When I Think of Research...

Research and the technical terms that go along with it are overwhelming and intimidating to say the least. In the beginning of the class I was nervous and worried about understanding the process and terms of research. I have learned that in order to truly understand the process in its entirety you have to do a little research of your own. When I came across a term or idea that I did not understand I continued to look for more answers that would explain it to my understanding. From this course I have gained more knowledge about how to and why we implement research studies. I have also gained new knowledge in the differences between qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research studies. All of those I barely understood in the beginning.

In the beginning of the class if I had a choice in whether or not to implement a research project I would have immediately said no thanks. However, now I have more confidence that I could in fact apply my knowledge. Before this course I knew that research was necessary in helping many ideas become valid. I also knew that research could change the lives of many people. However, I did not picture myself as a part of the equation. Today I can happily say that I would join in on a research and be knowledgeable enough to have an active position.

In early childhood I learned that we need to have a majority of our research decided ahead of time. We need to take into consideration the ethical issues that could arise along with what design we will implement. Confidentiality is an issue that needs to be immediately addressed and we must also have a plan of action if it must be broken or is broken. When conducting the research in early childhood we must be prepared to use multiple tools in the early childhood field as well as have a determined time span planned.

The challenges that I faced started with understanding the technical terms. To combat this I researched outside of our course research to find definitions that would use terms that I could understand. Sometimes this was times consuming which made it a little more difficult with the large family that I have. The next challenge was to then take the terms that I learned and apply them to my research topic. There were times when I felt that I had to relearn the term to be able to relate it to my topic. Again, though time consuming I had to keep researching until I understood.

I do not feel that my thoughts about early childhood professionals have been modified. However, my admiration and respect has grown stronger. The work that educational professionals put into their careers and the children and families that they serve is a never ending job. Educational professionals are constantly working to better themselves and the lives of their students. This profession is not Monday through Friday 9-5, it is constant. Even when not on a schedule professionals are thinking about the next right idea to implement. This field takes compassion and willingness to want to change a child’s future.

Reserach Around the World

·         What are some of the current international research topics?

Parents’ and Other Caregivers’ Perception of Early Childhood Development Needs and Quality: A Study of the PLAN-Assisted Programmes in Bawjiase, Ghana, was the first research study I read through. This was interesting to me because I was glad to see that internationally we all agree that it is important for parent involvement. A part to parent involvement is to see that parents have the knowledge of Early Childhood Development. When parents can have that knowledge then they can help assist the educators with the developmental success of their children.

Involving Fathers in Early Childhood Care and Development and Assessment of Interaction and Stimulation in Single-Mother Low-Income Families were two more research studies that I was able to read. Again, this common issue is not just here in your hometown, but internationally we are all struggling trying to overcome the same issues and trends. I believe this further confirms that together we can help one another come up with different solutions that will ensure the success of the children in early childhood development.

·         What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from

exploring this international early childhood website?

I was intrigued by their generative curriculum approach. I appreciate first that this approach is a curriculum that expects results and starts from the beginning. The historical approach discusses “how we came to be here”.  I feel this is important for early childhood in order to know how to expand on education and care we must know where they started, where they currently stand, and then ultimately the goal we look to work toward. You can read further into this approach by linking to this page http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/generative.php.

·         What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

Promoting ripple effects and networking activities was noteworthy as well. When researching ways to improve on any issue; you would like to get as much information as possible while also reaching those that would benefit from the information. When researchers network their information the ripple effect can travel pretty far. The internet abilities have grown and even though some might see this as a negative, there are many positive outcomes we can gain from sharing information internationally and gaining as much support and knowledge that we can in order to improve the development and growth of early childhood.