Doing Early Childhood Research

I am in my final week of Doing Early Childhood Research. My course is about to come to a close and I have a newfound respect for early childhood research and researchers. I have gained many insights into early childhood research as a result of taking this course.

Ways in which my ideas about the nature of doing research have changed are that I realize research is a very involved, complicated process. In the past, I was naïve enough to believe that it was as simple as asking a question, making some observations and coming to some personal conclusions. I learned that there are generally two types of research: deductive research and inductive research. Deductive research is when the researcher develops a hypotheses, tests it and the results are based in data (Mac Naughton, Rolfe & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010 pp. 364-365) whereas inductive research is when researchers do not go in with any preconceived ideas and simply make observations and try to explain human behaviors or why we do the things we do, how we relate to one another, etc.

I discovered that research should be: ethical, purposeful, well designed, transparent, contextualized, credible, careful, imaginative and equitable (Mac Naughton, Rolfe & Siraj-Blatchford, p. 10).

The lessons I have learned about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood are again, that the process takes a lot of planning and forethought. Personal biases can influence research and results and there are many considerations to take into account. I also learned that my personal interests should guide my research and that most researchers are simply asking questions that they want answers to.

The one thing that made an impression on me was treating children with respect with regard to research. In the past, asking the parent’s permission seemed enough with respect to researching children. This perspective has changed. I feel that I have always shown respect to little children and that is part of the quality teaching of a good early childhood educator. However, asking their permission and thoughts on whether or not they want to participate in the research was a new idea for me.

Some of the challenges I encountered in this course was simply understanding the jargon with regard to research during my course reading. I had to read and re-read material. I had to look up words in the Glossary, Dictionary and Google terms and ideas. I also read additional research that might have related to what I was reading so that I could get a better handle on the text.

Some of the ways my perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course are that early childhood professionals are not simply babysitters or even just teachers. I also realize that hundreds of early childhood professionals, teachers and researchers have gone before me to help put into place the many ways in which we understand children, relate to them, teach them and learn from them.

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood

research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY:McGraw-Hill.

International Early Childhood Research

This week I am investigating international early childhood websites. I chose the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan, Africa website located at http://www.ecdvu.org/index.php

“The ECDVU is committed to promoting ECD in The Majority World through innovative education, networking, publishing and other forms of scholarly activity. For example, the ECDVU has played a key role, with other regional and international partners, in the development of a triennial series of African International ECD Conferences (1999, 2002, 2005, 2009).” http://www.ecdvu.org/welcome.php

“The ECDVU program was founded and is directed by Dr. Alan Pence, UNESCO Chair for Early Childhood Education, Care and Development; Professor, School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada”. http://www.ecdvu.org/welcome.php

Three questions were raised:

1.     What are some of the current international research topics? Some research topics the ECDVU addresses are Understanding Children, Families and Communities Over Time and Across Cultures. They have in-depth research and reports from these countries: Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda and Zambia. This extensive research addresses such topics as: poverty, nutrition, health, child survival, water and sanitation, education indicators, parents’ responsibilities, community’s responsibilities, government’s responsibilities, child abuse, wage earning, religion, demographics, child labor, and enrollment of children in school.

2.     What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website? I was surprised to find that even in the poorest countries around the world, parents and community leaders are concerned about children’s education. It seems to be common knowledge that education affords one a better life and that the earlier children begin their education, the better. These war-torn, ravaged countries still take their parental, community and governmental responsibilities very seriously with regard to children and early childhood education.

3.     What other noteworthy information did you find on this website? Other noteworthy information I found a plethora of statistics related to poverty and the situation of children and families in Africa. According to http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/documents/Nigeria_Country_Report.pdf “malaria, diarrhea, acute respiratory tract infections (ARI), and the vaccine preventable diseases are the main causes of child morbidity and mortality. Fifty percent (50%) of infant deaths are prenatal deaths caused by neonatal tetanus, low birth weight, and complications during labour and deliver. An emergency threat to young child is HIV/AIDS, which can be transmitted from an infected mother to her child in the womb, at the time of delivery, or through breast milk. The morbidity and mortality patterns already mentioned are determined not only by factors intrinsic to the individual but above all by external factors, including the extent to which adequate health care services are available and accessible. Other external factors, such a poverty, the environment, water supply and sanitation, malnutrition, educational levels, cultural attitudes, and gender relations also have important ramifications for health and survival” (Situation of Women and Early Childhood Development in Nigeria, p. 10). It’s very difficult to acknowledge that children in other parts of the world are dying in large numbers from things like preventable diseases, for which there are vaccines.

