When I think of research...

When I think of research I feel that I struggled with the research concept over the last eight weeks. Although I struggled with this class I feel like I learned alot especially in regards to qualitative and quantative methods.   I learned alot about how to develop a research study and the steps I will need to take to develop my own research study.  To be honest I do not think that I want to do a research study after taking this class.   I enjoy reading research but actually conducting a study does not have any interest to me.  I feel that it was important for me to understand the foundations of research and through this class I was able to gain the knowledge of these foundations that pertains to early childhood research. 

Research Around the World

I decided to look at the Early Childhood Australia website at http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/. 

It was difficult to find research topics on this website.  I found their position statement on what Australia needs to do to ensure that they have a high quality early childhood sector.  Within the ninety one page document there was a lot of research to back up their recommendations. 

I really enjoyed reading the Code of Ethics, the National Quality Standards and their newsletter.  The newsletter  was an easy read and I feel that parents could get a lot of benefit from reading the information.  They had an easy receipe that you could do at home and there was an informative article within the newsletter on the cultural aspect in Australia. 

I think that it is important to know that when articles are put on this website there is a certain criteria that must be met for every article that is accepted from this organization.  The following criteria is as follows:

• Every resource must:
• be in the best interests of children
• be evidence-based
• be appropriate for the market
• have broad application
• be culturally inclusive
• use accessible language – avoiding jargon and not patronising
• have demonstrated a balanced approach
• be related to current issues
• address the appropriate age range
• be attractively designed and presented
• clearly acknowledge any commercial interests and/or biases.

It is important to note that  some of the links did not work on the website.  This is very discouraging when navigating through a website. 

Uplifting Stories

When I think about uplifting stories in my work over the years I think to the impact Head Start program has made to the State of Alaska and especially the Bering Strait region in Alaska.

The foundation of Head Start is based on the research to help disadvantaged groups, compensating for inequality in social or economic conditions.  When I think about the work I had done in working with Head Start I think of one mother our program worked with starting 5 years ago.  When I first met G.T. she was a single mother with no high school diploma.  Her son with special needs was enrolled in our program.  She told me she wanted to work in our program.  I told her that she needed to get her GED.  We worked with her in setting her goals.  By the end of the school year she had gotten her GED and was hired as a teacher aide the following school year.  She then got her CDA and told me she wanted to get her AA degree in ECE.  She has continued to take college classes and only needs 4 more classes to complete her AA degree in ECE.  This is quite an accomplishment when 5 years ago she didn't even have a high school diploma.  She continues to work for the Head Start program but as a family advocate now.  She is now helping other parents with their goals.  Our program was able to help her accomplish her goals and she is now setting an example for her own children in showing that when you put your mind to it your goals can be accomplished. 

To find out of the history of Head Start check out this website http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/about/history-of-head-start 

Personal Research Journey

I have chosen to research the impacts of 2nd and 3rd hand smoke on children ages 3 and 4 years old.
I chose this topic because of my experience in Head Start.  Many of our staff are smokers.  They smoke before class and during their breaks.  The staff are also a majority of former or current parents of children enrolled in Head Start.    We have heard that that 2nd hand smoke is bad for children and more studies are coming out now about 3rd hand smoke.  How do we inform parents and staff of the research?  We are going to have to change years of thinking in regards to smoking...yes many parents now smoke outside instead of inside the house but there is still an impact of how 2nd and 3rd hand smoke impacts children. 

I think that this is going to be interesting and a struggle for me as I do not like doing research.  Do any of you struggle with this? 

Have any of you run into this problem in your programs?  We are a smoke free facility but staff go and smoke off campus.    Do you have any policies and or research that you would like to share on being a smoke free facility and why you are a smoke free facility?

I have a ton of links to resources to the right - early childhood organizations, parent resources and Head Start. 

Final Blog Assignment

Over the past 8 weeks I have learned the following in regards to international early childhood.  No matter where you come from we all are experience the same issues.  Poverty is an issue that we all face whenever we work with children and families.  By having the connections and resources in the international aspect I am able to better understand diversity and being able to communicate with others.

One of my goals is to continue to learn more about the early childhood field internationally so that I can open my mind and communicate about diveristy and equality in the field. 

International Contacts - Part 3

Since I have not heard from my international contacts I have been doing the alternative assignment.  I visited the following website http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/. 

This website contains information in the early childhood field.  I took away these three important facts.

1. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization holds world conferences.  There next conference will the be the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development. It will be held in November 2014 in Japan.  It would be interesting to attend a conference where educators and policy makers from all over the world gather to meet. 
2. They have case studies on many different countries that include Brazil, New Zealand, Slovenia, Sweden and Jamaica  (published in 2010).  It is always good to read about what is going on in different countries in the field of early childhood education. 
3. There are many policy briefs inregards to many different topics.  One of the concerns I had is that many of the briefs were from 2004 or older.  It makes me wonder what their focus is now to their organization. 

Sharing Web Resources

From the PreKNOW website I was taken to the website www.ffyf.org.  This website is the First Five Years Fund.  It is a website that I have never been to before so I was kind of excited to explore.  The article that I looked at was about a letter of support from 500+ state legislatures urging the congressional budget committee to invest in early learning.  This article was mention in the article from the PreKNOW website. 

Becuase I was not familiar with them I decided to look at their mission statement about who they are:

Our mission is to create a smarter, stronger, healthier, and more productive America through early childhood education for disadvantaged children. Study after study by developmental specialists, neuroscientists, physicians, economists, and social scientists show that early childhood education is one of the most effective investments Americans can make in their children and their economic future.
The First Five Years Fund is committed to moving this knowledge into wide scale practice through comprehensive, quality early childhood education systems, programs, and supports. Through knowledge, data, advocacy, and collaboration, we help elected officials, business leaders, and philanthropists see early childhood education as a solution for dramatically improving education, health, social, and economic outcomes—in the short- and long-term. We help them understand how to craft policies, leverage existing funding, add new revenue, develop programs, and incentivize the most efficient and effective ways to invest in the development of America’s greatest resource—its children.