When I Think of Research.....

As a professional in the field of education, I have always felt a connection to research and the importance that it bares on exploring and explaining why situations occur and the strategic process it takes to conduct credible experiments. But until this course, the research that I have been required to do, do nothing more but rub the surface of delving into the research approach with no expectations of becoming competent.

My ideas about the nature of doing research have heightened. This course as taken me step by step in through the research process, causing me to think critically by developing my sense of inquisition, learning essential terms according to my own perceptions, and reflecting through real life experiences and future application.

The lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research play a crucial role in my comprehension of research and building my competencies as an upcoming leader in the field of early childhood care and education. It is from the pioneers of research that we have made many great achievements from which we formulate conclusions.  But none of these great strides would have been made if it were not for the methodical investigation of phenomenon. Learning about the design process provided great insight. This design served as a “road map” in the process of research. It set a starting point and directions in lieu of reaching the final destination.

The challenge that I encountered resulted from taking my research topic and making it feasible. There are so many topics in the early childhood field that are of interest to me, so narrowing it down to one topic and the further down into three sub-topics was difficult. In my opinion, this field is multifaceted and many of the issues/trends are interconnected by the relevance to children, families, and communities. I faced my topic was too broad and the more research I conducted on the topic, the more other topics began to emerge from it. I found the research simulations and growth charts valuable in keeping me focused and on track with one specific topic.

My perception as an early childhood professional has been modified to maintain discipline and investigation as a result of this course. Conceptualizing research has added a keen sense of corroboration, awareness, and responsiveness. I will take my new found knowledge about  the research process and implement it in my professional, educational, and professional journey because it will be a consistent part of my advocacy as an educator in this field.

Early Childhood Australia

 

Early Childhood Australia (ECA), a non-profit and non-governmental organization, serves as the “voice” for young children. Established in 1938, Early Childhood Australia’s mission, as activist in early childhood from age birth through eight, is to make certain that issues/trends that impact healthy developmental well-beings of young learners are combated with proactive measures that aim to safeguard international research topics such as endowment, children’s rights, and fairness. Some of the values of ECA include collaboration and diversity and social inclusion of children.

Exploring the ECA website, I downloaded the ECA Code of Ethics. These set of principles outlined the essential  moral values respected and adhered to by the members of their organization. Delving further, I took a look into the territorial branches that support policies, investments, and issues on a local and national level.

The resources integrated in this website were more so intriguing rather than surprising. The ECA website lists a plethora of resources such as catalogues, journals/magazines, books, curriculum, and language and literacy. These resources address issues such as children’s behavior, strategies and techniques on teaching math and science, and best practice in inclusive/additional needs learning environments. The ECA has it very own magazine title Every Child which focuses on the field of early childhood through interesting articles, pictures, and book reviews. Research in Practice explores innovative avenues in addressing issue/trends that develop in early childhood care and education.

Researching the ECA website was extremely informative. I found it interesting in reading through the resources available free through the website and how it is identical to our National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC). One topic that I found noteworthy on the ECA website was the ECA Mental Health Initiative as and interactive and informative way to educate individuals on mental health and how it affects children, families, and early care and education.

References:

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Research that Benefits Children and Families

There are so many different needs and uses for research on children and/or families. I believe that the very notion of early childhood education started as an inquiry that sparked research and thought it necessary to establish a foundation that would serve a pillar for advancement in the field. Various topics come to my mind when I think about research involving children including medical, societal, and educational research.

As we proceed throughout this course piecing together the process of research in efforts of becoming competent in doing early childhood research, my task this week is to share a positive example of the effects of research on children and/or families. In early childhood education, children need certain components in their environments that promote safety, healthy development, and well-being.  Within these environments are a web of supporters that contribute to their abilities to learn and their capacities to adjust and adapt through resiliency. Research done on the relationships of children with their caregiver has provided evidential benefits in the field of early childhood education. Theories of secure attachments have supported the ideals of the critical need for infants to develop relationships and how it encourages their sense of security, independence, and competence. As children mature, the roles that these individuals play in their education has proven to be effective attributes in their academic success as well.

                Going further into research, I explored articles that discussed the benefits of research on children relevant to child development. The pioneers in this field have researched the virtues that foster how children grow, development milestones that support growth, and further more activities that can encourage growth. In today’s society, bullying has become the force behind many childhood suicides and attempts, increase in dropout rates, and peer on peer violence. Research that focuses on the behavior of children can be helpful in assisting professionals in understanding the characteristics of the actions and reactions. Behavioral research can also aid in implementing intervention and prevention service that can combat challenging behaviors.

                In my opinion, if we continue to research utilizing ethically sound guidelines, then we as professionals in the field of early childhood care and education will be able to maximize the quality of care of programs being provided to children and families, enhance learning and teaching techniques and strategies of educators, advocate for strong successful families, and a plethora of other crucially important conditions that benefit the lives of children and families through research. 

 

My Personal Research Journey

 

There are many topics in the field of early childhood education that stimulates my interest. My chosen topic of interest is school improvement. I believe that all young learners need and deserve high quality childcare both locally and globally. Although there are many obstacles that we must first overcome, I believe that it is possible to achieve by addressing such attributes as the achievement gap, school readiness, culture and diversity, and investments and policies.

                I have been in the field of early childhood care and education for over 12 years. I have experienced three different early childhood care and education organizations that varied in the quality of care and services that were offered to their children and families. Each one of these experience has given me different perspectives on how programs operate on different levels. I have gained a wealth of insight in this field throughout my professional and educational journey but I have yet to conduct research in the field of early childhood care and education. I am open to learning about this process, becoming a competent researcher, and ready to see what the end result will be in my first research project.

                The text book for this course has been extremely interesting and pertinent to my comprehension of doing early childhood research. Constructing the research chart this week has given me a solid foundation for starting this research in the right way. I believe that starting this research properly will yield positive and correct results and advance evidence for other researchers to build upon. Thus far, this course has provided insight in the research process as a methodical one that takes time and patience. I am enthusiastic about learning about the research process because it is crucial in my professional and educational journey.

                I believe that course will equip each of us with the necessary tools to conduct research that will benefit the field of early childhood care and education.  If you have any research, opinions, insights, advice, or suggestions that will assist me please feel free to let me know.  As colleagues in this online learning community, please do hesitate to let me know if I can be of any assistance to any of you. I look forward to becoming a part of your resource portfolio. 

Reference:  http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://southernbellelibrarian.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/research_cycle.gif&imgrefurl=http://southernbellelibrarian.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/general-design-issues-in-research/&h=326&w=436&sz=35&tbnid=LwWneZF8u8ujyM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=122&zoom=1&usg=__LKforKEyE9DuIvRn5xSlY8WCsrI=&docid=gvV6CiPsMYPrkM&sa=X&ei=9_KXUd3uLoqm9gT7_4GYBQ&ved=0CFgQ9QEwDQ&dur=7967