Research that Benefits Children and Families - Uplifting Stories

Technology has become such an essential part of people's lives in today's society and the dependency on technology begins at a very early age. Researchers have expressed concern that too much exposure to television for children less than two years of age can have a negative effect on children's cognitive development. A study by Kikorian, Wartella, and Anderson (2008) describes how television could possibly have a positive impact on a child's cognitive development if parents monitor the content and amount of the television shows that are viewed. There are many children's television shows out there that claim to be educational. I have even heard some television networks to claim that they are like preschool on television. Research studies, such as the one previously mentioned, can help society by informing parents about how to monitor what their children are watching on television and how much television is considered too much.

I chose this topic because I continue to hear mixed reviews about the idea of young children watching television. I am a parent who allows my four year-old daughter to watch television. I do monitor what she watches and if something comes on the television that I do not approve, I turn it off. I also know when she has watched too much. However, I can honestly say that my daughter has learned a lot cognitively from some of the shows that she watches. She has learned to speak some Spanish through watching Dora the Explorer. She has also learned how to count backward and identify odd shapes, such as trapezoid and octagon, by watching Team Umizoomi. I believe that if parents pay attention to what their children are watching, then they can help promote their child's cognitive development by directing their children toward watching certain television shows that actually teach something. The above research study helped benefit society because it clarified some of the misconceptions about television viewing. However, this topic will remain controversial because many professionals and parents will continue to believe that all television is bad. As a professional and as a parent, I am not one of them. I will not purposely sit a child down in front of the television to teach them something, but I believe that occasional television exposure is not harmful.

Reference:

Kirkorian, H., Wartella, E., & Anderson, D. (2008). Media and young children's learning. The Future Of Children / Center For The Future Of Children, The David And Lucile Packard Foundation, 18(1), 39-61.

My Personal Research Journey

The early childhood field presents an endless variety of topics for an educator to research. After doing some soul-searching, I decided to look more into how participation in a family child care setting effects a child's performance throughout their educational career. Within this topic, I would like to explore possibly how having multiple siblings in the same family child care setting can affect a child's educational performance. I am curious to see if children who have siblings with them in the same "classroom" perform better in school because they were comforted by the fact that their siblings were learning along side them during their early childhood years. I would also like to examine if a child's attendance in a family child care particular program has an effect on their performance during their educational career. Maybe children who participate in family child care programs on a full-time basis perform better than their part-time peers because they are accustomed to the routine of the program and are comforted by the "home away from home" atmosphere. Another direction that I would like to take my studies is determining if the background of the administrator (owner) affects the overall performance of the child. I wonder if program administrators that have a strong background in early childhood education (college education focused in the field, along with years of experience working in the field) establish programs that promote a stronger educational growth in the children that participate in their programs compared to administrators with little or no previous early childhood training. 

What led me to my research topic was the fact that I am a new owner of a family child care program in my community. I have a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education and I am working on my Master's degree through the Walden program. I also have a few years working in various early childhood settings. After the birth of my second daughter, I decided that I wanted to be able to stay home with my children, but still provide an opportunity to help foster the educational development of the children in my community. 

Through the participation in the simulation project for this course, I am hoping to further understand the research process so that I can proceed with conducting research about the effectiveness of family child care programs. I know that there is often a misconception that family child care providers are basically babysitters, but that is not true. Many family child care programs offer strong educational opportunities for the children participating in the programs while maintaining the loving, home-like environment that many parents find comforting. As I progress through the assignments, I am learning that a lot of the terminology sounds similar, forcing myself to look more closely at the terms so that I can apply the correct terms to the proper research concepts. I know that as the course progresses and we learn to apply more of the research methods, the terminology will become easier to understand. I am looking forward to developing this part of my professional training so that I can become a stronger participant and contributor to the early childhood field.