When I Think of Research...

When reflecting back on all that I have learned over the past two months, I am amazed at how little I truly knew about research and the knowledge that I have gained throughout this course. I simply assumed that all research was considered equal, but had no clue that there were different research methods that can be used (qualitative, quantitative, and combination of these). When I first glanced through the textbook, I realized that there were a lot of research terms that I was unfamiliar with, but as I progressed through the course and put these terms into practice through the creation of my research simulation, I realized that I knew more about research than I gave myself credit for. One major lesson that I have learned about research is that it is never complete. A researcher can spend a significant amount of time planning out exactly how they will proceed, and then follow that plan. But, during the analysis of the data collected, the researcher could possibly notice that their data is telling a different story than originally intended, leading to an entirely new direction of research. At that point, the researcher creates a new plan and follows through with it, revising the plan in order to match the direction laid out by the data. As an early childhood professional, I am looking forward to conducting research of my own within the field. There are many questions about the field that I still do not know the answer to. As I gain experience in the field, I am sure that many of those questions will be answered through practice and observation. However, many more questions will be formed and after completing this course, I now have the tools and knowledge to take that first step in research.

Research Around the World

This week, we were asked to explore various early childhood websites that featured an interest in international research. The website that I focused my studies on was for Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) or http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php. This particular page of the website features various final reports and papers from different international scholars in the early childhood field. Some of the reports focused on the inclusion of family members in the development of early childhood development programs. Stella Etse's research study, titled Parents' and Other Caregivers' Perception of Early Childhood Development Needs and Quality: A Study of the PLAN-Assisted Programmes in Bawjiase, Ghana,  examined the level of understanding parents and other family members have about the requirements and expectations for early childhood development programs. The results of the study showed that parents and other family members are very knowledgeable in the requirements for quality early childhood development programs and should be included in the development of these programs. Another focus of the reports was the inclusion of indigenous cultures in early childhood programming. Mgbechikwere (Uche) Ezirim's research study, titled Integrating Indigenous Knowledge in ECD Training and Studies, focused on the importance of keeping Indigenous stories in the lives of today's children, where urbanization threatens to push the lessons of these stories aside. The study suggested that early childhood teachers encourage the students to act out the stories, so that they become a part of the story and preserve the meaning behind it.

As I was reviewing this website, I found it humbling to learn that much of the international research focuses on issues that are similar to topics studied here in the United States. This just shows that the early childhood field is cohesive globally and issues or practices in the field can be studied in other parts of the world in order to find a universal solution. After exploring the website, I found it interesting that the participating students in the university had been elected by the school to participate. Each of the students is affiliated with multiple early childhood organizations, which shows that they are committed to the field.