Final Week of 6163

Tomorrow marks my last day of the course “Building Research Competency.” Thank you to all of my colleagues for your support and suggestions as I worked on my research study simulation. I really enjoyed this course!

A few questions from this week:

1.      What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

From taking this course I now better understand ways to look for “quality” research. Some things I can do to see if a research paper is valid is look at the credentials of the researchers involved, compare research on similar topics and compare, and look to see which organizations (if any) are conducting or backing the research.

2.      In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

Before taking this course, the idea of conducting research was intimidating to me. Now that I have worked through each step through an 8 week long research simulation, I have a much better idea of what is involved in doing research. It has been very helpful to read a number of research papers along the way.

3.      What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

I learned a lot about ethical considerations to consider before designing research, especially when young children are involved. I read about informed consent, children and consent, confidentiality and privacy and cultural issues throughout this course. Decisions made when planning research studies should not be taken lightly.

4.      What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

When I first began designing my research study simulation, I found it challenging to decide if I was going to use qualitative or quantitative data for my study, because I found both methods beneficial. As I learned more about mixed-method research designed, I realized that using both methods would be the most beneficial for my study.

5.      What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

I have been reminded about how important it is to use research to back up your educational philosophies. There are so many different perspective and beliefs about what is the “right way” to do things in the field of education. If you’re ever not sure, just look at what research says to make a well balanced decision. I have a great deal of respect for people who do research in the field of early childhood education. 

Research Around the World

For this week’s blog assignment I spent time learning about the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) or Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). I used the http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php website to learn about research that is happening in the field of early childhood around the world.

What are some of the current international research topics?

·         There were a number of research articles relating to Indigenous people of Africa. Some other topics included framework for orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana and involving fathers in early childhood development.

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

·         One study I read looked at both rural and urban early childhood development programs in Ghana. The focus was looking at why there were problems against successful implementation of early childhood education in Ghana. This study found that teachers of all levels had insufficient knowledge of child development. There was also inadequate supply of teaching materials and staff who were not trained well. While I didn’t know much about education in Ghana I was surprised to read this. Thankfully, studies such as this one are being conducted to help early childhood programs to improve.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

·         I was surprised at how many scholarly articles I found on this website. These are great resources for anyone learning about international early childhood research. 

Positive Effects of Research

This week we're looking at ethics in early childhood research. While some people believe that refraining from social research is the best way to avoid violating professional ethics, I have found a number of examples of how social research has positively changed people's lives. One example is of a positive change is the findings from the Carolina Abecedarian Project. I encourage you to read this article from the New York Times from last March. Checking in with research participants 42 years later has proved that significant benefits have come from providing low income families with full time day care and meals. This research project has a happy ending. I'm so glad to know that early childhood education is valued more today than ever.

EDUC 6163 Week 2

I am now taking the 5^th class in my Master’s program. This course is called Research Competency. My past few assignments have been exploring a research simulation. The topic I am interested in studying is how a mother’s sleep patterns during pregnancy affects her child’s sleep patterns. I chose this topic because I know how important sleep is for children’s growth and development and I’m curious to know how much of children’s sleep habits are aligned with their mothers’ sleep habits.

Colleagues – I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. What ideas do you have or challenges do you anticipate? I look forward to reading about your simulation ideas as well. 

Final Week of 6162

By learning about the international early childhood field during this course, I have learned….

• that all countries around the world struggle with poverty
•  some areas value and fund early childhood education more than others
•  there are people in every area around the world who are working to be advocates for our young learners.

I have really enjoyed learning about early childhood organizations from around the world through this course. My goal for the field of early childhood education (internationally) is to work towards closing the poverty gap to give children the best possible start to their lives.  

UNESCO Website

This week I spent some time exploring the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) website. UNESCO advocates for early childhood care and education programs related to health, nutrition, safety and learning which contribute to holistic development.

Three Things I Learned:

1. Under the Investing and Finances tab the author explained how difficult it is for countries to expand and improve early childhood programs. Early childhood education is often overshadowed by universal primary education. Countries should view early childhood education on the same level as basic education.  
2. Gender equality is a high priority for UNESCO. The website explained that even though gender inequality affects both genders, women are often more disadvantaged. Some of the obstacles in women’s way include minority status, poverty, early marriage and pregnancy and traditional attitudes about the status of women.
3. The Global Education Skills Forum was held in Dubai just last month. A new campaign called Business Back Education was launched at the Forum challenging businesses to commit 20% of its global Corporate Social Responsibility spending for educational purposes. The goal is for this to happen by the year 2020.

These items relate to my professional goals because investing in early childhood education is a high priority for me. I also think it’s important to help eliminate many of the inequalities facing the field of education, including inequities relating to gender. I found the UNESCO website to have a lot of valuable information which is contributing to my global view of early childhood education. 

Sharing Web Resources - Early Childhood Australia

This week I answered questions based on the organization I have been following - Early Childhood Australia. 

Follow some of the outside links that you have not yet explored. Where do they lead?

I clicked on the mychild.gov link and learned about the Australian online child care portal. This website is a great tool for educators and families and contains a number of resources to best support young children. On this site there are links to finding preschools and Kindergartens, ways to get “fee assistance” and guidelines for quality education and care. All of this information can be found at http://www.mychild.gov.au/

Thoroughly search one area of the site. What do you find?

One tab of the ECA (Early Childhood Australia) website I found interesting brought me to the position statement on children of asylum seekers. One part read

“Refugee children share certain universal rights with all other people, have additional rights as children and particular rights as refugees.”

This is an issue that I’ve only thought about from the view of the United States. It was eye opening to read about this issue from Australian educators. This position statement lists a number of principles that will support the best interests of children when dealing with asylum issues. To view this page visit http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/position_statements/eca-position-statement-children-of-asylum-seekers.html

If you receive an e-newsletter, follow a link related to one of the issues you have been studying. What new information is available?

There has been a number of articles on the ECA website recently about e-bullying. The ECA has called for education on online safety to begin in the early years. They believe that as soon as children are old enough to use technology they should learn about positive online behavior. One quote I’d like to post is as follows:

“A greater focus on socio-emotional skills like resilience supports children to better manage relationships with their peers and resolve conflicts which may include future incidents of cyber-bullying.” To read more about this issue visit http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/early_childhood_news/march-media-release-fight-against-e-bullying-needs-to-start-early.html

Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education?

One section of the website was about AEU (Australian Education Union) has been reviewing a report called “Equity, Excellence and Inclusiveness in Education.” The report looks at the negative effects of disadvantage for school performance and stresses the importance of equitable school funding. I read parts of the report and was especially interested in Chapter 5 which is about ways to create an equitable, excellent and inclusive education system. A few of the suggestions include hiring qualified teachers, allocating resources equitably, making pre-primary education accessible to all and more. This report fits exactly into the readings for this week.

What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain this week from exploring the website and/or the e-newsletter?

Childhood obesity is one issue that is discussed throughout the website and newsletters. According to ECA) there is no early childhood issue that is covered more widely in the media than childhood obesity.  The ECA website has a number of quality resources for educators, families and children on this issue.