*On a personal note, I have sponsored a child through World Vision in Lesotho, Africa for almost 15 years. I was excited to read the report on Lesotho from this website. I felt a very personal connection with the region.

Resources:

Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan, Africa. (August 13, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/creports.php

Situation of women and early childhood development in Nigeria. (2001). Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan, Africa. Retrieved from: http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/documents/Nigeria_Country_Report.pdf

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

For my course in research this week, I was asked to share a personal story of how research has benefited someone I know. My husband and I were married in 1978 and had great difficulty getting pregnant. We were truly surprised and blessed by our first child - a beautiful baby girl in September of 1987. When our daughter was 3-years-old, she began having health problems. By age 7, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.  She was given two years to live. You can’t imagine the emotional distress and pain we felt knowing that our little girl, that we prayed for for so long, was going to die so young; not only die, but suffer a horrifying, painful experience as well. We were told that as few as ten years prior to this time, an MRI would not have even been able to detect this tumor since it was so deep in her brain. We were amazed and glad that we lived in a time when the medical profession seemed to be so advanced. The leading oncologist on the case said that “even though we know a lot about the human body, we just don’t know that much about the brain.” That surprised me. Knowing that doctors could remove a heart and give someone a new one, how could they not “know that much about the brain”? My daughter underwent chemotherapy once-a-week for a year (enough for a 300-lb. man), months of radiation, four brain surgeries and monthly hormone shots for three years. If it were not for the relentless work of countless researchers and people subjecting themselves to this research, chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy would probably not have been in existence or available to my child.

According to Wikipedia, “As is obvious from their origins, the above cancer chemotherapies are essentially poisons. Patients receiving these agents experienced severe side-effects that limited the doses which could be administered, and hence limited the beneficial effects. Clinical investigators realized that the ability to manage these toxicities was crucial to the success of cancer chemotherapy.

“Several examples are noteworthy. Many chemotherapeutic agents cause profound suppression of the bone marrow. This is reversible, but takes time to recover. Support with platelet and red-cell transfusions as well as broad-spectrum antibiotics in case of infection during this period is crucial to allow the patient to recover.

“Several practical factors are also worth mentioning. Most of these agents caused very severe nausea (termed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in the literature) which, while not directly causing patient deaths, was unbearable at higher doses. The development of new drugs to prevent nausea (the prototype of which was ondansetron) was of great practical use, as was the design of indwelling intravenous catheters (e.g. Hickman lines and PICC lines) which allowed safe administration of chemotherapy as well as supportive therapy” (May, 2011).

While someone could say that knowing you were dying of cancer might make it easier to subject yourself to clinical trials for medicines, I can’t imagine being in that position. The shock of being told you or a loved one has cancer is unlike any other diagnosis. I greatly admire any person who was willing to undergo clinical trials to further medical research. You might think that participating in any research to save your own life might be selfish, but I see it as completely unselfish. The diagnosis and treatment of cancer has only come about because of researchers who were passionate about curing cancer and people who were willing to suffer so that my child might live.

Candace is now 23-year-olds. She has a little sister who is also in college. She attends college, lives at home and works full-time. Even though she is legally blind, she can drive within a few miles of home and has a level of independence that we were sure she would never attain. Candace is a tenderherated, compassionate, caring person. Everyone who meets her is amazed by what she has suffered through. She rarely talks about it and doesn't want people to know. She wants to be "normal". Every birthday is a celebration – a blessing. Not only do I thank God, but I am truly grateful for the knowledge, research and sacrifice of all those who have come before – who made her treatment possible – who gave us options other than just the inevitable diagnosis of a painful, premature death.

Wikipedia (May 3, 2011). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cancer_chemotherapy

Early Childhood Research

Last week, I began the fifth course of ten toward my master's in early childhood. This course is Research and the very title intimidates me. My chosen topic for my Research Project is how English Language Learners learn best in the classroom. Over 95% of the 700 students in our school are of Hispanic origin. Statistically, our students show great improvement over other schools when it comes to testing and mastering skills. We have full-time, Spanish speaking assistants in every early childhood classroom, pre-K to 3rd grade. Part of my research is to find out how having these assistants affects the language acquisition of these children. Additionally, I have found through reading and taking professional development courses that showing these students pictures and using objects helps to promote this language acquisition process as well. I will be doing a simulated research project for the next 7 weeks on this subject. If you have any experience with this subject, thoughts or suggestions, I would love to hear from you.

Early Childhood Research

This week marks the beginning of the fifth course in my Master's in Early Childhood. When I complete this course, I will be half-way through. I am intimidated by the idea of spending an entire course on research alone. So much of the research today seems to fly in the face of common sense. I feel that anyone can support any cocky idea with research. I hope my research will be meaningful, insightful and beneficial to the field of early childhood and to my professional career. Wish me luck!

