When I Think of Research

Dear colleagues, all I can say is that this class was truly a challenge for me. But despite the challenges, I have learned a lot.

The insights I have gained about research from taking this course is that research is necessary and is responsible for the many policies and procedures that are in place in the early childhood field. Also when research is executed fairly and justly all parties involved benefit. I now understand that research design (quantitative and or qualitative) is determined by the purpose of the research i.e., to measure phenomenon or to understand it. Another insight I have gained is that although I have always understood how important it is to ask open ended questions during the interview process, I never viewed the researcher as someone having power (McNaughton, Rolfe, and Siraj-Blatchford 2010). However, if research is going to credible and if participants are going to be represented fairly and justly, that power must be redefined and shared with the participants (McNaughton, Rolfe, and Siraj-Blatchford 2010).
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There is so much more that I could write about, but I will move on to the next question.   In what ways have my ideas about the nature of research changed?   My ideas about the nature of research has changed tremendously, because now I realize that there is a lot of forethought and planning that goes into research. I realize that the credibility of research is dependent upon many things, including the researcher’s epistemology (belief system of what is considered to be truth) the methods of data collecting and triangulation methods.

The lesson I learned about planning, designing and conducting research in early childhood is that studies show that research does not have to be on a massive scale, but can be small. I also learned that children as participants in a study are credible, providing the techniques used are age appropriate (McNaughton, Rolfe, and Siraj-Blatchford 2010).  

Some of the challenges I encountered was grasping the wording in the text book. I seemed to have struggled with the sentence structure in the text. Other challenges related to understanding research, included understanding the differences between quantitative and qualitative research designs. I also found putting the definitions into my own words challenging at times. Ways that I met these challenges is that I read the text over and over and sometimes read it out loud. Sometimes I would step away from the text and revisit it at another time. 

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course? Some of the ways my perception of the early childhood profession has changed since taking this class, is that the early childhood field needs research in order to make improvements.  In closing I want to say thanks to all of the encouraging comments you made during our discussions. Some of you made this class sound so easy when I found it to be quite challenging. I wish you all the happiest of Holidays.  

Cheryl Byrd


 References
 

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010) Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory & practice. (2^nd ed.) New York, NY: Open University Press McGraw Hill

Research Around the World

Some of the latest international research topics I discovered while exploring the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) website were as follows;

Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood (Waller, T & Bitou, A. 2011),  Children’s cortisol patterns and the quality of the early learning environment (Sajaniemi, N., Suhonen, E., et al. 2011), and Introducing children’s perspectives and participation in research (Harcourt, D., & Einarsdotter, J. 2011). 

From the first research topic, I discovered that researchers are using stories as participatory tools to elicit children’s perspectives in research for the purpose of pedagogy. But other research has revealed that relying on participatory tools (things and activities for the children to explore and do) have underlying issues that could be problematic, namely, adults imposing their interpretation of the children’s responses to the participatory tools, the absence of grounding the research in the children’s culture and restricted adult child interactions due to the emphasis placed on the participatory tools being used (Waller, T. & Bitou, A. 2011). What I learned from this sturdy is that what may seem like a good ideal, may turn out not to be so good after all. 

The second research topic about the correlation between the patterns of cortisol in three – five year old children and the quality of the early learning environment (Sajaniemi, N., Suhonen E., et al. 2011) was very interesting to me because of my personal experience with observing children in the classroom. I have witnessed first hand children holding their hands over their ears and saying it’s too loud. The research from this study showed that cortisol levels in young children were highest within the first thirty minutes of waking up and subsided in the evening. Children were also found to have higher cortisol levels while at school than at home (Sajaniemi, N., Suhonen E., et al. 2011). I agree that a classroom of 15- 18 three year olds can be too much for some children. Moving forward, now that my awareness of this matter has been heightened,  I will be implementing some new cues to help the children tone down their voices and provide more sensory activities to bring calmness in the room. 

