Research, Can I Complete a Research Project?

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

Throughout this course I have learned exactly what it takes to design a research project. I have learned how to develop a research question and then turn it into a hypothesis.  This portion of the lesson was definitely not the easiest part of the design as one would assume.  One question will lead to another, which always requires further developing as you proceed through the project.  I learned about equity and validity in research and what I, as a researcher, can do to improve both in my research by planning for it throughout the process.  I also learned that it is important to consider the purpose of the research and who it benefits as well as the risk to and willingness of the participants prior to starting the project.  Another difficult area for me was deciding how I would choose the participants for the research.  I originally thought that this would be an easy task, but I was wrong again.  I found that there are factors that must be considered before deciding who you will choose, you must also decide how you will choose.  Research requires a lot of planning!

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

As we began this course I had never completed a true research project, therefore my impression of this task was fear because of the complicated nature of research.  As this course has proceeded I have found that I do have the ability to, at least, develop a research plan.  I believe that I may even be confident enough to say that I could carry out the research project.  I have also determined that as I previously thought, there is a lot of work to developing a research project.  What has changed is that I now understand that when the project is developed in steps it is not as overwhelming as I previously thought.

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

Planning, planning, planning is the key component to developing a research design.  Every step or component of the research design requires pre-planning to ensure that you as a researcher are producing valid data and that there is equity in the design.  Designing a research project in early childhood means that you have to decide on the purpose of the research, the participants, and constantly re-evaluate the goal of the research to ensure that the data and the participants are being treated fairly.  By this I mean, you as a researcher have to reflect on the purpose, the participants values and beliefs, and reflect on the data collection method to be sure that you as a researcher are allowing the research to be collected in a fair and unbiased manner.  As I have learned, when working with families and children it is most important to remember that their perspectives and behaviors can be altered by the presence of the researcher or the collection method.  Conducting research in the early childhood setting requires that you plan for your presence in the environment, that you develop a plan for selecting participants and that you develop a design that lessons the power or the relationship from the researcher to the participant.  

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

I was challenged in the topic that I chose in the beginning of the project because I was unable to clearly state the objective in a way that was relevant to the professor.  In the end I decided to change the topic so that it would be less argumentative.  Once I developed another research topic the simulation went so much smoother.  I learned that in research you have to be very clear and sometimes it is best to present the topic with background information about you as a researcher so that your topic is not perceived in a negative light.  I also learned that there are topics that are less controversial than others, and for assignments like this one it is best to choose one of those.

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

I believe that this course has allowed me to understand that being an early childhood professional means more than knowing the methods and theories for working with young children.  To be a early childhood professional means that we have to not only develop ideals about working with children, but become researchers to discover what is behind our theories.  I do not feel that all early childhood professionals need to become researchers in the true sense, but it is important that we understand how to read research and how to determine the validity of the research we read.

International Child Care Research

As I began this assignment I found that the first two links were not valid.  I followed the earlychildhoodaustralia.gov link from the search bar that led me to mychild.gov.au website.  For this assignment, this is the website that I utilized.

http://www.mychild.gov.au/pages/home.aspx

What are some of the current international research topics?

Some of the international research topics that were present on this website were support for teenage parents with their child care costs, supporting healthy and resilient children through the AEDI and child care assistance campaign.  There was a link to Educational and research child care sites where I was able to view a list of sites that are currently completing research on curriculum studies, family studies, health and welfare.  There is also links to a Social Policy Research Center and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.

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

The site seemed to have a lot of information, but to reach some of the links you would have to register with a fee.  Therefore I did not proceed on the page.  There was valuable information for the parents of Australia’s children on the site.  I found the Child Care Rebate to be of interest.  Parents can determine if they are eligible to receive a rebate on childcare by reviewing the information and guidelines provided.  I think that this is a wonderful ideal, and I would assume this is similar to the childcare service provided by the Department of Social Services in America.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

There was a link on this site for Indigenous Education.  Intrigued by the name I followed the link.  This link provided a page that detailed the plan for inclusive services for the indigenous population of Australia.  They are also concerned with closing the gap in the educational experiences between indigenous children and non-indigenous.  I had not considered that in other nations they are also concerned with the gap in educational services.  It is interesting to learn about other education systems and the similarities that exist. 

