WHEN I THINK OF RESEARCH...

Some insights I have gained from taking this course are how to think critically and how to analyze research papers.  My ideas about the nature of doing research have changed because I now realize how time-consuming and exhausting research can be.  But I recognize that the process is necessary, especially if your purpose is to help contribute to the field of early childhood.  

I have learned many lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood.  The first step in conducting research involves developing a topic.  But, if you have to solve a problem, then a specific question has to be formed.  Then, the method approach used will have to be determined.  Next, data has to be collected and evaluated.  Finally, conclusions can be arrived at. 

Some challenges I encountered were understanding some of the research terms and definitions used in our text.  I think I met them by using context clues and trying to figure out the word’s meanings from the other words and sentences surrounding the terms.  Some of the ways my perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course is that I am conscious of how doing early childhood research can benefit children and save lives.

RESEARCH AROUND THE WORLD

The European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) is one of many influential international web sites dedicated to early childhood.  “EECERA is an independent, self-governing, international association which promotes and disseminates multi-disciplinary research on early childhood and its applications to policy and practice” (http://www.eecera.org/).  Every year in Europe, the EECERA holds an early childhood research conference in order for scholars, policy makers, researchers and practitioners to network and have cross-national collaborations.  Some of the current international research topics that are covered are improving quality of professionalism and leadership, parental participation, outside play and learning, and children's learning from birth to three.  

I was surprised to learn that EECERA has Special Interest Groups (SIGs).  SIGs are for members of the EECERA to be involved in cross-national collaborations that focus on a specific theme.  Other noteworthy information that I discovered was the EECERA publishes the Journal of the Association (EECERJ).  It is one out of four journals located in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI).  The SSCI is very notable because it only includes the world’s leading social science journals.  “Through its Annual Conference, its Journal, its SIGs and the activities of its distinguished membership, EECERA is a leading international contributor to the development of research, policy and practice in the developing field of early childhood” (http://www.eecera.org/).

RESEARCH THAT BENEFITS CHILDEN AND FAMILIES - UPLIFTING STORY

There is an uplifting story concerning a family, which I would like to share with my colleagues.  It is the true story of Anissa and Marissa Ayala, and the Ayala family. 

Anissa Ayala was born a healthy baby girl.  But when she was 16 years old, she discovered lumps around her ankles and suffered from excruciating stomach pain. When her parents Mary and Abe Ayala, took Anissa to the emergency room, they were told that she had chronic myelogenous leukemia.  The doctors explained to them that Anissa would only have five years to live if she did not receive a bone-marrow transplant.

The Ayalas and their 18 year old son were all tested, but were not a match for Anissa.  So they decided to have another child, in hopes that the baby’s bone marrow would match Anissa’s.  The Ayalas only had a 25% chance of conceiving a sibling donor match.  But that didn’t stop them.  At age 44, Abe Ayala had his vasectomy reversed.  Four months later, he and his wife, Mary, who was also in her forties, were expecting their third child. 

Many people criticized the Ayala’s decision to “play God” and their situation created a national ethical debate.  But, they were determined to save Anissa’s life, and they stood firm in their decision.  On April 4, 1990, Marissa Eve Ayala was also born a healthy baby girl.  Thankfully, she was a match for her sister, Anissa.  Fourteen months later, Marissa underwent anesthesia and the bone marrow transfer procedure was performed. 

Today, Anissa is married and her disease is in complete remission and she is living cancer-free.  Marissa Ayala has since graduated from college with a degree in speech pathology.  Marissa saved Anissa’s life.  Without Marissa, Anissa wouldn’t be alive and without Anissa, Marissa would not either.  Even today, Abe and Mary Ayala have no regrets.  Now the Ayalas are proud parents of three healthy children. 

Many people are still debating this issue of conceiving children for the main purpose of saving others.  Especially, because unborn children and newborns are not able to give their consent.  However, I will say this.  I am a proud parent of two boys.  Fortunately, I have never had to conceive a child for the purpose of saving the life of another.  But in a heartbeat, I absolutely would.

References

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20104516,00.html

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_23300477/born-save-sisters-life-calif-woman-graduates-from

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Health/story?id=3826596&page=2

MY PERSONAL RESEARCH JOURNEY

My topic is the benefits of choosing a play-based curriculum in an early childhood program.  I chose this topic because I feel that play is essential in childhood.  Standardized testing has forced preschools to provide an academic curriculum, so children are not being exposed to opportunities to learn through play.  Personally, I am pleased with the simulation process.  I am learning and starting to understand the ways research can help me find out more about my topic.

