When I Think of Research...

Week 8 Blog Assignment

As we conclude our studies of research, take time to reflect on the experience:

• What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
• In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
• What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
• What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?
• What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

This has been an intense course designed to increase our ability to use research as a tool, to examine the articles based on specific criteria, understand ethical issues in early childhood research, become a designer of research, understand quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, we learned how to mixed methodologies to better serve our research designs, and finally how to move beyond equity to find justice and fairness in research.  

The nature of doing research is intense and very rewarding.  I have learned how to categorize data and make sense of it all through examining summaries and relevant information.

When planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood, it is necessary to consider biases and be ethical in all decisions for conception to conclusion.  This will affect the data and research study on so many levels.

A challenge I encountered throughout this process is determining which triangulation to use to determine validity in my simulation.  In was attracted to theory triangulation due to its multiple perspectives to interpret a single set of data, however I eventually decided on utilizing data triangulation for my study.  For my study, I would be collected mutilple  sources of data through direct observations, surveys, interviews and interactions, so this triangulation eventually won over (with the guidance of Dr. Terry).

My perceptions of early childhood professionals have been modified as a result of this course.  I respect anyone who dives into research for the betterment of young children.  The process is daunting, but so rewarding.  

Thank you to all of my colleagues for your guidance, support, and encouragement throughout this intense course!

Week 5 Assignment

For this Blog Assignment, choose one link and explore the available research. Let the following questions guide your search and respond to the following:

• What are some of the current international research topics?
• What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?
• What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

Early Childhood Australia: This is the Australian equivalent to the U.S. based NAEYC. You can access several links to early childhood research from the menu on the left side of the home page. 

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

There are several international research topics currently being explored by the Early Childhood Australia organization.  These include:

Respecting diversity: Articulating early childhood practice

Children's resilience: Working with the Early Years Learning Framework

Learning and teaching through play

Stars are made of glass: Children as capable and creative communicators

The Early Years Learning Framework: Building confident learners

The Early Years Learning Framework: Getting started

Optimistic carers and children: Pathways to confidence and wellbeing

Nurturing the spiritual child: Compassion, connection and a sense of self

Dealing with bullying together: Prevention and resolution

Portfolios: Documenting a journey

Treasures and collections: A touch of magic in the early years

Learnings from High/Scope: Enriching everyday practice

The Code of Ethics: A guide for everyday practice

The Circle of Security: Roadmap to building supportive relationships

Greening services: Practical sustainability

Dreaming Stories: A springboard for learning

Discovering letters and sounds

Capture the moment: Using digital photography in early childhood settings

Diversity and difference: Lighting the spirit of identity

Managing change with infants and young children

Young children as active learners

Active children: Healthy now and later

Young gifted children: Meeting their needs

Engaging families: Building strong communication

Storytelling with young children

Understanding children's feelings: Emotional literacy in early childhood

Overlooked curriculum: Seeing everyday possibilities

Aggression and young children

Revisiting celebrations with young children

Meaningful planning: Rethinking teaching and learning relationships

Learning with computers

Babies: Good beginnings last forever

Managing difficult behavior in young children

I examined the organizations Code of Ethics and discovered that there are similarities to our own NAEYC's Code of Ethics. 

"Inherent in this Code is the understanding that children learn within their family and community groups, bringing
rich knowledge, and a diversity of experiences and identities to their learning. Sociocultural theories have moved our
focus beyond individual children’s development to highlight the importance of social contexts to children’s learning
and development. As children participate and learn in their communities, they in turn influence those communities.
Early childhood communities ought to be spaces and places where practices such as responsive listening and dialogue can
build connections and relationships which sustain and advance individual and collective well-being.
Early childhood professionals have a strong history of advocating on behalf of children and their families. This revised Code builds on this tradition by making explicit the ethical responsibility to take action in the face of injustice and when
unethical practice occurs.  This Code is not intended to, and could not possibly provide, easy answers, formulate, or prescriptive solutions for the complex issues early childhood professionals face in their work.  As an aspirational document, it does provide a basis for critical reflection, a guide for professional behavior, and principles to inform individual and collective decision making."

The following values and processes are considered central to the Code of Ethics:

• respect
• democracy
• honesty
• integrity
• justice
• courage
• inclusivity
• social responsiveness
• cultural responsiveness

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/pdf/code_of_ethics/code_of_ethics_%20brochure_screenweb_2010.pdf

I found this site has multiple reliable and resourceful links to information on "supporting best practice" in early childhood education.  There arr over a hundred provided resources.  After examining several, I found new resources that I will be utilizing in the professional growth.

