WHEN I THINK OF RESEARCH...

1. What insights have you gained about research from taking this course? After taking this course I have a greater understanding of what research entails.  There are so many components of research or things to consider when conducting research such as: what to look for when you are using electronic resources i.e. web to ensure that the researcher is valid, who your audience will be, how will your research be conducted, will the research require consent from a parent or guardian or child, how would you ensure that your research is valid.  These are just a few of things that I have learned from this course.
2. In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed? Well, initially I knew that research required a lot of planning, but I really had no idea of how much planning.
3. What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn? I learn that each of these components is very important to the success of the research.
4. What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them? Some of the challenges for me came from narrowing down the topic so that the research conducted would be specific.  The way that I corrected this challenge was actually changing the question several times and then seeking the help of the professor.
5. What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course? This course only validated for me how important the early childhood profession is to the education of young children.

RESEARCH AROUND THE WORLD

I viewed the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) website: http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php

Some of the current international research topics that I found to be very interesting were:

1. Improving the Quality of Childcare Through Parenting Enrichment and Training of Trainers: The Eritrean Model by Abeba Habtom of Eritrea, Africa – This is really interesting because this topic demonstrates that in other countries there is a need to improve quality.  Here in Virginia our center participates in Virginia Star Quality Initiative which is a program that provides mentors to early childhood centers and family day homes that would like to improve the quality of care they provide to children and their families.  During our time in this program we have renovated our center, teachers have achieved their CDA (Child Development Associate) from the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, DC and a few are enrolled in a Community College to achieve their Associates degree in the early childhood field.
2. Involving Fathers in Early Childhood Care and Development by Rosemary Hua of Nigeria, Africa  -  In my view when partnering or developing relationships with parents of preschool children the majority of the time it is the mother that develops and maintains the relationship.  It is very rare to see a male involved with preschool education.
3. Curriculum Development Using Community Resources by Wunesh Woldeselassie Bairu of Eritrea, Africa – This topic was also interesting because curriculums and how they are executed in education are so important.  As professionals learn more and more about young children opportunities are presented to improve current curriculums.

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website? Some of the information that was interesting is the fact that their studies are similar to the needs that are here in the United States: curriculum development, parent involvement and quality programs.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website? The Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) commitment is great.  “The ECDVU is committed to improving the quality of life for children and their families in Africa. The program seeks to accomplish this through working, on a sustained basis, with ECD leaders from across the continent” (ECDVU, 2007).

References

Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) , 2007. Retrieved from http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/about.php