There is one insight that I have gained so far from constructing the research chart.  The research chart enabled me to take the key terms and definitions I learned this week and really break down what each word means and how it is used in research.  Another insight I have gained so far from this course, is how to effectively evaluate whether information sources are or are not credible when conducting a literature search.

Should anyone have any advice or insight that might help me along this process, please feel free to let me know.  I encourage constructive criticism as well.  So far, I have not found any resources that I can share, but I will continue to search for some.  If you have any resources that you believe would be helpful and beneficial to me, I would appreciate those as well.

FINAL BLOG ASSIGNMENT

Well, well, well.  We have finally reached the end of this path toward our everlasting journey toward a promise of commitment towards improving the lives for all children.  By listening to podcasts and exploring international early childhood websites, I have developed three consequences.  They include a positive, a challenging and a positive/challenging consequence.  Let me explain. 

One positive consequence is that there are a wealth of resources available from international early childhood websites and programs.  These resources has enriched my professional development by enabling me to have access to information that will benefit my students and the quality of teaching I provide.  A challenging consequence is being aware that other cultures have different viewpoints and perspectives when it comes to early childhood education.  I have to accept these differences and embrace them, if in the long run, they support what is best for the child.  The last consequence is a combination of positive and challenging.  I have a renewed affirmation that there are many people worldwide that share the same passion for children's well-being as I do.  But with that, is also a realization, that we can not do it alone.  There is still a lot of work to be done if there is to be excellence and equity for all.

During the past weeks, my colleagues and I have continued to strengthen the bonds of a collaborative learning community.  My colleagues have supported me with their endless knowledge and insight about issues and trends in early childhood education and I hope I have done the same for them as well.  My wish is for my colleagues to stay encouraged and inspired for change as they continue on their professional path.  Both professionally and personally, I want to continue to foster relationships and be involved in a collaborative learning community for all, including students, parents, teachers, administrators, community members, and advocates for early childhood education.  Finally, I have one goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations.  It is to advocate for children and bring awareness to the issues and trends that affect their quality of life.

ESTABLISHING PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS AND EXPANDING RESOURCES

I tried to establish contact with two early childhood professionals outside the United States in Africa.  I used the Global Alliance of NAEYC e-mail addresses at http://www.naeyc.org/resources/partnership/globalalliance.  I sent emails to the early childhood professionals in the Federal Republic of Nigeria at arebimbo@yahoo.com and The National Early Childhood Development Alliance in South Africa at cecd@iafrica.com.  Since, I have not heard back from them, I decided to call within the United States.

For U.S. contact, I called 202-232-8777, which is the  Membership Department.  I was unable to reach a representative, so I left a detailed message.  I even sent a letter to their P.O. Boxes in Washington, D.C.  Next, I visited the New Jersey AEYC website at www.njaeyc.org to search for Local New Jersey Affiliates.  But my county of Essex/Hudson AEYC said the page was not found.  Finally, I emailed the Administrator, Helen Muscato, at mail@njaeyc.org.

NAEYC supports the early childhood community and it offers many different ways to do so.  It's "mission is to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources" (www.naeyc.org).  I chose this early childhood organization because I always hear about what they do for the field in general, but I was interested in getting detailed information.


References

http://www.naeyc.org/resources/partnership/globalalliance/
www.naeyc.org/
www.njaeyc.org/

ISSUES AND TRENDS: EXCELLENCE AND EQUITY OF CARE (EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSION)

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) advocates for programs that support early childhood care and education.  "UNESCO works in partnership with Member States, partners and other stakeholders to encourage timely and effective implementation...so that all young children develop their potential tot he fullest" (www.unesco.org/).  They work with government officials to push for policies that support development.

UNESCO believes in an integrated approach, focused on the well-being and holistic development of all children.  They encourage two planning strategies of phasing and partnership.  Phasing is education that responds to the needs of the child.  Partnership links health, social, families, schools and communities together.  UNESCO calls for an early childhood care and education system that has access and equity, quality, investment and financing and coordination and integration (www.unesco.org/).