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


 

Blog Assignment: Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories 

Week 3 Blog Assignment

 

This quote by Uri Bronfenbrenner:  

“…the only safe way to avoid violating principles of professional ethics is to refrain from doing social research altogether.”

http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/302/302bron.PDF 

http://www2.yk.psu.edu/~mer7/theorists.htm 

Assignment 1:Share a positive example of the effects of research on children and/or families: Perhaps you can provide real-life examples of research benefits to children and/or families; maybe you are familiar with stories of people who have been positively affected by research; or you came across a published research article concerning children or families which you find exciting and would like to share with your colleagues.

 I have a personal story to share.  I began my early childhood academic journey 10 years ago.  I gave birth to my daughter 4 years ago, she is my example of research for the benefit of the field and my professional and personal growth.  She has been in my preschool classroom for the past two years.  I have used her as an experiment while I was navigating my undergraduate studies and now throughout my graduate studies.  I have tried numerous activities out on her, observed, assessed and evaluated her to sharpen my own EC educator skills, I have reflected on my own personal and professional ethics because she is in my class and daily care, and I have grown and changed as a professional and mother because of this research involving her.  There many risks involving this type of growth and research.  Our relationship has been affected (I am her teacher and mother), there have been concerns of favoritism within the classroom, the children in the class react to her differently because she is my daughter, and so forth.  None of these risks were harmful, but I/my colleagues have learned so much throughout the process.   I truly feel that I am a stronger professional for having taken on the challenge of involving my own child in my research and academic growth.  

Blog Assignment: Your Personal Research Journey

I have already taken significant first steps in my research simulation: I have reflected on general topics in early childhood, narrowed my focus and identified several subtopics, and decided which subtopic will be the focus of my simulations in the coming weeks...

This weeks blog assignment is to to tell your colleagues about your chosen topic for the simulation and why you chose it. 

• The topic in within the early childhood profession n that I am passionate about is social and emotional development in the early years of life. When I think about this topic, I am intrigued on three subtopics under the social and emotional development umbrella. These subtopics include the effects of the child’s natural environment on behavior, the influence of teacher and child relationships on preschool children’s social-emotional development, and the effects of stress on young children in regards to emotional and social development. As early childhood educators and professionals, we are facilitating the development of competent and productive human beings in our society. I feel it is our responsibility to focus on than the social and emotional side of development and the impact of ecological psychology on children. Studies have shown that positive social and emotional in children leads to better academic success and lifelong growth and development.   
  

Share any insights you have gained so far from constructing the research chart, and from any other element of this course. 

• I am excited to continue my research on social and emotional development and the chart has been beneficial to this process.  I have also benefited from investigating the credibility of electronic resources.

 A fantastic resource for educators on social and emotional development and behavior is from 

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL).  This site is focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5. CSEFEL is a national resource center funded by the Office of Head Start and Child Care Bureau for disseminating research and evidence-based practices to early childhood programs across the country.

http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/

 

EDUC 6163 -7 Buliding Research Competencies

Blog Assignment: Reactivating Your Blog

Every course of the MS ECS program has included Blog Assignments. You can continue to use the early childhood studies blog that you first created in the Foundations course to complete your Blog Assignments in this course. Your Assignment this week is to post the URL for your blog on the Blog Links Board by Saturday of this week. Also, subscribe to the feeds of your colleagues using your RSS feed aggregator account. Note: Your Instructor will also subscribe to your blog and receive updates.

Note: Remember, blog entries can be less formal and more conversational than your other assignments. There is no required limit to the length of your entry. Unless specified, you may choose to submit answers in writing and/or to upload images, videos, audio clips, or animations relevant to the topic. If you choose to post visuals, you need to explain in what way(s) the visual reflects your answer to the Blog Assignment topic. Keep in mind that the purpose of interacting through blogs is so that you and your colleagues can enrich each others’ ideas, resources, and personal experiences in relation to this course and the program at large. 

Final Blog Assignment: EDUC-6162 Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field

This assignment is to post on three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for your professional and personal development.  The consequences that I am aware of are, inequity exists world-wide in quality, care, professionalism, accessibility, and support.  

The questions still remain: 

How are excellence and equity defined in relation to early childhood professionals? 

Who takes care of their well-being? 

What options do professionals in the field have to increase their knowledge? 

How are EC professionals compensated for their work with young children—work that is generally described as difficult as well as extremely important to the well-being of a nation? 

In what ways are early childhood professionals evaluated and mentored?

All of these are questions concern my professional life, and they are at the center of my awareness and educational journey.

