Research that Benefits Children and Families

Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field. Imagine further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present. Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families. What topic would you choose? What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be?

If I had the opportunity to conduct research about a topic in early childhood I would choose the long term effects of technology on children. At this point I am aware that obesity is one adverse effect of too much technology and little to no physical activity. I can't help but wonder how long use of electronics effect children’s vision and concept of reality long term.

The results of my research would show whether or not children's vision is effected by using elections in close range to eyesight. It would also show whether nor not violence in video games or on TV programming allow children to have a warped sense of reality.  Is this why there has been an increase in violence in children; if children were not being exposed to these things how would it still be a problem in today's society? 

My Personal Research Journey

Prior to reading chapter two in the course text my focus was aimed towards finding ways in which we could improve the quality of early childhood education for children, improve the working conditions for early childhood educators and provide more access to early childhood education. After reading chapter two I have decided to shift my gears and focus on the best ways to train staff to work with young children. My reason for the change in directions has to do with me wanting to improve the productivity of my job performance.

 I am an education specialist and part of my job is to provide training's for the teachers at my school, I also coach, mentor and monitor what goes on in the classroom from the education side of things. Some of my “findings” in the classroom observations are used to generate training topics for the teachers. I have only been at my job for a year but many teachers have told me that our current training topics are becoming redundant which makes me think of two questions. If the training's are becoming repetitive then why are we still seeing the same things taking place in the classroom thus prompting us to review the same topics? What can we (as a team of education specialist) do to present the information in new and innovative ways they will support our teachers to change what they are doing in the classroom? For the simulation I chose to focus on finding was to increase the amount of information teachers retain from the training's as well as increase the implementation rate after professional development sessions.

I have to be honest this simulation process has been challenging as well as eye opening. This course has changed everything I thought I knew about conducting research. Even though this has its benefits, I am continuing to question whether or not I fully understand the process. The research chart has actually been one of the most informative pieces of this week.

I had to do a little more research on lit review plans to gain a better understanding of the process and I came across a detailed outline at: http://www.capella.edu/interactivemedia/library/litReviewTutorial/downloads/LitReviewPlan_FinalCopy.pdf

I hope this helps, please feel free to share any additional information you may have come across.

Final Blog Assignment

Consequences of learning about the international early childhood field:

 

1. Learning about the international early childhood field has revealed to me that my role or advocacy work is a piece in a larger whole in regards to education. My initial goal to have an effect on raising the quality of education does not have to stop in my community alone.
2. Raising awareness of education around the world can also be beneficial to me when working with immigrants families in my current schools. It might provide me with working knowledge of cultures and backgrounds so I can find was to make them feel welcome and reach out to families and students.
3. In regards to my personal development learning about the international early childhood field has brought about a feeling of gratefulness that not only did I grow up in a environment where education is valued and available but I also have the opportunity to raise my children in such an environment.  I can also instill those same values in them with the hopes they continue and value their education and opportunities they have as much as I do.

In college I went on two service trips to Jamaica and we had an opportunity to visit an early childhood program in an undeveloped part of the country. If I explained the conditions in which these children lived and let alone where being educated you still couldn’t even imagine it. Often times when I start to complain about the troubles of the world in which I live in; I think about those children and their families and think about how they see the world. These are people who are happy just to see another day; they never once complained about what they did not have but were grateful for what they did have. It has always been a goal of mines to revisit that location and try to make an impact on the status of the learning environment. I will work a little harder to see that it becomes reality

 

 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Still no reply from my international contact, I will continue to keep hop alive that I may hear from them even if it's after this course is completed. I would still like to ask them some questions about the issues and treads in early childhood in their community. The alternative assignment for this week was to explore the(http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/), website and provide some insight on some things I've learned about issues related to international early childhood education that relate to your professional goals.

1.) I already knew that age birth to age 8 is a important time in development for children but I learned that from prenatal to age 15
is just as important. Planning early interventions is crucial in laying the foundation for quality education; especially in places where "12,000 African children die every day under conditions that could have been avoided – the equivalent of a Boeing 747 crashing every hour". These are the current conditions children in Africa face on a daily bases; to know that these conditions can be avoided with early intervention is sad that changes are not being made or if they are being made its at a very slow rate.