The third research topic - Introducing children’s perspectives and participation in research (Harcourt, D., & Einarsdotter, J. 2011) reinforced the concept that utilizing children’s input in research has a lot to offer and that children are competent enough to communicate their views. Also worthy of mentioning, I discovered that this research was developed by a Special Interest Group (SIG). The EECERA organization encourages other early childhood professionals to present topics of interests for the purpose of conducting research. The proposed topic undergoes the process of starting out as a topic, being refined and then developed into a hypothesis. The EECERA will accept or reject a proposed hypothesis depending on the value it may contribute to the early childhood field. My personal view about the encouragement of SIG is that it allows for knowledge in the early childhood field to expand as well as provide upcoming researchers to gain experience.

As the early childhood field continues to evolve, ongoing research has much to contribute especially now that we know that children are well capable of communicating their views as participants in research.  

References

Waller, T. & Bitou, A. (2011) Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 19 (1) 5 – 20. Retrieved form: http://www.eecera.org/

Sajaniemi, N., Suhonen, E., Kontu, E., Rantanen, P., Lindholm, H., Hyttinen, S., & Hirvonen, A. (2011): Children’s cortisol patterns and the quality of the early learning environment, European Early Childhood Research Journal 19 (1) 45-62. Retrieved from http://www.eecera.org/

 

Harcourt, D. & Einarsdotter, J. (2011) Introducing children’s perspectives and participation in research European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 19 (3) 301 – 307. Retrieved form: http://www.eecera.org/

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Thanks to cancer research, Connor Dykes three years old is the survivor of Multiforme Congenital Glioblastoma. The nightmare began when Connor was an infant, just six weeks old.  Connor’s mom (Mindy Dykes) went out to spend time with a friend while dad (David Dykes) stayed home to hang out with the children. Connor had a bad case of acid reflux and threw up on several occasions. Dad held Connor to comfort him and found that Connor became more agitated when the lights were on. When mom came home and turned on the lights, they discovered that the left side of Connor’s head had swollen badly. Immediately they rushed Connor to the nearest hospital only to be transferred by ambulance to the University of Minnesota’s Children’s hospital. Immediately Connor received a CT scan and it was discovered that he had a brain tumor the size of an adult’s fist. The doctor’s recommended surgery. Although the surgery was risky, Mindy consented to the surgery. Four and a half hours later, Connor was stabilized and opened his eyes. But unfortunately Connor was not out of the clear as three days later Connor was diagnosed with stage IV of Multiforme Congenital Glioblastoma.

Fortunately Connor’s future looked bright, as most children with this disease die during childbirth. Dr. Moertel and other specialists informed Connor’s parents that Connor’s treatment would be innovative. After five months of chemotherapy, Connor became the youngest person ever to self donate bone marrow.  Amazingly this procedure was successful the first time and Connor gave more bone marrow than his doctor expected. 

The bone marrow transplant was a success, and two years later, Connor was considered cured. Mindy and David attributed Connor’s outcome to the strides made through research. The CT scan that was administered within 30 seconds, the chemotherapy with the right combination of drugs, and the bone marrow transplant were all methods developed from research. 

To help other children like Connor, The Dykes eagerly consented to any research doctors wanted to do.  Although Connor struggles with several developmental disabilities, one of them being hearing loss from the aggressive chemotherapy, the Dykes both agree that Connor’s survival far outweighs this loss.

References

Ballif, C. H. (2009). Brain Cancer- Connor’s story something greater in mind. Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Retrieved from http://www.childrenscancer.org/stories-of-hope/kids-stories/connor.html

My Personal Research Journey

The simulated topic I chose to research is, The Accuracy of Early Childhood Assessments and shortcomings. What I would like to explore is how accurate are early childhood assessments and if any, what factors attribute to shortcomings in conducting accurate early childhood assessments.

