Final Research Blog

During this course I have learned how to identify reliable research. I learned of the different types of research and methods that can be used when doing research. It has all been a challenge but I do believe that I gained valuable information that can later be used.

Two of my biggest challenges I had was completing my hypotheses and identifying the independent/dependent variables.  Although I understood the book definition of the variables it became confusing when I had to identify them on my own.

This course has made me realize the seriousness of research. I knew it was a complicating process nut I didn’t know it offered so many challenges. The process can be conducted by many individuals to prove the validity of a research question.

I learned that research is something that has to be collected over a period of time. The information can be collected from many sources. Depending on what you are researching you may have to cautious of code of ethics when observing or interviewing.

 

 

Around the World

I chose to explore the European Early Childhood Education Research Association website. EECERA is an international contributor to the developing field of early childhood. On this site I learned that the Europeans encourage paradigms and methodologies in early childhood studies reflecting upon legends. This site is known to work closely with Special Interest Groups by supporting their collaborations.  In Europe the EECERA host an annual conference where it’s recogonized as the largest organized early childhood research conference.

 

I enjoyed this site because I leaned how Europe hosts the largest early childhood research conference. I knew that other countries were interested in early childhood, but I didn’t know it was so popular. This international organization promotes multi-disciplinary research on early childhood and policies and practice in the early childhood field.

 

Research on Children and Families

Technology has grown so much within the past few years. Many schools require that children use the Internet to complete assignments and projects. While some students are using the Internet to browse social networks there are many that use it for educational purposes. There are online database and educational games available. My 9 year old sister loves to use the computer but hates doing homework. In order to get her focused with school, I decided to make homework fun for her. She uses many math game cd-roms to help her learn the required material for class. My mom and I noticed that her grades have improved with allowing her to use the computer and play educational games.
I believe this was a great technique for us to try and it has helped my family a lot.

EXPLORING RESEARCH

I know that this course for me will personally be a challenge. I have never liked to do intense research. Research can be difficult, especially the deeper you dig. It's sort of like a giant puzzle waiting to be solved. When looking for a topic, I tried to find something that I knew included tons of information and would be interesting and not boring.

The topic that I have chosen is How to foster healthy positive factors in children that have been neglected or abused. The reason I have chosen this as my topic is because I love children and I have seen many of them get abused by family members and never report it because they are afraid. I've had a close friend to get rapped by a family member and no one found out until years later.
When children are abused they mostly grow with violent tempers or exclude others from their life because they can't trust anyone.

In choosing this topic I want to identify signs of abuse, how to handle scenarios where a child has been abused/neglected and ways to gain their trust. This should be an informative topic to explore and I'm expecting to learn a lot from it.

To my colleagues reading this blog, I ask that you all please leave me any pointers on this topic if you have any. Also if you have any suggestions or resources I can use please feel free to comment and let me know. I would appreciate it so much.

 

International Consequences

Three consequences of international early childhood studies:

Learning about the wide variety of organizations that are available and how you can help to donate money or become a member to majority of these websites such as NAEYC and UNICEF.

To discover that the United States is trending behind in education compared to some countries.

I learned there are ways to communicate with other educators international but it may be hard to come in contact with someone.

My goal is to continue reading articles and newsletters from some of the websites I learned about from class.   

International Contacts

After reviewing the website www.unesco.com I learned about the Leuchtpol project. This is a project that teaches small children ages 3 – 6 about how they can help conserve energy in their environment. Many children are curious about their nature and want to know more. This program will allow them to explore more and gain knowledge about nature. There are many ways children can explore nature by playing with the blowing wind outdoors, learning to turn off lights in the home, learn different types of leaves and so forth.

This site also mentioned quality in the early childhood classrooms. The ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) focuses on the holistic development of children. This program helps to assist children that are transitioning from preschool to formal schooling. School is a diverse place with children and teachers of all backgrounds. The educators are well trained training to maintain a good reputation for that school. Having a great quality promotes confidence, school readiness and motivation. It informs the parents that the school is high quality and well prepared to teach their children. There are some schools that require their educators to attend workshops, conferences and online training so they will updated with the daily changes in early childhood. “Learning materials should be quantitatively, culturally and developmentally adequate and focus on child-centered interaction” (UNESCO).

I found the investment and financing information to be informative. I learned that most countries are unable to expand or improve the quality of their early childhood care. The governments rarely deal with the issues ever. If the government does issue any funds they are very small. The governments use complementary financing measures to ensure the equity of access for the poor and disadvantaged children of their country.  

Reference:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/. Retrieved August 11, 2012.

