When I Think of Research....

....I think--whew, I made it!

To be completely honest, the thought of doing a research based course scared the bejeebies out of me. My interest in early childhood education is based off of my passion for working with young children and their families. I have been a Director at various Early Education Centers for almost 10 years, and I have had no greater joy than seeing children that I knew as infants graduate from Pre-K. In my mind, this had nothing to do with research, and dealt more with a natural, and emotional way of studying children.

However, through this course I've come to realize that maybe all along I did believe in research, I just didn't know enough about it. Research doesn't have to be children pressing buttons behind a glass mirror while researchers in lab coats take notes. It can be so much more, and can help every aspect of early childhood subsequently. The biggest insight I gained from this course is that research takes many forms, and is conducted by many different people. Every study has a different hypothesis, research question, and method of acquiring data.

I learned that planning, designing, and conducting research is a long task, but in the end is very purposeful. Creating my research simulation over the last 8 weeks has challenged how I think about certain aspects of my professional life, and also helped to keep me organized. The direct way that the simulation was set up really made me think, and taught me how helpful research actually is to my chosen profession.

Some people in early childhood education have a very research oriented mind, and I applaud those people. The biggest challenge I met was trying to turn my mind in a research direction. Writing a research simulation requires a very formal way of writing, and if you can't tell, I'm more of a free thought kind of writer. Over the last 4 weeks especially I have done a lot of editing, re-writing, and over thinking before turning in my papers. In the end, I think that I was able to really commit to producing quality work that met the requirements.

Overall, this research course has opened my eyes a little to how research can really benefit early childhood programs. I even found myself looking for scholarly articles to articulate different points with the children and families I work with! My perceptions about research have been changed thanks to this course, and I'm grateful for that.

Now, on to the next course! We are all doing so well, and I'm glad to have the support of my colleagues who are treading through with me. We've got about a year left! Let's go!

Research Around the World

This week I looked towards Australia for information on what Aussie's are looking at in the world of early childhood research. "Early Childhood Australia advocates to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years" (Early Childhood Australia, 2014). Early Childhood Australia is the equivalent of NAEYC for the United States.

A quick review of their website shows that some of their most current research is on quality in early childhood, information on intentional self-harm and suicidal behaviors in children and providing quality and affordable early childhood education (Early Childhood Australia, 2014).

I find it very interesting that the state of early childhood education in Australia is quite similar to that of the United States. In Australia they are looking to provide high quality, affordable early childhood education to all children, which is something that the early childhood community in America is trying to move towards as well.

I was also intrigued by the Research in Practice Series that Early Childhood Australia has published for educators. The series "provides practical, easy-to-read resources for those involved in the early childhood field" (Early Childhood Australia, 2014). These books are available to educators so that they can further their knowledge and stay up to date with the most recent trends and research in early childhood. I also found that their "Learning Hub" section is a technologically advanced area where educators can get more information on their profession, and communicate with other educators. That is a really amazing offer for teachers, administrators and families.

I will look to the Early Childhood Australia website for more information as I navigate our research course. It's always helpful to see where the rest of the world stands on the subject of early childhood education.




Reference
Early Childhood Australia. (2014) Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au