The reason why I am interested in this particular topic is because as a preschool teacher, I have found myself at times speculating answers to questions about the children's abilities. For the past several months,  I have been the only lead teacher for a group of fifteen three year old children. All though I have the assistance of a floater who may write a few journals for me, all other documentation including assessments, is my responsibility.  Also as the field is becoming more professionalized, I have noticed that teacher workloads continue to increase, yet the infrastructure to accommodate for these changes have not.

What I have gained from completing the simulation chart, is that I have formulated a hypothesis based on my personal experience and knowledge about my co-workers experience in this area. Therefore, I conclude that the research methodology best suited for what I want to accomplish would be The Deductive Research methodology (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, Siraj-Blatchford, 2010) as I am only interested in this question.

To my colleagues, I ask that if you have any knowledge about this topic or can refer me to some credible resources please feel free to share with me. We will get through this together. Thank you so much.

Cheryl Byrd

References

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S. A., & Siray – Blatchford, I. (2010).  Doing Early Childhood Research International Perspectives on Theory and Practice (2nd Ed.). New York, NY:

Final Blog Posting

Personally and professionally, the consequences of learning about the international early childhood field are as follows;

1.     A Global Common Thread among Children & Families/Inequity: Although the way of life varies from country to country with issues arising from different contexts, I realize that poverty and equal access to quality early child care is a global issue effecting children worldwide.  

2.     Removing Barriers: I now understand that the inequalities that children and families experience are influenced by barriers. In some countries such as India, barriers include gender discrimination, social class, demographics and language.  The knowledge I have acquired about barriers has heightened my awareness so that I can appropriate solutions that are effective. In other words, to bring about equality, one must be able to identify the barriers in order to remove them.  This is a principal I can apply in my work as a parent educator.

3.     Small Steps Matter: I learned that not all solutions have to be on a massive scale. For example, in a country that does not have the means to purify their water, something as simple as teaching a child how to place water in the sun improves the quality of life for a child and his/ her family. 

4.     Comprehensive Early Child Care is Most Effective:  The Harvard Global Children’s Initiative: “Early Childhood Program Effectiveness”. Ph.D. Yoshikawa of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education presented the concept of the “Three Tiered Approach” as the solution to ensuring that all children regardless of their backgrounds experience healthy development. Tier1 includes the provision of a safe environment,  Tier 2 provides support systems for parents and Tier 3, encompasses responsiveness to the needs of children and families experiencing toxic stress. The insight I gained from the “Three Tiered Approach” is that creating equity in early childhood education calls for multiple strategies (as opposed to the cookie cutter programs we now have in place)  to address the diverse needs of children and families.  This is information I can share with coworkers when devising solutions or designing programs in the early childhood field.

The unintended consequence is that I was unable to make a live international contact. By the time I received a response, the course was over. 

My One Goal for the field on an international level and for my colleagues would be that we continue to advocate for children’s rights by keeping current with the issues and trends that effect their quality of life and take steps (action) big and or small to ensure that all children have access to a quality of life that promotes healthy development.

To all of my colleagues, I want to say thanks for your comments in our discussions. There were times that your insight helped me to see another perspective about an issue that I had not thought of. I wish each and everyone of you much success as you pursue your dreams.

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center (CHIP). (n.d.). Knowledge for tackling childhood poverty. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Center on the Developing Child. (Harvard University). (2011). Early childhood program effectiveness [video webcast]. Retrieved from (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/)

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

        

          Since I have not received a response form any international contacts, I chose to explore the UNESCO website to compare how the information compares with my new professional goals.