Web Resources

The site I have been following was NAECTE which linked me to a site ACEI Association for Childhood Education International. On this site I found a Love Me Teach Me Program. This program wanted to promote the needs and rights of children all around the world. The program is built upon four cornerstones that contribute to the well-being of children.

 The first cornerstone was See Me: The Child’s Right to Identity. This section makes sure that children are registered at birth having a name and nationality.  The second cornerstone was Hear Me: The Child’s Right to Participation. This section explained how “participation is how children not only learn about the world around them, but also experience their environment” (ACEI). The third cornerstone was Love Me: The Child’s Right to Security, Stability, and Protection. A parent’s job is to take care of their child. “To provide them with a nurturing family environment where they are treated with dignity and respect and are free from abuse and neglect.” The fourth Teach Me: The Child’s Right to Education. A child should have access to educational resources.  Efforts must be made by parents, caregivers, and community members to ensure that education continues to promote the development of the child from birth throughout adolescence.

This program explained the needs and concern of our children. Each cornerstone explained how to help promote the needs of children all around the world.

http://www.acei.org/programs-events/love-me-teach-me.html

International Research

I finally heard back from my international contacts. They were both unable to assist me because they did not have the time to write me week to week. However I reviewed the Harvard University website and gained insight to some things. As we all know children are quite active at young ages and able to do about anything. At a young age, children begin to learn things quickly having a great memory, vocabulary and imagination. The older they become the more their bodies develop more information. This allows the child to become more engaged into activities. Children are our future and we must protect them and look out for their best interest. While reading I discovered that  Harvard’s President Drew Faust wanted to” promote a supportive climate for student inquiry, create exciting activities and programs that will prepare young leaders to succeed, both in and outside the classroom” Ideas such as these enhances the growth amongst our small children that will follow them throughout life.  

Educators play a huge role for children and their families. The Education and Leadership Development center strives to prepare children and their families for today’s society by creating policies, constructive dialogue and various activities. I also learned that the ELD activities are “designed to introduce undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals to new paradigms of thought and to enhance their work”.

I also looked into Global Initiative learning and discovered that in 2009 Harvard University launched the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project. The project was an attempt to measure the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on the children’s development within Zambia. They used an instrument that assessed the child’s physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development before and throughout their schooling careers (Harvard University). The assessments would help the children individually providing them with an opportunity to identify key interventions towards the improved outcomes in this constant changing world.

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http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/students_eld/

Sharing Web Resources

When looking at the website for this week I noticed the doctoral scholarship the NAECTE were offering to doctoral students. The scholarship will go towards candidates who show growth and leadership in the early childhood field. This scholarship will help a teacher whose pursing goals of helping children. Scholarships are great to have and can be beneficial towards tuition costs or books.

In region 10 the governor along with the state commission, policy makers and more forged an alliance bringing Reggio children exhibit to Portland. The exhibit focuses on efforts to improve the quality of early education in the Pacific Northwest Region. The exhibit is called the Wonder of Learning with different events such as images, children’s work, symposia and more. This exhibit gives people an idea of the work of young children by the reflection of their work.

Members of the NAECTE and early childhood advocates in the state of Connecticut have been trying to create an Early Childhood Teacher Credential. The state has changed some laws in regards to teacher qualifications for centers that are state funded. There are seven institutions of higher education along with other institutions interested in joining. In New Hampshire is in the process of building a comprehensive early childhood system known as Spark NH. The program vision is to see that all New Hampshire children and their families will be healthy, learning, and thriving now and in the future. The program will be supported by federal funding. Its target will focus on children prenatal to 3rd grade and their families, with the mission of developing a comprehensive and coordinated sustainable early childhood system with positive outcomes for the many children and their families.

http://www.naecte.org/

CHILD POVERTY RESEARCH

While reading upon child poverty in China I learned that 4.2 million of the Chinese children live in poverty while another 8.7 million live in disadvantaged conditions. During 1995-2001 many of China’s state owned enterprises lost 31 million jobs causing an unemployment rate of 12.3 per cent. Many of the families were without jobs causing them to move to the city areas for a better opportunity. In china the education and health levels are much higher compared to the numbers in other countries that have equivalent incomes. Years later China’s social security system had to reform ideas to protect people from becoming back into poverty. During 1992, the urban areas  where people had no work, no savings, no family were eligible for financial support. In between 1997 and 2002 a minimum living standard system developed which covered 23% of poor urban households.

