When I Think of Research....

Before taking this course on building research competence, the thought of conducting a research project or even reading the analysis of a study terrified me. Even when I have read case study before, at the end I always asked myself, "Now, what did I just read?" After taking this course, I can see that I am a little more comfortable with reading and conducting research/case studies. Through out this course I have learned a great deal of information from the proper way to read a case study, to how to design one. I now have a greater understanding of what it takes to conduct research that is valid and beneficial to the ECE field. I also understand the purpose of research. It can help answer questions through observation, experiments, data collection, and interviews. The thought of research doesn't scare me as much now as it did before. 

When it comes to planning a research project in early childhood, it is important to think about the issues that are faced in the field and consider how a research project can make a change. You should also consider your interest and the interest of others. When designing a research project, one must understand that it takes times. Good design will ensure that your research provides you with data that enable you to achieve what you set out to achieve--whether it is to describe, understand or explain what interest you (Naughton, 2010). Your design is your plan that will address specific questions and their expected outcomes. In conducting research one must first gain permission from participants. I think one of the major things that has been stress and just making sure the data collected supports your topic and is accurate and valid.

My biggest challenge throughout this process was just making sure I comprehend the information I read. At time I was lost but I think by rereading the text and putting the information in my own words. I was able to better understand it. My perception of an early childhood professional is still the same. I still see us as important members of society, that work hard to provide better learning experience for the children. 

Before I end my blog, I would like to thank my colleagues for all their input and thoughts. THANK YOU!

Reference:

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

Open University Press.

Research Around the World

The international web site I chose to view is Early Childhood Australia. This organisation advocates for children ranging from birth to the age of 8 by helping to ensure quality, social justices, and in equity in all issues related to  the education of children. Early Childhood Australia is the peak early childhood advocacy organisation, acting in the interest of young children, their families and those in the early childhood field (Early Childhood Australia, 2012).

Early Childhood Australia is seen as the equivalent to the U.S based NAEYC. It provides information on their Code of Ethics, position statements, early childhood news, and other EC information. In viewing the website, I noticed that a lot of the international topics relate to issues that children, families and EC professionals in the U.S. These topics include:

• Quality improvement
• Secure transitions
• Partnerships
• Respecting diversity
• Learning and teaching through play
• Building confident learners
• Bullying
• Supportive relationships
• Health, and many other topics.

It was interesting to see some of the articles written on the Early Childhood Australia newsletter. In my search I found an article takes a look at how educators plan for adventurous or risky play. It talks about how children have limited outside time because parents and educators  fear for their safety due to the increase in violence that has occurred. 

               The nightly news creates an atmosphere of fear about the outside worlds, as we view images                of violence that reinforces a perceptions that it's not safe to be outside. So we protect our                    children even more, and in doing so we remove them from the natural environment and                      move indoors. In our desire to 'keep children safe' we create play environments that a                         devoid of adventure and  interest (National Quality Standard Professional Learning                             Program, 2013).

To me this article caught my attention because it was interesting to see how play is viewed in the Australian community. Though this may not be the view of all that live in Australia, it was shocking to read that parents fear for their child's safety when they simple do something that many take for granted.

What I also found interesting about this web site for this organization was that there was a section devoted to school readiness and children's transitions. In this section it provides parents, caregivers, and educators with resources that will assist them in  helping children make the transition from child care to preschool and preschool to school. This section would be very useful especially with school beginning this Wednesday in the area I live. For most of the kids attending my Pre-K class have never been away from their parents, especially not for majority of the day. From my experience, those children have a hard time separating from those parents. This section of the web site would be helpful in giving ideas on how to make that transition smooth for the child, parent, and teacher.


Resources

Early Childhood Austrialia (2013) http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

National Quality Standard Professional Learning Program. (2013). Talking about Practice: Adventurous 

                play- Developing a culture of risky play. Retrieved

              from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/wp-

              content/uploads/2013/07/NQS_PLP_E-Newsletter_No58.pdf