         
         After reviewing my three professional goals, in the context of my early childhood studies since enrolling in Walden University’s Masters of Early Childhood Studies program, my goals are more detailed now. At first I stated that I wanted to teach adults in the early childhood field, become a well known early child children’s book author, and become more involved in the political arena by advocating for improvements in the early childhood field. However my goals now are more refined. I know now that I specifically want to educate parents living in poverty about the importance of fostering healthy development in their children’s lives. My desire is to be instrumental in breaking the cycle of poverty by providing this population with the tools and resources to empower them in changing their lives. The other two goals, have not changed, however I now have new insight on how these two goals can be instrumental as well in breaking the cycle of poverty. As a parenting educator, I can promote literacy by teaching parents how to read and or tell a story to their child, how to ask open ended questions to promote cognitive and language development. Also in the area of advocacy, I now understand the importance of committing becoming a life long learner in the early childhood field. Doing so will enable me to be more persuasive when advocating for the early childhood field.

         
          Three Insights I have gained from the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) website similar to my revised professional goals

        
          Like my revised professional goals, I discovered that the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) state that their goal is to expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care. Early childhood policies are no longer restricted to academics but designed to address social development, gender equality and poverty.

          Similar to my professional goal of closing the quality of early care and educational inequity gap, UNESCO posted on their website that the Dakar Framework for Action reaffirmed the importance of early child care and education for all children by placing the issue first among six main goals. Although government assistance for the poor is not sustained, the goal remains.


          Another similarity between this organization and my personal goals were the views on parental involvement. The UNESCO website had several videos about the subject of parental education. One in particular titled “Working Together for Early Childhood" is an advocacy video produced by the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood. Divya Lata, Senior Program manager - Open Society Foundation stated that families play a central role in providing nurturing and stimulating environments for their children and becoming empowered to access resources for good nutrition and health care services to prevent illnesses.


Retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Sharing Web Resources

For this assignment I chose to revisit the National Black Child website. I was hoping to find another resource under the Resources tab/ publications, but unfortunately this link was not available at this time. However, the one area I chose to thoroughly search was the “T.E.A.C.H.” tab. 

                Available on the website was a press release of the NBCDI announcing receipt of funds from the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Division of Early Education. The objective is to launch a scholarship system targeted towards early childhood practitioners to provide opportunities for acquiring higher education credentials.  Formal educational opportunities include CDA, Associates and Bachelors degrees, and a Director scholarship in the early childhood field.

            Other bits of information included eligibility guidelines, (must not earn more than $19.00 per hour), and must live and be employed as an early childhood practitioner (working with young children) in the District of Columbia. Applicants are not restricted to Center Based Care, but individuals from Family Homes are eligible too. The T.E.A.C.H. program is also available in 21 other states.

To assist individuals with the application process, applications and forms for each program is available and can be printed. There are also instructions for completing college applications and the FAFSA, along with  a list of participating colleges (including their links). The FAQ section and a T.E.A.C.H. presentation are available to answer any questions one may have as well as contact information.

Lastly, what really captivated me was the “Creative Ideas for Release Time” section. In this section is a list of suggestions for ensuring that participants receive support from their directors. Here are a few of the suggestions. 

·         Offer release time during rest time so scholarship recipients can study or use the center’s  computer and  other resources for papers and class projects.
·         Pay recipients for their lunch breaks.
·         Provide a whole or half day off before a test, final exam or when a class project is due.  This will give scholarship recipients extra time to prepare for these big events.

Wow! I wish!

I am not receiving an e-newsletter from the NBCDI. Information is provided to those who become members. But there was an announcement stating that NBCDI received a $300,000.00 grant from the WALMART Foundation! The funds are being allocated to launch a healthy nutrition initiative. The implementation of this initiative will involve a delivery method that is culturally relevant and meaningful for the purpose of reducing obesity among African Americans and educating African American children and families about the importance of practicing good nutrition. 

In terms of finding information related to this week’s topic about equity and accessibility in the early childhood field, I discovered a paper in the resources section titled “Economic Recovery Letter” (2009). The letter was addressed to the Senator/ Representative from the Child Care and Early Learning Coalition. In the closing section of the letter was a list of the organization affiliates. Just to name a few, the YMCA of the USA, Zero to Three, NAEYC, and The National Black Child Development Institute was on the list.