Benefits of High Quality Child Care

By Rick Nauert, PhD

     The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development is the “largest, longest running and most comprehensive study of child care in the United States”.(Nauert, 2010)  The study was conducted over a ten year period beginning when the 1,364 participants were 1 month old.  All children were born in 1991 from 10 locations across the United States.  The families that participated were not representative of the U.S. population, but they were “from diverse geographic, demographic, economic and ethnic backgrounds”. (Nauert, 2010)  The purpose of the study was to follow the children and document their experiences in child care.

     As a result of the study other scientists were able to analyze the data that was collected.  They determined that teens that were in high-quality child care settings in later years scored “slightly higher” on academic and cognitive achievement tests they were also less likely to report any behavior problems than their peers that attended child care facilities that were of a lesser quality.  This report is clear evidence that there is a correlation between the early child care experience and the academic achievement and behavior that children exhibit in childhood and into their teen years.

     The research also enlightened researchers in the early childhood field to understand that there is a correlation between the hours that children spent in child care programs during the first four years of life and the increased tendency towards impulsive and risk-taking behaviors at age 15.  This allows early childhood professionals to understand that parents have more influence on the growth and development of their child than the type of child care services that they receive. 

     This is a perfect example of how research can benefit both early childhood professionals and society as a whole.  Through the NICHD research project, other researchers and professionals were able to analyze other topics of child development.  Personally, I was interested to learn that the amount of time a child spent in child care affected the child’s tendency to take more risks and to be more impulsive in their teenage years.  What about the child care experience would make children more likely to engage in risky behaviors in later years?  The article also stated that “high-quality” care in this study was “characterized by the caregivers’ warmth, support, and cognitive stimulation of the children under their care”.  I believe this is a good definition of what a high quality child care center should have.   Although the cognitive stimulation is very important for a child’s school readiness, all child care centers should be warm and supportive of the children. 

    The article on this research project can be found at this link, http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/05/17/benefits-of-high-quality-child-care/13866.html, I hope that you enjoy the information as much as I did.

Naurt, Rick. (2010). Benefits of High Quality Child Care. Psychotherapy News. Retrieved from

                http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/05/17/benefits-of-high-quality-child-care/13866.html.  

                     Retrieved on May 20, 2011.

My Personal Research Journey

When choosing a topic to research for this class, I immediately knew that I wanted to research ways to improve equity in education for all children.  I am a firm believer that all children can be successful learners when they are given the proper “tools” to work with.  The task of stating three subtopics to address on this topic was a very difficult one.  I have chosen, thus far, to research how gender, race and socioeconomic status effects equity in education.  Dr. Ferrari suggested that I try to narrow each topic because they are very broad.  I have not been successful thus far in how I will proceed.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

     I am looking forward to gaining this research experience; however I already feel overwhelmed on all it will entail.  In order to be successful in my future endeavor of Prekindergarten director, I will need to understand what research says that I can to do to create a program that offers every child the same opportunity to develop their learning skills and to become socially adjusted children.  Therefore I know the opportunity is will provide me with the knowledge that I need to develop a quality program for all children.

The International Early Childhood Community Experience

The International Early Childhood Community Experience

     Over the last seven weeks we have had the opportunity to explore various links to early childhood websites around the world and to learn more about the concerns of different nations.  Three consequences of this experience for me are that I now understand that early childhood education has been uniformly accepted around the world as the one area that can improve the standard of living in communities.  I have also learned that there is a national organization that meets and addresses issues in the early childhood field. This organization has set goals that the world hopes to accomplish by 2013.  There was a conference in Moscow this past fall to address what needs to be done to meet all the goals set before that date.  Finally, I have learned that in the early childhood profession we have the opportunity to work with professionals in our field in other nations to help advocate for young children and their developmental needs.  We should not limit ourselves to other professionals in our community, counties, or states, but we should strive to create professional bonds around the world to ensure that we ourselves are continually striving to define and implement “high quality” early childhood programs.

