International Research

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

Some of the current international research topics on this website were autism, quality standards in early childhood care, and preschool mental health.  These are quite similiar to the research topics we have in the United States. 

I found some great insights in under a link, everyday learning.  I was not able to access the articles without paying for them.  However, the titles of each seemed as if these would truly relate directly to everyday classroom activities.  Bullying, sensory integration, play and learning, as well as emotional needs of children are just a few of these titles. 

A noteworthy section of this website was under the supporting best practices area.  Below this topic were three subtopics curiosity, imagination, and persistence.  When I clicked on these links I found there was a large amount of research related to these three ideas.  I will use this research in the future.


 

The Dream Study

If I could study any topic in the early childhood field, and I was not restricted by the reality of the present I would research the methods of involving parents in their child's education.  I would specifically look at the theory of parents being involved versus parents being engaged.  I would attempt to uncover the true difference between the two, and how to best engage parents to help children to accomplish their highest potential.  



I believe the positive contributions would be immense.  Children would be more prepared for elementary school, and their parents would be better equipped to support their children through the elementary grades. Programs would have more support, parents would learn more about being educators themselves, and families would have more tools.  The child's first and most important teachers could partner most effectively with the child's classroom teacher to provide the child with the best possible foundation for their educational career.  

My Research Journey

The topic I have chosen for this simulation is the effect positive teachers-child relationships has on child outcomes.  As a Head Start teacher we use the CLASS observation tool to evaluate our classroom environment, management, and interactions.  Since we began using this tool a few years ago it has improved the outcomes of all of our 90+ classrooms.  I have found that it has helped to focus teachers on how to interact with their students form the positive and negative interactions to more in depth interactions that cause children to dig deeper and think through what they are doing when playing.  I want to look more specifically at how these interactions affect outcomes. 

Through the first two weeks of this class I have found it difficult to decide what to research.  There are so many questions I have about early childhood.  It is difficult to narrow it down to one.  It is also difficult to get a concrete topic that isn't subjective.  When looking at relationships the data that is collected is a lot of asking people how they feel.  One person's good feeling is anothers mediocre feeling. 

I would appreciate any help in narrowing down my topic.  Sometimes when doing research my mind becomes focused on one hypothesis, but if an outsider takes a look it may help me to see the obvious. 

Learning About the International EC Field

The three consequences of learning about international early childhood field are:
1. As I looked into the practices in other countries I was able to learn from other approaches.  Other countries have successfully, and unsuccessfully, addressed some of the issues that I face regularly.  The more I learn about their practices and the outcomes the more I can diversify my own practices.
2. I learned that research from all countries can apply to all children.  Children have different life experiences, culture, abilities, etc.  But we can learn from research internationally to help drive our own practices.
3. I learned the importance of being engaged with the international EC community.  Prior to this class I had very little interest in international practices, but I have now come to realize the importance.

My goal for the field related to international awareness is to bring the importance of recognizing the issues and trends globally to my local EC community. 

UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage

The first area of the UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage that I found useful was the area on early childhood quality.  The statement that struck me was that it stated that early childhood included a diverse population of people including teachers, carers, and other professionals.  As an early childhood professional I have so many more resources I can share with families because there are others in my early childhood community that also have a passion for early childhood, but they work in a different areaof EC. 

The second area I found interesting was an article that described the structures of early childhood education in developed countries titled, "The Early Childhood Workforce in ‘Developed’ Countries: Basic Structures and Education."  I found this article to be very informative.  It discussed the origins of the different structures of earlychildhood.  This could be very useful for current programs.

The thir area was the area on equity and access.  I found this interesting because it had information from different countries.  It was interesting to see that the consensus is to provide early childhood education for all children, but expecially those in the most need.   

NAEYC Website - Topics Links

I followed many links and searched the topics area.  The links included developmentally appropriate practice, ethics, learning from nature, obesity preventio, play, and technology and young children.  Each of these links provides a lot of links and information on each topic.  This is  a useful area for doing research.
http://naeyc.org/topics


On the e-newsletter there were no external links with more information available.  There were also no external links to the issues we ar currently studying.


The website had a link to several articles.  One of the articles was on how a school principal began a program that sent teachers into the homes of three year olds.  In the face of a budget cut the principal got creative and started a program that promotes equity and lasting benefits for all.  Through this home visitor program children and families are met at their level on their terms, and this could lead to lasting gains for the children involved.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/cape_may/unable-to-expand-preschool-lower-township-sends-teachers-into-/article_b4cfe69e-68c3-11e1-bb77-0019bb2963f4.html
This month's newletter was quite light. There was a lot of information on outside play and the importance of nature on learning.  Although this is useful information it didn't have much to expand my knowledge of issues and trends.

Podcast: Quality in Childcare Settings

Early Edwatch Podcast

Early Education Initiative: New America Foundation

Topic: Quality in Childcare Settings by Grace Reef

The podcast I listened to discussed what quality care is, how the U.S. is doing to improve childcare across the country, and why childcare quality is poor in the U.S.

The interesting thing I learned in this podcast is the statement by Grace Reef on why early childhood providers have such a low average salary, $18,000.  Grace mentioned that because there are no education requirements across the country.  She stated if there were then providers could ask for higher compensation.  In the area I am from teaching positions even in early childhood are very hard to come by, and we are required to hold an early childhood bachelors degree or an elementary teaching certificate with an early childhood endorsement.  And we are compensated comparably to public school teachers. 

The podcast also discussed the need for accross the board standards that call for accountability of all early childhood programs.  This would lead to better funding of quality programs, because money wouldn't be wasted in subpar programs.  This makes sense to me, as long as early childhood professionals are in charge of determining what quality programs are.  Too often when the government gets involved best practices seem to go out the window. 

I did contact Grace Reef, and got a short email back saying she looked forward to communicating with me, but was away for the week.  I look forward to hearing from her next week.