Poverty is a serious matter that no one should have to face. Country leaders should take time learning about the cases of poverty that are taken place and find solutions towards resolving them. One of my biggest concerns that I see is unnecessary money being used in these countries (ex. War, new cars for police squads) another issue is celebrities and professional athletes making too much money and not donating enough to help end causes like poverty. I guess this is an ongoing trend that will never end because others are too selfish to find the cause of poverty. Many job companies need employees but quick to turn them down for having little to no experience in that field. We should be willing to give a person a try and remember that someone once gave us an opportunity to prove ourselves worthy. At the end of the day we are all human, and we have family counting on us to provide.

References:

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=countryo

My personal resource - NAECTE

I chose the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators organization. The link to this organization website is: http://www.naecte.org/   Their focus is

To promote the professonal growth of our membership

To discuss educational issues specific to our membership

To advocate for improvements in early childhood teacher education

Provide a forum for consideration of issues and concerns of interest to educators of early childhood teacher educators

While reading their newsletter I discovered that the state of Arkansas is in the process of changing their teacher certification licensure from PK-4 to K-6. This is a huge change that will affect the community, families as well as the children. It is important that children receive a great education. Having an extra year of school would help prepare the children minds. They would be able to develop more cognitive and social skills. I hope the state of Arkansas reconsider their decision because early childhood is an important factor that should not be ignored.

I also learned about the Growing up Wild program. This program involves a childhood activity guide and training for schools through a nature exploration. This program has reached out to many nationwide educators. It teaches the educators how they are able to develop children that have a passion for nature new learning skills.

Establishing Professional Contacts

Trying to contact someone has been challenging, but I refuse to quit just yet. However I have emailed two contacts but I havent received a response yet. My two contacts are from major early childhood organizations. The first was Cynthia Wood from The Division of Early Childhood. The second was Will Parnell from The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. I am anxious to learn about more about them and their journey of success in the Early Childhood field.

The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators is the site that I chose. When browsing the site, I saw a few things that caught my attention that I would be interested in learning more about.

MY SUPPORTS

I have a few good supporters that I use daily. They have all been a blessing upon me. My first supports would be my husband, my daughter and my mother. I love those three people so dearly. My husband is in my corner day or night. Whenever or whatever I need he makes sure that it’s taken care of. The days when I can’t push forward he’s there to lend a hand; especially the rough days of work and coming home to a busy toddler and having to complete homework. Each of them are forever in corner supporting me physically and mentally. They give me encouragement, they help me through my weakness and commend me on my hard work. Without my family, my life would be a wreck.

My second supporter would be my daughter’s school. They make sure that my child is well taken care of for hours while I’m away at work. They help me with educating her and teaching her skills that she will take with her throughout life. She has learned a lot from her school and I thank the entire staff for being supportive to me in helping my child become one of the world’s next greatest leaders.

If I did not have any of these supporters around, my days would be stressful. I would have to find another school that I trust. Without having my husband support, that would truly make things difficult on my end. I would have more task on my end to see after. There’s nothing like mom’s sweetest touch and helpful advice. My mom is my world and to imagine not having her would be a hurtful feeling.

My Connections to Play

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity”

Quoted by: Kay Redfield Jamison

“Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn’t taste good”

Quoted by: Lucia Capocchione

Growing up for me it was my sister and me, along with my 2 male (1^st) cousins. Many of the times we played it was inside with one another. Our parents worked, while our grandparents watched over us until our parents came home. My grandparents weren’t too excited about us going outside to play with other children. They believed it was enough of us to play with one another. I can remember times we made forts out of sheets, my sister and I would play cook with our kitchen set feeding our male cousins and times where we traveled make believe with our baby dolls in our make believe cars. We use to have so much fun with one another. Our grandparents nor parents had to worry about us getting into other trouble because we were busy inside playing with one another. My grandfather encouraged us to play with one another and taught us that we don’t need a crowd of people to have fun.

Observing the way children play today compared to when I grew up is totally different. They are more into electronics and games instead of old school play. For example my younger sisters are 9 and 11 and do not know how to hula-hoop or play hop scotch. They can barely jump rope. Today’s society is more relaxed and less interested in actual play.

I enjoyed play during my years, and I still do years later. I understand how important play/bonding can be to a child. I encourage my toddler to play every day. When she comes home from school I make sure that I take at least 30 minutes of my time to play with her. Although I’m a matured adult, I still enjoy playing. I’m a BIG KID AT HEART!

Special Thanks

I personally thank each of you for sharing your stories, research information and your inspiring blogs. I thank you all for the support you have shown towards me as well. We succeeded as a class without knowing one another personally. I hope that you all continue to succeed in everything that you do, and I wish you all the best for next semester.

