Hello new colleagues!

Hello to my new Walden colleagues!  I am looking forward to learning from you and learning more about diversity and equity in the early childhood field!  I hope I can contribute to your learning as well! :)  Here is a picture of my amazing family in my beautiful southern Utah home - St. George.  I have four children: Josh (20), Jase (18), Brett (15) and Jaymie (11).  They are my greatest joy!

When I Think of Research...

I appreciate all the wonderful insights I have learned from my colleagues throughout this course.  Before beginning this course, I was anxious and timid in reading and conducting research.  I viewed research as a scientific experiment filled with statistical information that I had no desire in reading or writing.  However, the coursework and insights from the past eight weeks has shown me that research is very much a process that can be tailored to meet the needs of the study, participants, and researcher(s).   Research doesn't have to be only quantitative with statistical analysis and scientific experiments.  It also can be qualitative with observations, anecdotal note-taking and interviews, or a mixed-method approach that incorporates many different aspects of research.  The study can change and evolve as the participants and researcher engage with and learn from the data within the study.  

I learned a great deal in how to look for and write research that is valid, ethical and equitable.  The most important insight I gained regarding validity was that multiple methods and perspectives (especially those of the participants) are key in making sure the research reflects a sound representation of what the data is showing.

I really gained valuable insight from the Practical Guide to Reading Research Articles by J.K. Lepuschitz.  This document addresses what parts of a research study to read in-depth, and which parts to skip.  I have already used this technique over and over and it is proving very valuable in saving me much needed time in my coursework, while still giving me the insights that I need to learn from our readings.

I felt more comfortable with the design process and we developed it step-by-step.  I feel that building a research study would be more manageable to me, yet I still feel intimidated by the qualitative study.  I still get nervous about the more structured experimental study and feel I would be a better qualitative researcher.

My perceptions of early childhood professionals have not been modified as a whole, though I feel great gratitude and admiration for those professionals who conduct these research studies because it does offer great insight and added knowledge to the field of early childhood.  Although I do not feel I have enough expertise or confidence to attack a research study on my own just yet, I do see how conducting research plays a key role in helping our field progress.  

Thank you to my online colleagues for your support and insights throughout this course.  You have added to my knowledge and learning and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with you in future courses!  Best wishes with your continued studies!

Research Around the World

This week we have been asked to read and discuss international early childhood research.  I chose to explore the Early Childhood Australia website at:

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au

The position statements posted on this website were very insightful to me.  Like the United States’ early childhood organization, NAEYC, ECA provides position statements that affirm their stance on issues that affect early childhood education.   The three statements provided on the website discussed ECA’s vision and framework for the education and inclusion of children with disabilities, children of refugee asylum seekers, and children of aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritages.  While the U.S. NAEYC provides position statements that are similar in regards to children with disabilities, the other two position statements are unique to Australia.

This website has great access to research information, as subscribers can view scholarly journals, recent news updates, conference reports, and research topic abstracts using their “Research in Practice Series” links.  While I was not able to view some of the research because I am not a subscriber to this website, I did find the links to the news articles, other websites, and online journal topics very informing.  It seems that many of the current early childhood issues that we face in the United States are similar to those in Australia.  For example, they have news reports on the low wages of early childhood teachers, reforms to make early childhood programs more affordable and better quality, and advocation to increase the investment of government funding for early childhood programs.

Reading through some of the journal articles, this website seems to be a great source of research information for one to gather information on various topics.  Most of the topics coincide to those that early childhood professionals face in the United States, so I will add this website to my resource list for future reference.