The content of the letter entailed strong support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the purpose of revitalizing our country and helping struggling families make ends meet. The letter addressed the need to assist families with the cost of quality child care, putting parents back to work, and pleading that new school constructions make provisions for early child education as well. The content also includes addressing the issue of eligibility by stating that an increasing number of families need financial assistant with the high cost of early quality child care. The coalition also stated their support of the $255.2 million in funds to target quality improvements, of which $93.6 million would be allocated for infant and toddler care. The objective is to excel beyond the current standards of quality. 

In closing, I must say that I am real excited about the T.E.A.C.H program. This initiative is a step in the right direction to improve the quality of care in communities least likely to provide quality care. And after  reading the Child Care and Learning Coalition (2009) "Economic Recovery" letter, I realized how powerful advocacy can be when everyone pulls together.

References

National Black Child Development Institute
http://nbcdi.org/

Getting to Know Your personal Contacts: Part II

While exploring the Harvard University’s Global Children’s Initiative” website, the first piece of information I explored in the context of global equity in early childhood education was a video webcast titled “Early Childhood Program Effectiveness”. Ph.D. Yoshikawa of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education presented the concept of the “Three Tiered Approach” as the solution to ensuring that all children regardless of their backgrounds experience healthy development. Tier 1 covers the basics, a safe environment, consistency of care with responsible, nurturing caregivers. This type of care (quality care) has been proven to sustain healthy brains and bodies. Tier 2 not only provides quality early childhood education for children, but provides educational and financial support systems for parents. Tier 3, encompasses being responsive to the needs of children and families experiencing toxic stress by providing specialized services for child maltreatment, substance abuse, and mental health issues. The insight I gained from the “Three Tiered Approach” is that creating equity in early childhood education calls for multiple strategies (as opposed to the cookie cutter programs we now have in place)  to address the diverse needs of children and families.

The second bit of information I discovered came from the resources section that linked me to the Pathways Magazine (2011).  The article that really caught my attention was “Race to the Bottom” (Ravitch, 2011). Like the NCLB initiative the “Race to the Top” initiative is outcome driven with punitive consequences of firing teachers and closing schools. This type of intimidation only creates a culture of dishonesty in our educational system as administrators and school faculty fabricate test scores in order to receive funds and or remain open. Ravitch (2011) contests, that it is our nation’s poorest children who are hurt the most as they enter school lagging behind children from more affluent families. Poor communities yield poor performance schools which perpetuates the cycle of not receiving the finances and resources needed to improve the quality of education in poor communities. As children are passed on from one grade to the next, the discovery is made after graduating that they have not been adequately prepared to be successful in college. Students coming from this type of system often have to take remedial classes upon entering college. In contrast, Ravitch, (2011) states that high performance nations place emphasis on providing a rich-well balanced curriculum as opposed to our test only performance driven approach. The insight I have gained from reading this article is that fear driven initiatives such as the Race to the Top initiative are ineffective in creating equality in our early childhood educational systems, especially among the poor.

Thirdly, I explored Global Children’s Initiative. The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University invited early childhood experts from various parts of the world to set the agenda for Harvard’s initial entry into to international research on child development. Historically the center has always conducted studies only in the United States. But to get a global perspective, the center recruited 25 academic scholars in the early childhood field to attend a conference. Despite challenges such as imposing western ideas on to other cultures, this is a good place to start for the purpose of gathering research based data that can be applied in creating equality for children worldwide. 

                                                                                                                                                References 

Center on the Developing Child. (Harvard University). (2011). Early childhood program effectiveness [video webcast]. Retrieved from (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/)

Ravitch, D., (2011) Race to the bottom. Pathways (29-32) Retrieved from The Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality website: www.stanford.edu

Center on the Developing Child. (Harvard University). (2011). Global Research Conference Retrieved from (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/)