Quote about Children

The quote I chose was:

Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love.
Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.
Rosaleen Dickson

ASSESSING CHILDREN

As a human being I believe that we are all different in our minds, body and spirits. When we were younger we developed at different stages amongst others and the same pattern exists today. In my opinion there are no two persons including twins whom develop alike. Children should not be assessed. Each child is different and may learn easier than others. A child’s background, culture and ethnicity should be taken into consideration before considering there is a learning delay. Often time’s children are being taught at school but have no one to tutor them while at home. Education should be taken seriously but I do not agree with school boards giving a test to determine where that child stands. That’s considered labeling and not every child is able to comprehend with standardized test. Some adults may become over excited or nervous when taking test and cause them to not do as well. This may occur with children also. The pressure of a test may cause them to become tensed and not able to concentrate.

VIOLENCE

As a child my parents were married but not happy together. My father was an aggressive police officer that like to drink and cheat on my mom. I remember times when he would come home bickering with my mom for no apparent reason. My sister and I were quite small at the time, I probably was 12 years old at the most. Hearing the yelling and screaming made my sister and I very uncomfortable. We would be inside our rooms hugging one another while our parnets were arguing. That made me feel scared and unconfrotable. I survived by praying. My parents have been divorced for over 13 years now. My sister and I was glad they made that decision.

In China the population is high, along with the poverty rates. It has become better over the years but it still exists. Growing up in a huge country in poverty can take away from that child. It can harm their self esteem, they shut others out, they have a smaller chance to receiving a great education.

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=countryo

BREASTFEEDING

I never found breastfeeding to be so important until the day I delivered my daughter who was born 2lbs and 15oz. The doctors stressed how important it was to breastfeed a premature baby. I was told how healthy the milk was, and that it would help my daughter from becoming sick. This subject is meaningful to me because it expresses reasons to mothers on why they should choose to breastfeed. According to researchers babies are likely to be less sick due to the hormones and antibodies. Breast milk contains immunities to diseases and aids in the development of baby's immune system. (It also been proved that it can reduce the risk of SIDS (Women’s Health).

I discovered that in New Zealand when babies are breastfed they are more intelligent.   (Horwood and Ferguson). Mostly all children in Pakistan are breastfed. It is recommended that babies be exclusively breastfed for 6 months (Hanif 2011).  

The information towards breastfeeding impacts my life because I plan to have more children. My first child was breastfed until she was 5 months, so hopefully the second go round will last until the 12^th month. In researching several articles I’m still convinced that breastfeeding is the option for me. Once I decide to birth again I will remember that breast milk helps to keep babies from getting sick and may even make baby girls less at risk for cancer as they become older.

References:

Horwood and Fergusson, "Breastfeeding and Later Cognitive and Academic Outcomes", Jan 1998 Pediatrics Vol. 101, No. 1

http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/why-breastfeeding-is-important/ empowering women to live healthy lives

Hanif, H.(2011).  Trends in breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in Pakistan, 1990-2007. Breastfeeding Journal 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2012.

The Birth of my Daughter

Having my daughter was one of the best feelings ever! I was overwhelmed with joy. Steps leading to the deliverance of my child was terrified. I was having sharp pains and shortness of breath on a Saturday night. My husband rushed me to the hospital where i was later admitted to discover that i had high blood pressure and fluid around my heart. To my discovery i was diagnosed with preeclampsia. I was in shock of the entire situation especially when the doctor told me that i may have an emergency C-section that night. They closely monitored me and i did not have a C-section that night. At the doctors discretion I spent a week in the hospital being closely monitored on special diets. After a week of being there, the doctor decided that it was no longer healthy or safe to keep my child in the womb any longer. He scheduled me a C-section for the next morning. At 32 weeks i gave birth at 8:32 am on March 19, 2010 to a beautiful baby girl who weighed 2lbs and 15oz. It was a blessing that see did not need any breathing machines she breathing fine on her own. Moments after her birth she was rushed to the NICU to be tested and closely evaluated. I never held her on that day. Luckily my husband was able to walk her over to the NICU which was very briefly. I was able to hold my baby girl for the first time on March 20, 2010. Holding her i instantly felt a bond. I was attached within seconds. My daughter spent an entire month in the NICU before released to come home. I called the hospital every 3hours to check on her, and went to see her 3 times out a day. Each night before I left, i cried hysterical. I was devastated, that i had a child who was unable to return home with me. On April 19, 2010 i was ecstatic that my daughter was coming home to live with her parents forever.

The birth of my child was a special event in my life. It was a scary moment, but God answered our prayers and saw fit for my child to survive. Today she is a healthy and active toddler whom i love more by the minute. I cherish every moment i spend with my child because it could have been another outcome to my situation.