MY FAMILY CULTURE

THREE ITEMS I WOULD TAKE:

1.      Holy Bible

2.      Photo Album

3.      Degree

EXPLANATION OF IMPORTANCE:

-          Holy Bible - I am a Christian and my family’s foundation is built on strong Christian values

-          Photo Album: We have a album that has pictures of my family interacting in different events such as weddings, graduations, family cookouts etc.

-          Degree: I obtained this degree on my own at age 40 while being a parent, wife, mother, working a full-time job.  This will make sure that I do not forget how persistent I am and the value of education.

FEELINGS:

If upon arrival I was asked to get rid of two of those items I would get rid of the photo album and degree.  I would be upset but the bible is my foundation.

INSIGHT:

This exercise caused me to really think about what is in important in my life.  In addition, it caused me to really reflect on how an immigrant would feel if there were brought into a culture different from their own.  I questioned “What could I do as an educator to help them feel included?”  “How would I be able to aid them in their transition to a different culture?”  “How could I be proactive and not bias?”

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

Option 2

Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field. Imagine further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present. Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families. What topic would you choose? The topic that I would chose would be the affects of early childhood programs on young children’s future success. What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be? The positive contributions would be an higher rate of high school graduates and college graduates, successful/positive participants in society, low crime rates and minimal amount of individuals in prison.

Personal Research Journey

I am not to familiar with the research process.  The information from the articles this week gave great insight on how to determine the quality of electronic resources and the text gave insightful information on how to refine your topic.  After reading Chapters one and two of the text Doing Early Childhood Research I have narrowed down my topic and will focus the research simulation on how children develop social/emotional skills through early learning environments.  My reasons for studying this topic stems from my experience in the classroom, as a director of a nonprofit child care center for at-risk children and my desire to advocate for young children.  During the course of my career I have experienced children raising children, children that have been pushed through the school system without having the proper education, which indicates that they have been set up to fail, and lastly, seeing young children that lack in social/emotional development that I believe is gained through the early childhood experience.

Having the chart is a great tool.  While undertaking research the chart will keep me focused.  The simulation process took a little longer than I anticipated.  After finding information on my topic there were several articles with research that supported social emotional development but some of the research focused on the adult interaction, others on the environment and one focused on that development in the classroom environment.  The insight from our first week’s resources on how to read research articles was a tremendous help.

While learning about the research process and conducting research during this course I welcome all advice from you all that will assist me in my research process.  Definitely during this process I will be keeping the articles, text book and other guides with me at all times to ensure that I am interpreting research terms appropriately and grasping an understanding of the context given.

Final Blog

I learned a lot of information regarding early childhood.  1).  There are similar challenges regarding early childhood that are being faced in other countries in the early childhood field, just to name one would be the allocation of funds.  2) It was awesome to subscribe to an online newsletter of an early childhood organization.  In subscribing to the newsletter I was able to keep abreast of upcoming policies regarding the early childhood field and also invite others to share their views with their policymakers in regards to certain policies.  3) My desire to be an advocate for young children is greater after the interaction with my peers during the course learning from their international contacts and the study of different issues and trends throughout this course.

One of my goals is to continue to seek additional international contacts to continue my advocacy of young children and seeking answers in bettering programs.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Two of my professional goals are to gain a wealth of knowledge as it relates to the early childhood profession and to serve as a advocate for young children.

In viewing the UNESCO website in regards to quality in the field of early childhood care we must focus on the development of the child holistically versus preparation for schooling.  The site also addresses the importance of family and community involvement.  Resources remain one of the issues that are lacking when it comes to expansion of quality in the field.  Governance of the program will only be successful with the different sectors, national, local, public and private, working together as a unit.

References

UNESCO, (2011).  Education. Retrieved April 16, 2011 from  http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/quality/