Access and equity should be for all children, especially those which live in the most disadvantaged areas.  High-quality would include "pedagogy materials, personnel training, service setting and parental education and involvement" (www.unesco.org/).  Countries would need to look at early childhood the same way they do basic education, recognize its value, and use financing to ensure equitable access for all children.  Finally, a new approach of effectively coordinating provision and implementation across the sectors, both nationally and locally.
 
UNESCO's mission "is to support early childhood policy development with the aim to build a solid foundation for a child's lifelong learning" (www.unesco.org/).  Their mission and strategies to further that mission relates to my professional goals.  As advocates, UNESCO and I have the "mission to safeguard and promote the development of young children and to ensure their smooth transition from home to early childhood services and later to primary education" (www.unesco.org/).


Reference

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).  Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

ISSUES AND TRENDS: EXCELLENCE AND EQUITY OF CARE (AVAILABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND AFFORDABILITY)

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), has an outside link that leads to their state affiliates.  Along with NAEYC, these affiliate groups strongly believe in supporting the lives of young children and their families.  I live in the state of New Jersey.  So, I clicked on my state's affiliates and it lists the local offices of every county in New Jersey.  When I tried to click on my county, as well as the other counties in New Jersey, I was unable to get the website to display any of the pages.  Because of the website's error, I just focused on the entire state of New Jersey. 

I thoroughly searched one particular area of the site, the New Jersey Association for the Education of Young Children (NJAEYC).  On the NJAEYC site, I found links to New Jersey's upcoming events, recent news and local affiliates.  This website discusses how important it is to act now for New Jersey's children.  Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) is committed to equity and excellence in early care and education for young children in our state.  ACNJ firmly believes "if we are to preserve and strengthen funding streams to preparing young children for school success, and support families with access to full day programs to enable them to work, advocacy is critical" (www.njaeyc.org).

From exploring the website, I learned that NAEYC has almost 80,000 members, including over 300 state and local affiliates.  One of which includes NJAEYC, which has 4,000 members.  NJAEYC's "primary attention is devoted to assuring the provision of high quality early childhood programs through improvements in the professional practice and working conditions in the field of early childhood education, as well as by improving public understanding and support and funding of high quality programs in centers, homes, and schools" (www.njaeyc.org).  I realized that I am one of many voices dedicated to advocating and improving the lives of young children and their families.


References

www.naeyc.org/
www.njaeyc.org/

ISSUES AND TRENDS: EXCELLENCE AND EQUITY OF CARE (POLICIES)

I listened to TJ Skalski, on the World Forum Radio podcast (www.worldforumfoundation.org).  TJ is the principal of The Mother Earth's Children's Charter School (MECCS) in Canada.  She comes from strong Aboriginal family values, including having a grandmother who was a huge influence on her life.  The women in TJ's family, including all Aboriginal women in Canada, were victims of gender discrimination.  Since 1876, these women were refused the same legal rights as men, under the Indian Act.  In 1985, Canada passed Bill C-31, which allowed all Aboriginal women to gain their rights back federally.  It gave them access to federal programs and services (www.elections.ca). 

There is still inequity, because Aboriginal women are still denied rights in their own community.  Because of this injustice, TJ wants to foster equity and excellence in her students.  "Many of the children MECCS serves suffer from some form of adversity.  Resilience is the innate human ability to rebound from adversity with even greater strength to face future obstacles" (www.meccs.org).  She wants to instill in them the values she learned from her grandmother.  TJ's goal is to inspire and build hope for all of her students, by reinvesting culture, language and giving them stability and support.

After reviewing Harvard University’s Global Children’s Initiative website, I found an article on building America's future workforce (Knudsen et al, 2006).  The article explained that in order to strengthen our future workforce, we must invest in resources for children that come from disadvantaged environments as early as birth.  Investing in the earliest years will yield the greatest return.  "This high rate of return is much higher than the standard returns on stock market equity and suggests that society at large can benefit substantially from these kinds of interventions" (Knudsen et al, 2006).

I've also acquired additional information from an article from June's issue of the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) E-news publication.  The article highlighted the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education Youth Research Centre, in Australia, under its awards and grants section.  The Centre's Equity and Childhood Program offers three awards/grants to "support educators working in early childhood, who do not have access to funding to attend professional development, especially in the area of equity and social justice" (www.acei.org).


