When I think of research...

Throughout this course, I have gained many new insights from the resources provided and from you my colleagues. Taking research step by step is very crucial to ensure not only that your using scholarly resources, but to also understand the topic fully. I believe I have the ability now to understand and use research effectively. I have also learned that there are many methods such as qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods that give researchers different insights and ways to analyze what is good research.


There are many ways that my ideas about the nature of  research that have changed. I know realize that the way that I do research will reflect the way that I teach. Personally and professionally, I now apply my knowledge of the ways to analyze, gather and use the research. I also now realize that the main topic needs to be broken down into subtopics to be able to evaluate every aspect.


I have learned in this course that there is always ways in which we can plan, design, and conduct in early childhood.  In our field, professionals need to have the knowledge of what is expected in their research. Each topic that is being researched needs to be explored, analyzed and applied to what the researcher is researching on. I have learned through our resources that every step is important to be conducted to find the best information possible.


Some challenges that I faced when doing research is validity. The validity is at times hard to determine. Is the study legit? Is the sub topics the main topics to be explored? Does the research reflect the validity of what the main topic is trying to find? I also had some trouble at first understanding all the methods of the research process. Before this class, I would look at a resource and use it. I wouldn't explore and make sure that it is the right source for my research question.

As a result to this course, I look at our field of early childhood education and see that research should play a major role to the professional and the program. Research is so important to use and discuss in our field. Without researching the issues and topics of early childhood there would be many questions of what is valid and what is not.



Thank you to my colleagues! I wish you the best on your future classes! I have learned so much from all of you in a short amount of time!

Research Around the World

Here is the link to the ECA- http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

 

This week we have a task of looking into an international research link for early childhood education. I chose to look at the ECA (Early Childhood Australia). This is an organization that is a voice for young children. They are now celebrating 75 years of service. There are many current international research topics that are demonstrated on their website.

Here is a list of the topics that I found:

Quality improvement in the classroom

How to make children feel secure, confident and included

National Quality Standards in the programs

Working together in the early childhood settings

Learning and teaching through play

Young children as active learners

Healthy children- Now and Later

Curriculum and standards in the classroom

Young gifted children

And many more are included in the index of the website.

 

I am surprised by how Australia has many of the same issues and trends that the United States has. The mission of ECA is to research and advocate to ensure quality and social justice in all the issues related to education and their care. I am surprised to see all the links one can go to all around the world to show how ECA is supporting the best practice possible. I see that there are many members and students to show how they understand the material and how it is used. The website also provides online services for researchers to explore and discover for the best practice in Australia. I feel that this organization is a major contribution to the excellence and equity in early childhood education. Without sites like these the knowledge of these topics will be very minimal. This type of resource should be used by researchers to gain the knowledge of what is expected in Australia and all over the world.