When I Think of Research...

When I Think of Research...

I think of the children that can be helped by research findings.  In this course, I have learned how to work with qualitative, quantiative, and mixed research methods.  This has helped me to become a better student and a better educator.  I realize that research can be used to solve problems in education. 

I have learned that research has to be designed.  I understand the need for a hypothesis, a research method, and informed consent for participants. Research is beneficial for eduation and it helps to find solutions to problems or to improve learning.  Therefore, I will use what I have learned to become a better educator.

I would like to thank everyone for their contribution to my blog and this learning experience.

Research Around the World

After evaluating the European Early Childhood Education Research Association, I found an article titled “‘Looking and listening-in’: a methodological approach to generating insights into infants' experiences of early childhood education and care settings”.  This article focused on how infants can benefit from early childhood education.   It was interesting that the research focused on “looking and listening-in having dual utility: as a methodological approach for helping us to edge closer to understanding the infant's experience, and as a way of describing how the infant made meaning of his experience” (EECERA, 2010). This research is important to early childhood education because our agency started an early start program last year for infants and toddlers. 

 

The site also provides a back catalogue that provides access to older research articles.  Early childhood educators can use this site to find valuable information about research projects. 

 

Reference

European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA): http://www.eecera.org/

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Research  can be used to enhance the quality of education.  In Head Start, a research project was conducted to determine ways to improve literacy.  The results of the research was transformed into policy changes for the Head Start centers.  As a result, new techniques were implemented to address reading and literacy goals.  One of the benefits of this research was the start of the Early Start program to start teaching infants to two year olds.  This program has been a success in our area, and it was made possible because of research.

Your Personal Research Journey

How to address diversity in Early Childhood Education

Class, my research will focus on improving strategies to include diverse children in the Head Start learning environment.  I chose this topic for research because the demographics in my area are changing.  There are more diverse families in need of education.  As a result, teachers need to be able to design assessments that accurately measure student performance.  I have seen a lot of Hispanic children labeled with learning disorders when they actually have cutlural and language barriers.  Therefore, the goal of my research is to address this issue and to improve learning for all children.

Final Blog Assignment

Final Blog Assignment

Consequences of learning about International Early Childhood

1.  Learning about international issues in early childhood learning makes it possible to relate this information to the early childhood learning environment in the United States.

2.  International contacts provide a new perspective about issues that occur in early childhood education.

3.  Exchanging research and information allows benefits all early childhood educators.

Goal for International Awareness

I would like to see an international newsletter created by early childhood professionals that provides stories and experiences from these classrooms.  This would help to create more awareness about poverty and other issues that occur in early childhood education. 

Final Note

On a final note, I would like to personally thank all of my classmates for following my blog and contributing to the discussion throughout the course.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

The podcasts this week focused on a new issue.  One of the podcasts discussed the level of obesity in the United States and in England.  The researcher was an American educator who was studying similarities in both cultures.  Since both England and the United States were individualistic cultures, the researcher wanted to determine the obesity levels between the two countries.  Oddly, obesity was tied to poverty.  One would expect that poverty would be tied to hunger.  However, it was found that obesity in the United States was due to food stamp programs and poverty.  As a result, families were encouraged to buy and eat cheaper, less healthy foods.  The researcher further found that obesity in England was also tied to poor diets. 

I have learned a lot by listening to the podcasts.  The educators and researchers share an abundance of information that can be used in early childhood education programs in my area.  As a result, I will continue to listen to the podcasts after this program is over.

Sharing Web Resources

Sharing Web Resources

After listening to podcasts over the last few weeks, I have started to explore research projects and newsletters outside of the organization. The world forum provides a lot of information about projects dedicated to combating poverty.  I searched through the archives and found several interesting projects that are created by groups, governments, and organizations.  Together, this information provides insight on creative ways to combat poverty.  For example, in India, one poverty initiative allowed families to provide their children with donated school supplies.  I also located two great poverty projects listed in the references. Please visit these sites to see what’s being done in the world.

 

References

www.worldforumfoundation.org/

www.globalpovertyproject.com/

 

International Poverty Solutions Collaborative. Retrieved from http://poverty.osu.edu/