When I Think of Research...

I have gained many new insights from taking this course in these eight weeks that we were given. In the beginning of this course, I was introduced to studying and analyzing scholarly research articles, searching for my own and developing a research topic of my interest and breaking that main topic down into three sub-topics and choosing only one specific subtopic of interest from there. Although this was just the forefront in conducting research, I feel that becoming aware of the potential risks and ethics to be aware of were very beneficial insights to me. My ideas about the nature of doing research have drastically changed after learning of proper protocol and procedures to follow before attempting to conduct a research study. From the choosing of participants, sampling and choices of collecting data are all vital and must be properly thought through before beginning. Permission must first be allowed from participants, along with mentioning all possible risks.

  I learned that the process of conducting a research design first begins with suggesting a topic of interest for research. This topic would generally be one that makes a point to a specific idea of interest and can be studied for further investigation to retrieve results that reflect the design. The second step in conducting a research design is figuring out exactly how the design will be conducted and what will be the focus of the design. “Research cannot be well designed unless what is to be researched is clear.” (Naughton et al 2010 p105). Next is refining the topic and breaking that one topic into a series of several sub-topics, placing them in the order that is similar to the order of processing and determining whether these topics are considered observational or experimental and whether they lend themselves to be formulated into a hypothesis (the ability to make an educated guess on the topic). Next is the careful review of the time the study and who is to participate, in means of the past, present and future and the ages of the participants. The selection of participants for the study and understanding whether random sampling is necessary or not is vital in the process of collecting data and analysis. Once the data is collected, which is often very little means of resources, pilot testing is performed to determine whether the implementation of the designed has the ability to be successful or not

Some of the challenges I encountered were Processing and analyzing data and selecting persons to participate. Although processing and analyzing data seemed as a tedious task, I was quite relieved to find that all research is not mandatory to be correct and can also be a defect cause from the design or hypothesis of the intended question of the research. Incorrect data can sometimes lead to the findings of new information that one had no knowledge of before. I have gained a better outlook on this process.

  I would believe that it takes choosing participants that fit the description of the intended purpose of a design, but had a difficult time understanding exactly how the concept of sampling for some designs could still conduct accurate researching and results. I did not agree with the process of stratified random sampling at first after understanding that these designs were performed using uneven amounts of participants. But after understanding that the use of sampling of uneven participants always used the greater number of participants for the groups of participants that were the primary focus of the design, and  ensuring that those groups were both still equally represented and considered as a random sample helped me to understand more.

My perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified throughout this course due to the fact that I am now fully aware that studies are able to be conducted to enhance the betterment of classrooms and education in the early childhood field. With results and findings of these successfully conducted studies could have a major positive impact on students, families, teachers and administrators in the early childhood education field.

Research Around the World

A U S T R A L I A

For my week 5 Blog assignment, “Research around the World”, I chose to explore: Early childhood Australia: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Some of the current international research topics on the early childhood in Australia website are

-State of Early Learning in Australia Report 2016 – This report provides information on the quality, participation, and affordability of early childhood education and care currently in Australia

-Productivity Commission Inquiry into the Education Evidence Base- looking at national approaches to collecting and using data for early childhood education and care to improve outcomes.

-National Quality Framework Review – Looking at the efficient and effective ways Australia is improving quality education and care.

-Reform of the Federation White paper – Documentation of government spending to improve transparency

 

 

    This website as a whole consists of: Learning modules, Social media channels, Early Childhood Magazine, ECA Voice News Letter Everyday Learning series, Research in Practice series, Australian Journal of Early Childhood Education and ECA WebWatch e-newsletter.

    There is also a parent section that provides important information and strategies on real topics affecting parents of young children, such as their health, nutrition, separation anxiety, sleeping, and transitions from early childhood to school. I would recommend this site to educators and parents of young children

 

 



Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Positive Parent-Child Relationships

 

 

I have encountered and witnessed the positivity of relationships between children and parents on numerous occasions. Although I could share a story, I would rather share information on document I reviewed that discusses the benefits of  positive parent-child relationships. The National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (NCPFCE) is an organization that has created a framework of research practices that focuses specifically on the outcomes of family engagement. The study, "Positive parent-child relationships" is one of the several studies performed and  is explained in the article, giving details of studies and interventions performed on families that have shown positive results. " Positive parent-child relationships provide the foundation for children’s learning. With parents’ sensitive, responsive, and predictable care, young children develop the skills they need to succeed in life. Early parent-child relationships have powerful effects on children’s emotional well-being" (Dawson & Ashman, 2000), Benefits such as increased child development and school readiness was predicted to be the ultimate result of parent-child relationships as well as attachment, which helps the child feel secure with the parent and more open to them. This act also causes benefits for the parents as well, being that children can be more manageable, which gives a positive vibe for both ends. There is some very good insights in this reading and I encourage you to consider reading.