The field of early childhood is demanding recognition and respect as a vital part of children's development for academics and life.  When we don't ask these questions, the children and profession suffer.  We need to all be on the same page for what is best for the children and ultimately for the profession.  That's why I continue to be a supporter, member, and advocate for NAEYC.  We need an organization to lead us all in best practice across the board.  

http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation

http://www.rightchoiceforkids.org/

http://www.youtube.com/user/naeycvideos

http://www.youtube.com/user/naeycvideos#p/a/u/1/rhBBd9Tl4k4 

One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends is for all professionals to be held to the same standards in the profession regardless of demographics.  In the spirit of collegial relations, more institutions should collaborate and share on progress, trends, and methods that would benefit the students/ professional development of people in the field of early childhood.

Sharing Web Resources

• Follow some of the outside links that you have not yet explored. Where do they lead?
• I followed http://www.researchconnections.org/childcare/states and was able to explore several states information that pertains to equity issues.  I especially enjoyed researching http://www.naccrra.org/publications/naccrra-publications/we-can-do-better-2011.php this site has information on each states ranking on oversight and regulation issues.  It was fascinating to research each state and see how we are all ranked, our state strengths and weaknesses.
• Thoroughly search one area of the site. What do you find? I found:

More than 11 million children younger than age 5 spend an average of 35 hours a week in some type of child care setting. State child care licensing requirements govern the health, safety and learning opportunities for these children. State oversight requirements monitor compliance with state policies.
We Can Do Better: 2011 Update is the third in a series of reports beginning in 2007 that scores and ranks the states, including the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense (DoD) on 10 program requirements and five oversight benchmarks for child care centers. NACCRRA’s update found that states have made progress but more progress is needed.
The average score in 2011 was 87 out of a possible 150 points (compared to 70 in 2007 and 83 in 2009).  Using a standard grading scale, no state earned an A. The Department of Defense earned a B, and four states earned a C. Twenty-one states earned a D. Half of the states (26 states) earned a failing grade. While we should be pleased with the improvement among the states since 2007, an 87 equates to a score of 58 percent, a failing grade in any classroom in America.

Additionally, find out if the site you selected at the beginning of this course offers any information about the issue of this week: 
  Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States http://www.preknow.org/
e-newsletter: http://www.preknow.org/signupform.cfm

• Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education?
• I receive daily information on topics relevant to early childhood education from across the country on issues of policy changes, laws, headlines, and various other topics.  It has connected me to the field across the country.   am able to think in a bigger picture for our field.
• 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?
• I would recommend this e-newsletter subscription to all professionals.  I have found and utilized many resources from the newsletter information.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

Issues related to excellence and equity in the early childhood field make for a rich pool of conversation topics.   Take the opportunity this week to learn from your international contacts which issues related to excellence and equity are at the forefront of professional discussions in their countries:

My international contact from Canada has communicated with me on the inequities in her country regarding early childhood.  They are very similar to those of our own country.  There is always a social economic status divide in programs with young children.  Some insights I have learned are the way the government tries to regulate this divide with teacher education regulations.  This connects directly to the inequity I researched for the Application this week.  By creating standards for teacher education, the children benefit regardless of the demographics.

• Share the new insights and information you have gained from these conversations
• Describe in particular the additional information about issues of equity and excellence you acquired from your international sources

Sharing Web Resources

• http://www.preknow.org 
• What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development? Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?
• This site has information for educators on:
•   Pre-K Teachers Resource Center
  
  Virtual Classroom Tour
  
  Community-Based Pre-K Providers
  
  Teacher Profiles
• I also found information on program assessments interesting & useful:
Pre-K Assessment

Controversy and conflict have surrounded the assessment debate in education since the 2000 passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which brought a renewed emphasis on accountability in education. Also since that time, state spending on pre-k has increased by over $3 billion to $5.2 billion (FY09). As of 2008, one million children were enrolled in state pre-k programs nationwide. The incredible momentum for both pre-k and accountability in education has prompted critical questions: Should pre-k programs be held accountable? If so, how should program effectiveness be evaluated, and how should progress be measured for each individual child?
Pre-K Now believes assessments and evaluations of both children and programs are vital for the success of any state pre-k system. Different assessments provide different data: on the needs of individual children, the effectiveness of a program's practices, or the success of state pre-k policies. Above all, assessments must be adequately funded and developmentally appropriate. This paper outlines our recommendations for successful assessment policies, drawing on decades of important research, particularly the excellent work done on early assessment by the National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force (PDF) (largely funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts) and a 2008 National Research Council (NRC) study.