2.) “Teachers are the single most influential and powerful force for equity, access and quality in education”, says Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO. I couldn't have said this better myself and apparently the US is not the only place where we need to remind policy makers of the importance of teachers and what an important job we have in building the future leaders of our countries. In the future I see myself doing a lot of advocating for chances to be made in this area. People demand high quality in poor working conditions and this just does not balance out all the time.

3.)UNESCO’s Regional Bureau of Education is currently trying to "formulate educational policies that encourage respect for cultural diversity and the construction of increasingly more intercultural and inclusive societies". One of their goals is to create a policy that will embrace other cultures and to view them as an asset as oppose to a burden. Now that I 'am aware of ways to increase access to preschool I will work with my teachers and inform them on building relationships and outreach in my community.

Sharing web resources part 2

Today I follow the blog link for the global fund for children webpage, I discovered a page were you could click on a certain region and read about the aid the organization is providing in the specific area and ways in which you can help with the efforts, in addition to featured cover stories in different areas.
I clicked on a link about a six year old girl in Nepal named Jasmine who was lured away from her home with the hopes of getting an education outside of her rural community. Unfortunately she was forced into a life of a domestic servant and later on a forced to work in a dance bar at the age of 9 years old. When she was 13 she was rescued and was able to attend school, at the age of 18 Jasmine had graduated at the top of her class.
I had not received a news letter from the website so I was not able to follow up on an issue and gain any new information. I also could not find any information related to the topic we talked about this week regarding early childhood education.
I did gain some new insights on education and advocacy as a whole, I learned that it takes many people working together to achieve a goal. When you read about stories like Jasmine where little girls are being taken from their families a used as property of servants your heart goes out to them and you question what I can do to help her all the way over here. With organizations and groups like the global fund for children we are able to do more to help children all over the world.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I still haven’t heard anything from my international contract, but I will continue to keep hope alive. As an alternative I watch a video on the center on the developing child website.
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/multimedia/videos/inbrief_series/inbrief_program_effectiveness/

Here are some highlights from the video”

1. Three tiered approach to approach to ensure healthy development; the number one or basic approach would be a program that would help to reach this goal would be basic health and childcare. The 2nd approach is a program that provided extra services for families with low income. The 3rd approach is a program that has specific programs for children with toxic stress.

2. If we are able to provide services to children at an early age (early intervention) this will have a better cost of return later on in life. Some of the examples that were provided were; lower number of adults on welfare, lower crime or cost for incarceration and increase in tax revenue due to the number of people with jobs.

3. Reading books to children is important, however reading books with children is just as important to their development. Smaller classroom ratios and high adult- child ratios, high qualified and well compensated personnel ( in my opinion this is often times over looked), and warm and responsive adults also contribute to the effectiveness of early childhood programs.

Sharing Web Resources

On the (https://www.globalfundforchildren.org) website I came across a publication regarding education. It makes reference to “no child left behind” it mentioned that that term also applies to children in other countries (mostly female) who may not even have to the opportunity to attend school because they have to work to help provide for their families. This seems relevant to my current professional development because often times we don’t think about these things that are taking place outside of our “world”. What if I had a family who has come from a culture who may not value education for girls because it is not a norm for them. This information will allow me to see things from their perspective and not judge them because their views are different from mines.
I can’t say that any of this information adds to my understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support early childhood without conducting additional information about other countries and their views on early childhood education.

I have learned that in order to gain a better understanding of the current treads and issues in the early childhood field we have to look at the trends and issues worldwide not just in our local communities. We never know when we will come face to face with families that come from cultures different from our own. It would help to stay current and be familiar with things that are taking place around the world.

Poverty Snapshot

Naitil (left) (sitr.org)


This weeks assignment was to get to know our international contact, unfortunatly I have yet to make a connect with anyone yet. The alternative assignment was to gather some information on child poverty in another county. As I was searching the web for an image of child poverty in Haiti. I came across some eye opening information that I have posted below. The direct link to the page is: http://icepoverty.pbworks.com/w/page/11217708/Block%205%20Group%206


Exploring Poverty in Haiti-A Snapshot of the face of poverty
As a single Haitian mother, Hosanna struggles to care for a boy, Naitil, she found living alone on the streets. He wears the same filthy clothes every day. “My skin itches all over,” he says, embarrassed at the bumps covering his skin.