 

(n.d.). Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center. Positive Parent-Child Relationships. Retrieved from http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/family/docs/parent-child-relationships.pdf

 

Dawson, G., & Ashman, S. B. (2000). On the origins of a vulnerability to depression:
The influence of the early social environment on the development of psychobiological
systems related to risk for affective disorder. In The Effects of Adversity on
Neurobehavioral Development: Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology (Vol. 31,
pp. 245-278). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.

 

 

 



Your Personal Research Journey

Research Simulation Topic

Hello Class!! Through the duration of this class, the topic of my research simulation will be: “How does changing demographics and diversity change teaching or instructional practice in the pre-school classroom?” I chose this particular topic because I have always been interested in multi-cultural education and diversity in the classroom and knowing that this topic is known to have a dramatic change on teaching and instruction, I decided to elaborate on this further. As an aspiring early childhood professional, I am sure that I will be faced with this same situation in the future. I found it quite challenging to find resources to reflect this topic, but I was able to retrieve articles that introduced some of the teaching styles and methods to include for the culturally diverse. I am currently doing fine for the moment for this process, but I am always willing to accept assistance. Therefore, I am open to take suggestions and any helpful tips that anyone has to offer for this process. The resources that I have chosen for my topic are listed below. Thank you and good luck to the rest of you all on your research topics

 

    Drake, D. D. (1993). Student Diversity: Implications for Classroom Teachers. Clearing House, 66(5), 264-266.

 

Kohnert, K., Dongsun, Y., Nett, K., Pui Fong, K., & Duran, L. (2005). Intervention with Linguistically Diverse Preschool Children: A Focus on Developing Home Language(s). Language, Speech & Hearing Services In Schools, 36(3), 251-263.

 Souto-Manning, M., & Mitchell, C. (2010). The Role of Action Research in Fostering Culturally-Responsive Practices in a Preschool Classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(4), 269-277. doi:10.1007/s10643-009-0345-9

 



Consequences of learning about International Early Childhood

Consequences of learning about International Early Childhood

 

Learning about the International early childhood field to me, is considered as a life-changing experience and getting a first hand look at the many issues and trends that children are facing in other countries than our own. Although some countries face different issues as us, such as poverty, malnutrition and access to healthy drinking water, some issues are just the same as ours as well, such as children and families receiving an equal and fair education. on the Professional side, administrators and instructors are given the chance to understand what diverse children and families lack in their home countries, which can help them to better understand what is needed of them and how to offer those things if they were to ever enter their classroom. This would also apply to me as well, considering the fact that I plan to one day become an early childhood instructor.

 

GOAL:

I believe that One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations should be to produce a better pathway of communication between American early childhood educators of the U.S. and international early childhood educators in order to build strong partnerships, share ideas on how to spread the awareness regarding the well-being of young children to ensure that they receive the best education as possible and work towards bringing a reduction to inequity in the early childhood field nationwide.



Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Due to the fact that I still have not received a response from any early childhood professionals through the podcast, I chose to navigate UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/) and share insights I have learned that reflect my professional goals. There was not much that I could find on this site because many of the pages were considered as a forbidden area unable to access, therefore I decided to share what was available and also happened to be interesting to me. One of UNESCO’s themes, “Education for the 21’st Century” followed by the Education 2030 Framework, is an organization developed to enhance equitable services such as quality education, gender equality, rights of humanity, health awareness- specifically focusing on HIV and AIDS and vocational skills. Using global and regional systems, building partnerships and collaborating with governments, UNESCO plans to affect education systems in this exact matter worldwide. I was very intrigued to learn that the UNESCO has been in effect since 1945 and seeking to promote benefits for the betterment of education for children in many countries. Considering the fact that advocating for quality education for children in the early childhood program has become part of one of my newly revised professional goals, this theme of UNESCO showed much relativity to my future plans and goals upon entrance in the early childhood field.

Sharing Web Resources

      After following links outside of Zero to Three for the first time, I discovered the website under the  malnutrition in children sub-heading: http://www.nctsnet.org/content/defining-trauma-and-child-traumatic-stress

     This link leads to a website, titled, "Defining trauma and Child Traumatic Stress" The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) explains the purpose of their network, gives full details of the types of trauma children face, that can lead to stress and offers methods of treatment and a wide-range of resources as well.

       Although I created an account with Zero to Three to receive an e-newsletter, which were supposed to come around the first of every month, I have not yet received one.

        Upon exploring Zero to Three throughout this week, I have learned this website offers valuable information on care an education for children, maltreatment and behavior and development and methods to improve each aspect in children. there are links provided on the advocacy of children and offers tips on how to support or become one, I really admire the fact that the "Public Policy" section provides and updated factsheet (2015) on the living status- including health, family ties and positive learning of infants and toddlers in each of the fifty states including the District of Columbia, along with data and resources. I found the factsheet pretty interesting due to the fact that our assignment for this week relates to it.