•  
• What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?
•  There is a section in the website labeled: Pre-K Advocates.
• Pre-K Advocates Pre-K Now recognizes that pre-k advocates share a common cause but often don't have access to common resources. From state to state, pre-k challenges and solutions vary, yet the insight gained from each campaign is valuable to us all.
  Gathered here are facts, research, presentations, and honest dialogues about pre-k. Advocates developed these resources, and every usage of them creates new knowledge and experience that increases the effectiveness of advocates across the nation.
  
  What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?
• I discovered ways to advocate for children with my local business and community leaders:
• Business & Community Leaders At Pre-K Now, we understand the importance of business and community leaders' involvement in the movement for high-quality pre-kindergarten. In many instances, business and community leaders are the most effective advocates for young children, and in that spirit, we offer examples of and resources for leaders who are helping advance high-quality pre-k for all in their states.
  /

International Contacts

My international contact is an Early Childhood educator from Ontario, Canada. She is a registered early childhood educator that has been working at a theme based / Montessori daycare for the past 5 1/2 years.  She hopes to someday continue her education and get a BA in early childhood studies in Canada- I hope to encourage her in this endeavor as we communicate and exchange ideas/information over the next several weeks, and beyond.

 ________________________________________________________________________________
On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 4:25 PM, Amy Smith <amy.smith3@waldenu.edu> wrote:

Assignment: Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

As it is never too early to establish professional contacts, the Assignment for this course provides the opportunity to establish contact, to talk with, and to learn from professionals who live and work in different parts of the world. There are no specific rules for these conversations; simply ask your conversation partners each week about their thoughts and insights regarding the issues and trends you are studying in this course...

This week, issues related to poverty are the focal point of your studies. Ask your conversation partners to help you understand the specific issues of poverty they encounter in their professional lives as well as those they are concerned about throughout the world.

• Introduce your conversation partners to your classmates at Walden
• Share what you have learned so far from these exchanges
• Describe your new insights and information about issues of poverty

Thanks so much Kim!  All I need is your thoughts on poverty in Canada, and how it affects (you/children) in the early childhood field. __________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Amy

I am not sure how it works there (United States) but here (Canada) a lot of our lower income families can apply for subsidy and if they qualify they have some or all of their daycare fees covered by the government.  This allows for their parents to go to school or find a job while their children are taken care of.

This helps a lot of our families especially single parents who struggle financially to take care of their families.

However there is only so much government money and spaces to go around and there are some families who are left out of the program which is unfortunate.  In some extreme cases like these some day cares will lower the fees temporarily to allow for the child to still have a spot and their parent still be able to find a job or go to school.

A motto in Ontario is "No Child Left Behind" and this means that in most cases the government will help in any way they can to make sure that a child receives the best early childhood care they can whether they live in poverty or not.

Kim Loxton
____________________________________________________________________________________

I plan on communicating with Kim on NAEYC and compare organizations in Canada to the U.S. for the benefit of young children. 

Blog Assignment: Sharing Web Resources

• Provide the name and link for the organization you selected, and a brief description of the organization’s focus, 
• Identify one current issue/trend from the newsletter and/or from the website that caught your attention
• Share if there was anything else you learned from studying these resources related to the topic of this week

·         Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States

http://www.preknow.org/ 

(Newsletter: http://www.preknow.org/signupform.cfm ) This is an amazing site with endless resources.  I especially like the "Advocacy Toolkit" feature.  In the newsletter, I was also able to look-up my own state and its progress towards milestones for quality pre-k programs. 

"

"North Carolina

North Carolina has been a model state for early education, particularly in expanding the availability, affordability, and quality of early childhood programs and integrating pre-k and comprehensive early education services in an innovative way."

ThThe site also provides information on what quality pre-k should look like. 

High-quality pre-kindergarten is the first step in education reform. A vast body of research demonstrates that early learning programs develop children’s cognitive, social-emotional and physical readiness for success in school. This solid foundation is proven to contribute to higher literacy and math attainment, lower grade retention, reduced remedial and special education needs and increased high school graduation rates.
When students have a high-quality pre-k experience, they are better prepared and motivated to achieve at higher levels, multiplying the impact of other reforms. The alternative – helping children catch up in later grades – is both more costly and less effective. The evidence is clear and compelling: Successful school improvement plans, like a child’s development, benefit most from investments made in the critical early years.

Pre-K: The First Step in Education Reform

In these tough economic times, policy makers need to prioritize investments in proven programs. For elected officials seeking to improve school performance, 50 years of evidence shows that high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten is among the best strategies for education reform. High-quality pre-k saves tax payers money; improves children's cognitive, social and emotional skills; decreases the need for grade retention and special education services and helps to close the achievement gap.