to know more about. Learning about the different types of food that can trigger aggression in the brain as the child develops would certainly be helpful to all who are involved in the development of children.

There are so many issues surrounding nutrition and brain development that we as early childhood educators need to know about that the research, I believe is far from being completed and we must continue to unearth its gems to help our  children and their families.

Reference

Murphy, P. (2011)The daily nutrition requirements for school success. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/454425-the-daily-nutrition-requirements-for-school-success/

My Personal Research Journey

EDUC 6163: Building Research Competencies

My Personal Research Journey

The specific topic that I have chosen for my research simulation for this course is: An examination of the impact of poverty and literacy on the social and emotional development of children at the early childhood level.”

I am particularly drawn to this topic based on the experiences that I have had in previous courses that I have studied. I also believe that as an early childhood advocate, it is incumbent on me to continue to raise the awareness level of the powerful impact that poverty can have on the social and emotional development of young children and their families. It is my hope and desire that as I continue this research simulation I will be able to expand on how to build an impartial high class early childhood education system  that will be reactive to the social and emotional needs of the marginalized and undeserved children in the early childhood student population.

As I continue to immerse in this research process, I am excited about the knowledge that I am gaining from the different resources. However, I know that I can feel overwhelmed at times, especially at this time when I realize that balancing work and reading has been chaotic for the past month. Despite these challenges though, I am learning to be extremely meticulous about reading for important facts while eliminating those details that may not be relevant to the research topic. An important fact from the textbook that I wish to include here that has helped to drive my interest so far is: “Every part of the research process may offer surprises” (Mac Naughton, Rolfe & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010 p.9). In other words, our experience with the research tool will indeed be an interesting one.

An important insight that I have gained so far from the construction of the research chart is that of ensuring that every section is covered by APA format. This is something that must never be forgotten seeing that it is documented facts done by someone else.

One thing that I will request of my classmates at this point in time is for additional resources/ websites that will expand our knowledge not only on poverty but our understanding on any other aspect in the early childhood field such as ways to facilitate the physical, social and emotional well being of young children and their families living in poverty via literacy.

I am looking forward to share any resource or insight that I have with my fellow colleagues on their topic too.

The following websites are very important to me as I research on poverty and I do hope that my colleagues will find them helpful too.

Children’s Defense Fund. (2010). Ending childhood poverty. Retrieved from

http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/ending-child-poverty/

National Center for Children in Poverty. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (2004). Publications. Retrieved from

http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_pubs_dpd.html

Reference

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International

perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

The International Early Childhood Field and its Importance

Week # 8 Blog Assignment: The International Early Childhood Field and its Importance

First I must sincerely thank Dr. Terry Davis and all my colleagues for all that I have learned from this course, Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field. I hope to continue to grow and develop as an early childhood professional and as a Masters student.

As I engage in the reflective process with regard to learning about issues and trends in the early childhood field internationally, there are three consequences that I wish to share with my fellow colleagues.

The first consequence is the fact that I must continue to promote education for all students all over the world. Every child, every family needs to know that the way to advance is via education –quality education. Thus everyone involved in the early childhood education process must seek to collaborate and share best practices and ideas on how to help advance education for our children.

The second consequence revolves around how invaluable our role as early childhood professionals is to the development of a nation. As educators, I firmly believe that we hold in our hands the keys to help eradicate poverty and to provide the foundation for sustainable growth and development. That is why we need to advocate for a stronger infrastructure that will promote equality and equity and affordability  for all children.

The third consequence relates to the idea that we cannot view the education of our children in terms of how much monetary gains we can receive from it, but we have to ensure that we are engaging our children in an educational process that will help them to think critically, that will fit them to live and work with others that are culturally diverse from themselves and in the long run help them to be future leaders of the world.

One goal that I have for the international early childhood field is the continued advocacy for the eradication of poverty. I believe that once poverty is eradicated, inequality will be lessened. This goal may seem to be far –fetched. However, we as educators can begin right where we are in the classrooms, in our communities, with our families to start changing the minds of the young, impressionable ones. We as educators are the agents of change on the international scene and as we learn about the issues and trends on the world scene, the knowledge that we receive is to be shared with others to ignite the hearts to continue the fight for the education of our children.

Once again, I wish all my colleagues success in the rest of the courses to come.Continue to advocate for the children who cannot speak for themselves at this time.