When I Think of Research...

      The course EDUC-6163-7, Building Research Competency allowed me look at research in a different light. Early Childhood professional research allowed me to view research differently. Before this course, research seemed to be simply a gathering or collection of data. I was able to understand research and its components better. Research is a complex process and necessary. The purpose of research is to uncover, gain insight and knowledge (Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). It is something every early childhood professional will need.  Every early childhood professional may not become a researcher themselves, but will read research information or implement a procedure based on current research.

     Research requires many planning steps before actual research begins.  I have learned the research process requires a lot of thought. Before coming up with a hypothesis, the researchers must think about the question they want answered, what information they want. The type of research method, the participants, the data collection methods, data analysis method and validity are components of research one must consider before beginning research. Once cannot decide he/she wants to research something and go out the next day and begin. Without the planning stages, the data collected is not valid.

Researchers must consider the challenges of ethics when researching. They have to determine the acceptable risk or even if there are any acceptable risks the participants should be subjected to. Researchers must decide if they want to use the qualitative method, quantitative method or the mixed method when gathering and validating research results. The validation process is very important for creditable research. Research need to be awake of equality when researching. They must remember not to subconsciously evaluate their results based on norms that are created the Eurocentric ideology (Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).

         This course along with previous courses has given me the power to explain the role of early childhood professionals. Many people still view early childhood professional as glorified babysitters. My knowledge of research allows me to explain the importance of the professionals. Early childhood professional have the ability to shape the profession, the children and policies in so many ways.

Reference

Naughton, G. M., Rolfe, S. A.,& Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing Early Childhood Research
    
     Intenational Perspectives On Theory & practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill

     

   

Research Around the World

I decided to look into Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The site contains a page that provides insight to the types of research that are currently going on. Some of the international research topics pertain to nutrition and nutrition delivery. Another issue that is being researched is ways to assess the quality of childcare. There are research topics on the effective collaboration between school and parents. Curriculum development is a topic of concern for early childhood internationally.

Early childcare issues appear to be the same no matter what part of the world one may live or travel. I have always understood some issues are localized, but I am learning that there are issues that are international. It does not matter if it is a small undeveloped country or a super nation. The same types of issues exist: issues on nutrition, educational development, curriculum or poverty. The research the website is very helpful to early childhood professionals.

Reference

http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php

http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php

Research that Benefits Children and Families

The website provides families with information, based on research, on ways to recognize if their child may have developmental or behaviors disables. The site discusses the importance of recognizing the signs early (early detection). Recognizing developmental and behavior problems early help children with reach a healthier future.

The website provides information about the campaign: " Learn the Signs. Act Early".The  programs aim: To help parents measure their child’s progress in terms of milestones in more of the physical. The video list how parents can gauge their children. The video also tells parents what steps to take if they suspect their children of having developmental delays. The information about recognition and the effects of early detection is based on research. The information allows children and their families to benefit because early detection give children a chance for a healthier, productive future.

Reference

http://www.cfw.tufts.edu/external.asp?url=http://www.cdc.gov/NCBDDD/actearly/multimedia/video.html/admin_site.asp&prev=http://www.cfw.tufts.edu/?/category/development/4/topic/developmental-delays/221/=

 

 

Personal Research Journey

       I am excited about our first weeks of research steps for the class EDUC 6163, Building Research Competency. We have started our personal research journey. The first week of class we were required to pick a topic we were/are interested in. The topics were so broad, so we were instructed to narrow down our focus and list three subtopics. We had to decide which subtopic will be the focus of your simulations in the coming weeks. 

      I have narrowed down my research question to two questions. I am struggling which question or research is the most beneficial for me and my colleagues.  One of the questions is: “Can the negative effects of poverty be reversed during the early childhood years?” The reason I chose this question is because, in the previous course, we read children of families in poverty are normally at an educational disadvantage when beginning school. I wonder if young children who attend head start or pre-K have an advantage over other young children in poverty who does not attend head start or pre-K. If there is an advantage, will the advantage lead to the reversal of the negative of poverty?

      The other question I am thinking about is:  “How does race and sex affects a student’s preparedness for early childhood education?”  The reason I considered the question is because during my pursuit of My TED/MA degree, I read about and there were discussions of how boys are diagnosed with learning disabilities, such as ADD, ADHD, etc more than girls. The same program also discussed how the diagnoses of learning disabilities are higher in African Americans males than other groups. In addition, it was said girls perform better in some subjects than boys. I want to know if the same trends occur during the early childhood years; and does student preparedness play a role.

      The beginning steps of research are exciting and challenging as well. The challenges understanding what questions to ask and knowing which resources are the best to use for successful research. Once one pick a resources provide quality and reliable information. There are some great websites to help beginning researchers critically analyze resources.

Some of the sites are:

Beck, S. E. (2009). Evaluation criteria. New Mexico State University Library. Retrieved from http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html

Evaluating web pages: Techniques to apply & questions to ask. (2010). UC Berkeley Library. Retrieved from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

New York Library Association. (2010). Evaluating websites: Criteria and tools. Cornell University Library. Retrieved from http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/webeval.html

Ormondroyd, J., Engle, E., & Cosgrave, T. (2009) Critically analyzing information sources. Cornell University Library. Retrieved from http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill26.htm

International Early Childhood Professionals

            The course has allowed me to see that the early childhood education system around the world have the deal with the same types of issues. Early childhood professionals have to find ways to deal with equality. Professionals have to deal with the quality of education for all children and their families. Early childhood Professional also has to deal with poverty and the inequality which comes with the lack of finances. Early childhood professionals also have to deal with the economy and how it effects childcare and early childhood education. The lacks of funding due to the down turning economy create challenges for professionals. Once challenge may be the lack or limited materials or resources. Another challenge for professionals as a result of the economy may be over sized classes which affects the quality of education. One of my goals as it relate to international awareness of issues and trends is to stay current. I also want to connect and collaborate with early childhood professionals from other countries. 

International Connection Part 3

I still have not heard from any of the early childhood professionals I reached out to. I am not sure why and I am not sure what to do next. It has been over six weeks and still nothing. I have made more than one attempt; I have sent emails from my personal email account as well as my Walden University email account in attempt start a dialogue with the professional. Nothing has worked thus far. Since I am unable to correspond with any of the early childhood professionals, I began to look for theme related articles and research.

Access and Equality

Most counties agree that education is important and learning starts from birth. They agree that the poor are normally disadvantaged when it comes to early childhood education. It is said governments were urged to expand equitable access to quality early childhood service with the focus on the importance of instituting policies in favor of the poor (Roe, 2012) . Countries have alternate services for poor. The programs are mainly to ensure early childhood education is available and affordable for every child. Even though there are alternative program for early childhood education to ensure the poor have the same advantages as every other child, the privileged seem to benefit the most from state investment (Roe, 2012).

Quality

It is agreed that quality early childhood education is need. It is not just something to help children successfully transition to formal school, but early childhood education should emphasis the child’s holistic development. A universal definition for quality in Early Childhood education is need, but there is not a universally agreed upon definition of quality. There are a few things that are agreed upon such as child-centered learning. One of the reasons there is not a universal definition of quality is because there are so many components to early childhood care and education. A universal definition is important because without that evaluation of a program or policies does not guarantee that the program/policy is effective.

References

Burke, N. (2012). Quality. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strenghtening-education-system/early-childhood/quality

Roe, R. (2012). Access and equity. Retrieved from http://unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strenghtening-education-systems/early-childhood/access-and-quality/