References

Knudsen, E., Heckman, J., Cameron, J., & Shonkoff, J. (2006).  Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America's future workforce.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103(27), 10155-10162.  Retrieved from developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/download_file/_view/439

www.acei.org/e-news/june-2013-e-news

www.elections.ca/res/eim/article-search/article.asp?id=29&lang=e

www.meccs.org/site/about-us/philosophy

www.worldforumfoundation.org/world-forum-radio/

ISSUES AND TRENDS: SHARING WEB RESOURCES

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has joined an alliance with Strong Start for Children - Building America's Future.  It "supports a significant expansion of high-quality early learning opportunities for children ages birth to five in order to achieve better education, health, social and economic outcomes for all" (www.naeyc.org/). 

This is relevant to my current professional development because as a Kindergarten teacher, I struggled with trying to prepare my students for first grade.  They did not enter my classroom with a strong educational foundation as far as early learning skills.  Strong Start for Children's initiative is to start this process from birth, so by the time they get to Kindergarten they will be prepared.

I thought about the impact that Science has on early childhood experiences.  A lot of effort is put into Reading and Math readiness and Science is not really on the mainly discussed.  NAEYC highlights why we as educators should support science learning from infancy through age 8.  "Children's early science experiences are the foundation for future science learning and comprehension" (www.naeyc.org/).

In order for children to be successful in life, they need a strong foundation.  This includes a strong support system.  "Effective early learning standards require a foundation of support for early childhood programs, professionals, and families" (www.naeyc.org/).  Economists, neuroscientists and politicians support the early childhood field because they know that investing in early childhood development programs will benefit society in the future.

I always knew that NAEYC was dedicated to supporting young children and their families.  After exploring the website further, I found out that they also have professional development to educate people on how to work with children and their families.  Their professional development learning opportunities include online learning, intensive training sessions, training DVD's, workshops and networking.

Reference

www.naeyc.org/

ISSUES AND TRENDS: POVERTY

I chose the podcast alternative assignment using the World Forum Foundation.  The World Forum Foundation "promotes and on-going global exchange of ideas on the delivery of quality services for young children in diverse settings" (www.worldforumfoundation.org/).  I listened to Barbara Jones (BJ), the founder of the Pine Grove School, located in Falmouth, Maine.  "Pine Grove School is a developmental, discovery-oriented preschool and kindergarten dedicated to peace...teaching respect, building independence and fostering self-motivation..." (www.pinegrovecenter.com).

BJ started her teaching career at a public school in Maryland.  She felt that public school was not a good fit for her.  So she ventured out to Southern California and applied for a teaching position at a Montessori School in Del Mar, California.  BJ worked at this school, including a YMCA Montessori program.  She fell in love with the Montessori philosophy and decided to get certification training in London, England (www.worldforumfoundation.org/world-forum-radio/).

One day BJ was driving through Falmouth, Maine, and passed by a 1917 boarded-up school house.  She was interested in buying the building to open up her own Montessori school.  In 1985, BJ founded the Pine Grove School, a school based on Montesorri principles.  In 2010, she celebrated twenty-five years of the school's opening (www.worldforumfoundation.org/world-forum-radio/).  BJ's story resonated with me because it is my goal to one day open up my own early childhood center.

The Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP) has a "website is intended to be a resource for policy makers, practioners and activists concerned about childhood poverty.  It contains policy briefings, research reports, photos, case studies and links on a wide range of issues related to childhood poverty..." (www.childhoodpoverty.org).  I have learned that the CHIP recognizes the crisis that is taking place in four different countries.  These countries are China, India, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.

I have decided to focus on the country of Kyrgyzstan, acquiring three different insights:
1.    After gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has suffered economically, making it one of the poorest countries in the world.
2.    Even though almost half of the population is living below the poverty line, the percentage is even higher for young children.
3.    Growing poverty has led to less children enrolled in school, child labor, child prostitution and trafficking.

The Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre conducts research, policy and takes action in order to make a difference.  "This includes having poverty rates cutting by two-thirds the deaths of children under five and ensuring that all children in the world complete at least primary education" (www.childhoodpoverty.org).  As an elementary school teacher and an advocate for children, it is my duty to make sure that my students not only complete the primary grades, but go on to middle school, high school and college.

References

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/
www.pinegrovecenter.com
www.worldforumfoundation.org/
www.worldforumfoundation.org/world-forum-radio/