When I think of Research..

When I Think of Research…

The insights I have gained about research from taking this course, is that it was very interesting and informative.  That designing a research topic involves working very closely with the participants which includes eliminating biases and focus on the individuals.  I realize that it takes time to gather all the necessary information to ensure that equity is forefront.  It must be detailed to ensure that the topic is appropriate for the early childhood education field.

There are a few ideas about the nature of doing research that have changed for me because of the various ways that it can be done.  I have learned that the research can be qualitative or quantitative and variables can dictate how the research is done. The lessons that I have learned about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood are, confidentiality is important, informing the participants of the topic and understanding the research topic question so that the appropriate data collection methods can be used.

The challenges I encountered in this course is deciding on a research topic question in the early childhood field that is relevant and important.  The topic I choose is about a subject that is very sensitive because of a variety of things such as race, culture, gender, bias and ethics.  Multiculturalism and diversity is a topic that most early care programs don’t focus on when it comes to purchasing curriculum for their programs.  Also there are many teachers that are not trained on how to implement culture and diversity in the daily lesson plans.  I believe that this course and the resources, feedback from the instructor and classmates will assist me with designing a research topic that I can use in the future.

My perceptions of an early childhood professional have changed some as a result of this course because of the focus and attention to details that must be taken into consideration when designing a research topic. I also feel that being conscious of any bias I may have and putting it aside to insure that as a researcher I should work to ensure that the activity reflects the diversity of the particular group that is being studied.  Also, I need to focus on equity rather than equality and always consider the negative impact on the validity of the study.

I also believe building relationship between the participants and researchers so that equity is considered from the beginning to the end of the research. I must remember that research is about “uncovering and enabling the emergence of new understandings, insights and knowledge” ((Rolfe & Naughton, 2010).

Reference

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research:

International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-

Hill

Research around the world

Research around the World
Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA):
This organization mission is “To further develop African ECD leadership capacity as a key strategy in support of child, family and community well-being and broader social and economic development” (http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php). Some of the current international research topics are about on curriculum, training programs for volunteers, assessment of the quality of care children receiving at the orphanage and many more.
Topic 1. “The Development of an Integrated Early Childhood Development Urban Model Training Program for Informal Minders and Community Volunteers in Ghana” (Felix Kwasi Agorsah B.Ed)

This particular research topic was about creating an “integrated early childhood development training program for informal childcare workers and community volunteers” (Felix Kwasi Agorsah). This training for day care centers in Ghana is focused on the holistic development of a child. The objectives are to identify and develop training for caregivers working with children 0-8 years old. I find this type of training model to be very similar to the training for Pre-K teachers with the exception of the age range of children served. I believe that this model training program can be a great tool for the caregivers in the United States to utilize.

Topic 2. “A Community-driven Rural Early Childhood Development (ECD) Project, with Emphasis on Culturally and Developmentally Appropriate Exploratory Learning Concepts” (Charlotte Day B.A).

This research topic is very interesting and should be adopted in many countries. The project is about “how a community-developed program for rural Early Childhood Development (ECD) could be a possible exploratory learning model” (Charlotte Day). The focus is on “bringing culture strengths and developmental practices in order to provide optimal contextual learning” (Charlotte day). I believe that this type of training will be beneficial to all caregivers in any country because they will utilize the culture of children to appropriately care for them. This is lacking in many countries and should be taken into consideration. There should always be an emphasis on culture when planning learning concepts.

I have learned that the research topics being done internationally are very interesting and relevant in the early childhood field. I like the fact that they are doing research to create training model for caregivers and volunteers in Ghana. I also learned that culturally and developmentally appropriate learning concepts are being researched to utilize in rural early childhood programs.
The students at this virtual university are from various African countries working on various research topics to make changes in sub Saharan Africa and the early childhood filed and any environment that provide care and education for children.

I am always inspired by the type of resources most international websites provide regarding various topics that is not being covered in the United States. These sites share information from students, and researchers from around the world that are working on research topics that affects how children develop and how we should care and educate them.

Reference

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

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