The International Early Childhood Community

During the past 8 weeks, I have been engaged in conversations with early childhood educators from around the world. I have come to realize that early childhood education is not only a concern in our country, but is a concern globally. Most of the issues we face in America are being faced by many other countries. Early childhood educators around the globe understand the implications of preparing children for a lifetime of learning. They understand that the earlier we provide things like a quality education and medical care, we can influence children and families for the good. Additionally, when children are healthy and receive a quality education, they will be much less likely to live in poverty or become high school dropouts. 

Early childhood educators around the globe are engaged in supporting many organizations that promote the health, education and rights of the child. Such organizations are the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) http://www.naeyc.org/  and the Association for Childhood Education International http://acei.org/

Organizations like World Vision http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/sponsor-a-child?open&campaign=1193512&cmp=KNC-1193512 and Compassion International http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=112035GooglePaidSearch&gclid=CPmTvL-ftKgCFQMRNAodaQIkBQ  serve the world’s poorest children. The World Health Organization http://www.who.int/en/ keeps us informed about the happenings of health issues affecting children around the world.

My goal for the field of early childhood education around the world is that we will continue to reach out to one another, share ideas and information and continue to develop high quality educational programs for the world’s youngest children.   

Professional Contacts, Part 3

This week, I asked another professional this question:

What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

Sonia of Ontario, Canada said:

We have many areas of inequity in our educational system. Of course, these things are discussed often by parents, teacher and politicians. Childcare is very expensive and subsidies are scarce. So, if you have money you can access a space anywhere you want because you don't need to depend on the subsidy system. Those who cannot pay, have to apply for subsidy, face long waiting periods, sometimes 6 months to a year, and face all the rules that apply to that.

For example, both parents need to be working or studying to access subsidy; they have to make a minimum wage, not more, or otherwise they don't qualify for it. They have to study full time, not part time courses. A parent who wants to study and work may not qualify because they would both be part time activities. Silly, very silly.

Take the situation of a family with one child in care and mom pregnant. When mom has a new baby, she takes mat leave and the government takes your subsidy away. The government assumes that mom will be home doing "nothing" so, that family loses the subsidy for the child in care. Mother ends up at home with a new baby and sometimes a toddler or a jr preschool child. Unless she decides NOT to take mat leave and simply put that young baby (4 to 8 weeks old) in care right away (how crazy is that). So, we have centres with very young babies and older one, over a year old.

Inequities related to the areas where the centres are located concern me as well. Those located in affluent areas have most of parents professionals, working full time, well-educated families, etc. Families with resources. So, the centres also have resources. These parents want the best for their children and don't mind paying extra fees to have music classes for their todds once a week; yoga instructions; gymnastics, etc. The playground equipment is fabulous, the outings, trips, and extra curricular activities are superb. While centres located in low-income neighbourhoods don't get anything. These centres have playground equipment that is old and needs to be removed; the children get whatever free is available (public health visits, police officers, fire fighter visits, just the freebies). The children may get two trips a year, just to a movie theatre or a local park. The centre pays for everything, including lunches and transport tickets. These parents cannot afford anything.

There is a big emphasis in language, literacy and numeracy skills among young children. We start this at the daycare level. In the province of Ontario, we follow the ELECT framework. Early Learning for Every Child Today is mandatory for all daycares in Ontario and has big educational and parental involvement components. We do not get many parents really involved, but the ECEs are amazing and integrate literacy, language and numeracy in everything they do.

The stress levels are high here too. Children are pressured to learn, learn, learn. Early Childhood Educators are pressured to do more and more in the same amount of time and for the same money. Parents are pressured to work, study, and enhance their participation with school/daycare centre. We, as supervisors are stressed out too. Our managers demand more and more from us with no extra time to finish tasks/projects. We do not have assistants, we have to do everything ourselves: manage the budget, the staff, payroll, toy orders, furniture, health and safety issues, food orders and preparation, comply with all regulations and policies; obtain high scores in the Operating Criteria (quality rating tool) and of course maintain a clear license every year. We deal with staffing issues that sometimes take away half of your week!

While we continue to advocate for a universal child care system, we understand the barriers and try to lower costs in any way we can. We will have elections soon and we hope the new government continues to honour the moneys allocated to childcare. A new conservative government could decide to do something different and eliminate child care subsidy, or any other drastic measure like that.

I can take professional development classes on my own time, but don’t have much of that. Many of my hopes, dreams and challenges for children and education were mentioned above.