Hosanna knows that the dirt rubs his skin raw, but she doesn’t have the money to purchase detergent, clothing, or shoes. If he doesn’t receive help soon, the dirt will continue to eat away at his skin, causing open sores to develop. This leaves Naitil susceptible to the deadly typhoid fever bacteria common in the local filthy river, his only source for drinking and bathing water.


Extent of Poverty in Haiti
Haiti is the least developed country in Latin America,

To attempt to grasp the severity of Haiti’s situation, consider the fact that four-fifths of its population lives on less than $2 USD per person per day. Furthermore, over half of the Haitian population, or approximately 4.5 million people, are considered extremely poor and live on less than $1 USD per person per day.




After finding this information I did some more research and cam across the worldbank.org website; some things I learned about child poverty in Haiti from this site is:

Children are lucky if they are able to attend school beyond secondary school which I would assume would be mid or high school.

The life expectancy for someone living in Haiti is only 57 years old. This could have a lot to to with the impoverished conditions they are faced with and they fact that only 25% on the children receive vaccinations and the lack of clean drinking water available.

When I tried to find a reason behind the lack of resources and poor living conditions I found that poor governing was to blame along with lack of economic stability. I'm sure that these factors have been taking place for many years and this did not just happen over night. Although I do not live in Haiti I feel some sort of connect because my grandfather and his family migrated from Haiti. People seem to have an idea of what needs to be done but who's going to do it and when is my question.

Sharing resources

The organization I selected was Global fund for children, the main focus of this organization is to help fund grassroots corporations and provide funding to insure that children have the lives they deserve. They work with other organizations to keep children education and away from the harmful lifestyle of sex trafficking, child laborers and other devastating existences. (https://www.globalfundforchildren.org)

One current issue that caught my eye on the website was the relief work they were still during in Haiti 4 years after the earthquake that killed 100,000 to 150, 000 people. The article talked about the different phases of emergency relief and what needs to be done at each phase. Currently Haiti is in the rehab phase, during this time they are “taking stock of the damage and prioritizing infrastructure reconstruction as well as rebuilding roads and utilities”.

Another I would like to share is often times when a country is hit by a natural disaster it is easy to forget things. After the event is no longer being televised and we are no longer connected we tend to forget about what that area is going through to rebuild. During that rebuilding process we also forget about everyday thinks like what’s taking place with children and education. I glad to know there are organizations like this who’s main focus is placed on helping children thrive in conditions that are not set up for them to do so.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Our assignment was to reach out to a professionals in the early childhood field in another country, to make connections and talk about trends. Unfortunately I have not heard back from anyone yet but I would love to be able to talk with other people from different countries to gain a better understanding of they way they do things and their outcomes.

I did find a new resource in the process of this assignment. The global fund for children is a program who invests in funding grassroots organizations to help children thrive. Most of their focus is in early intervention, they try to reach the children at an early age in order to make the most impact. If you are interested in learning more about The global fund for children see the link below.

Resources
https://www.globalfundforchildren.org/

My Supports

One of my largest supports is my husband, having him to help me with my son has been a major stress reliever. Prior to marrying my husband it was just my son and I, I had to pick him up and drop him off at daycare and school which it made times a little difficult for a single mother. After marrying my husband I realized that team work makes the dream work. Having someone to help out with daily task I once had to do alone is very helpful.  If I did not have him I would have to take my son to get haircuts and pick him up from school. I would have to change my work schedule which is not very flexible to begin with.

Another support system I have is friends, my laptop is not working properly and I really need to buy another one. We are currently closing on a new home so I can’t really go out and buy a new one.  One day I was on the phone with my best friend telling her that I didn’t know how I was going to find the time to go to the library to do my homework because I was having issues with my laptop and she told me to come get hers and I could borrow for as long as I needed to. This was such a blessing and if I didn’t have such a thoughtful friend I would have to try and find the time to get to the library to do homework.

One challenge I choose to imagine is not being able to get around free due to mobility issues. This would be difficult because we currently live on the 2^nd floor. We would have to move to a single story home with wide doors large enough for me to get around. I would also have to solely depend on my family and friends to transport my son around. With having these supports it would be near to impossible for me to leave my home and I would not be able to get around to care for my son.