     In my opinion one goal that the international community should have is to reach out to other professionals and share our concerns, accomplishments and expectations so that we continue to improve the early childhood experience for every child around the world.

High Quality Early Childhood Programs Defined Around the World

High Quality Defined Globally

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

New insights or ideas I gained from this website are

UNESCO advocates for ECC and Education programs that attend to the health, nutrition, security, and learning which provide for children’s holistic development.  This is an ideal that I have read about on the Harlem’s Children’s Zone website.  In order to impact the community, children have to be given services that they may not have had contact with at home.  In high quality early childhood development centers here in the United States, we may not offer assistance with social service problems. 

Quality ECE for the UNESCO means that there is an emphasis on the child’s holistic development and extend beyond assisting the child’s transition to formal schooling.  High quality childcare, should promote motivation, confidence, good cognitive and linguistic development and school readiness.  Although there is no agreed upon criteria for what a quality ECCE looks like, the UNESCO believes that useful factors include pedagogy materials, personnel training, service setting, and parental education and involvement. There should be a curriculum and there should be plenty of learning material that is culturally and developmentally adequate.  The focus of the center should be child-centered.  It is also essential that workers have adequate training and work conditions are essential so they can integrate the content and practice and addresses the transition to formal school. 

The Harlem Children's Zone Project

The Harlem Children's Zone Project

     At the beginning of this class I chose to follow the website of Harlem Children’s Zone Project.  A few years back I had watched a segment on the national news about this program in Harlem that parents were literally fighting to get their children into.  During the segment parents and children were brought to tears as the school officials pulled numbers of waiting families in the school’s enrollment lottery.  I was surprised to learn that some of the children were still newborns.  The waiting list for the school is so long that parents enroll their children at birth. What a magnificent program this must be I thought.  As I scrolled through the websites for us to choose from there, to my amazement, was the name of this program.  I have followed the website throughout this course because they are making a tremendous impact on their community.

     The topic of discussion this week has been equity and excellence in early care and education.  The Harlem Children’s Zone is centered on creating equity for all children in the community by improving and assisting the family, community and the education system.  Their mission includes to the statement “it is difficult, often impossible, to raise healthy children in a disintegrated community”.  Therefore local institutions bring families and young people together around interests and activities that they have in common such as religion, social and recreational organizations, effective schools, safe and well used public spaces”.  The Harlem Children’s Zone Project founders realize that with so much poverty and dysfunction within their communities and families, even a family that has the best child-rearing skills, is likely to fail.  However, they also acknowledge that when members of a community organize around a common interest, even the most devastating conditions can be reversed.  In order to reverse the conditions the founders realize there are two main initiatives that will make the largest impact.  First, children from communities facing disadvantaged situations are more likely to grow to be healthy, satisfying adults that help build a better community, if they are around adults that understand effective parenting, and are engaged in education, social and religious activities with their children.  Secondly, the earlier a child is exposed to sound health care, intellectual and social stimulation and consistent guidance from loving, attentive adults, the more likely that child will be to grow into a responsible and fulfilled member of the community.

The Harlem Children’s Zone Project has created a program, in my opinion, that is structured to fight for equity for its young children in education and society.  The program begins in with early childhood care and continues until the child’s twelfth year.  By providing the children with an appropriate developmental environment and providing the families with social and economic services, the opportunity for these children to become successful and productive members of society are greatly improving.

The Harlem Children’s Zone Project site does not offer any links that go outside of the website.  There is a wealth of information provided; however it is all directly related to the project itself.  You can find statistical information of Harlem, the business plan for the project, and article and interviews that relate to the program itself.  As I stated many times over the last few weeks, I am interested in learning about the project so the wealth of information provided is beneficial to me.  I did find it interesting that there are no links to other organizations or websites.

The Harlem Children’s Zone Project.  http://www.hcz.org/home