When I think of Research.....

This course has been very helpful towards my understanding of research. I have learned so many things, but I will share some key concepts I have learned. One would be how a newbie, like myself, could even define research.  According to Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford (2010) research is “a tool that helps us answer important questions about early childhood. Research is about uncovering and enabling the emergence of new understandings, insights and knowledge.”  I also learned a numerous amount of new terms that apply to research, such as, paradigms, quantitative and qualitative approaches, quasi-experiments, and others that I was able to share my meanings of the words in our weekly assignments. I now understand the amount of background knowledge and use of thought processing it takes to conduct research, as far as, planning, designing, and conducting research. Through the part 2 weekly assignments I was challenged to think of a research simulation, purpose a question that could be tested, figure out who I would study, and what types of methods and approaches I could use to validate my research study. I also learned the importance of validating research because it makes the study more solidified and also the importance of ethical concerns. A challenge I encountered was really coming up with a research question that I felt could be useful towards early childhood, but through personal and professional reflection I chose to focus on socio-emotional skills. Another challenge for me was trying to comprehend the vocabulary and learn how to apply it to the coursework. Through course readings, teacher, and colleague support I managed to push my way through. I have a greater appreciation for those early childhood researchers after doing this course. I truly am grateful for studies past, present and future because it takes a great deal of work, time, and support to provide answers, insights, and new understandings to such a valuable field---early childhood. Thanks again colleagues for your support along the way!!!

Reference

MacNaughton, G., Rolfe, S.A, & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research:

International Perspectives on Theory and Practice (2^nd ed). New York, NY:

McGraw Hill

Research Around the World

The website I chose to explore was http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php   or http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php. The organization’s name is Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and helps with providing early childhood development courses for those participants that have been nominated by Early Childhood Development committees that want to help further their knowledge on children’s development and how to support their communities and families. Some current international research topics I found were how fathers can be more involved in early childhood development and care, providing effective strategies for parent and school collaborations, curriculum development using community resources, and how grandparents can help support children 8 and under effected by HIV/AIDS. I feel these topics are very current and trendy to what issues are taken place in the country of Africa. I feel this international early childhood website is very resourceful to help Early Childhood professionals in this country become knowledgeable and supportive to young children, their families, and their community as a whole.