Farewell EDUC 6165

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Dear Colleagues,

I tried to say farewell to as many of you as I could, but alas I am overwhelmed with the holidays and an upcoming cold. I still wanted to let all of you know how much I appreciate every one of your posts, comments and supportive feedback. 

Thank you all for taking this educational journey with me! I wish you a well deserve two week break, and a refreshed start of the next term.

I am leaving you, not with a "good-bye", but with a "see you later!"

I will continue to post on this blog as much and as often as I can during the break!

Warmest wishes to all,

Angie

The adjourning phase of group development...

There are five stages of group development: 

• Stage 1: Forming
• Stage 2: Storming
• Stage 3: Norming
• Stage 4: Performing
• Stage 5: Adjourning

When a group is formed it does not get from forming to performing without some growing pains. If a group is successful the adjourning or departure stage will be a bittersweet process. 

According to Abudi, in the adjourning stage "the project is coming to an end and the team is moving off into different directions" (2010, paragraph 14.) 

A time that was difficult for me to leave a group was my high school class and group of friends. We had a long four year group development in which we went from forming to performing within our high school culture. 

At graduation, the adjourning stage, we said our goodbyes some of us in tears. We had literally grown up together. This group was the hardest to leave because we had good chemistry, we worked together in various projects and after school activities. Some of us developed close friendships, and after graduation we would all go in separate directions. 

I did appreciate the school's supportive departure and different activities, like graduation, prom and Seniors' Field day that allowed for a all of us to say our goodbyes. 

Source: Microsoft Office 2010

Conflict Resolution: Personal Dilemma

My personal dilemma is: My downstairs neighbors and I have not been agreeing in our noise level. They complain about our noise for walking during the day (I have three high energy children). I complain about their loud music during the afternoon, while the baby is taking a nap. We have done nothing but bang on each others walls to convey our extreme dislike of each others activities.

After reviewing information on conflict resolutions here are a few ways I can approach this conflict:

1) I can communicate and suggest a win/win situation. Perhaps we can choose to be loud at the same time. The girls can run around while the neighbors play their loud rap music. We can also agree on quiet hours of the day or night. This can alleviate some of our apartment living discomfort.

2) I can also choose to look at this as an opportunity to learn to negotiate, and perhaps become a better neighbor. There are things I need to learn about myself this situation will help me understand. If I look at the potential of learning from a challenging situation, rather than focus on the problem, I can enjoy the process.

(Conflict Resolution Network, n.d.)


Dear colleagues please comment on your thoughts on this conflict. Do you feel I have the right approach to this situation? Do you see other alternatives? How would you address this neighbors? Have you been in a similar situation?


Thanks for reading and any comments in advance!!! :)



References

Conflict Resolution Network. (n.d.). CR kit. Retrieved from http://www.crnhq.org/pages.php?pID=12#skill_3

Rating Personal Communication Style

My self-evaluation of my communication style results stated:

• Listening Skills: I am people-oriented
• Verbal aggressiveness: Moderate- I maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others viewpoints. I can argue fairly by attacking the facts rather than the person’s character.
• Communication anxiety: Mild- I get a bit anxious in some situations, but most of the time communication is something I do not worry about.

Evaluation from my spouse, my mother-in-law, and my 10 year old daughter Emmy:

1. The all rated me as “people-oriented.” This made me realized I am definitely more interested in listening to people’s feelings than the facts of a story.
2. Communication anxiety: Both my spouse and Emmy rated me “mild.” They know although I am comfortable communicating in most situation, I have slight apprehensions about communicating in a few situations. My mother-in-law, Millie, rated me as “low” or having no anxiety when communicating. This is probably because I don’t share my inner anxiety with her. She knows I am comfortable with public speaking and speaking to others in one-on-one situations, therefore she probably graded me based on her perceptions.
3. The greatest insight was about verbal aggressiveness both my spouse and Millie rated me “moderate” aggressive communicator. Which I thought was how I communicated with everyone. I can argue and stand up for my opinion, but I feel I am fair and not combative. My child disagreed she rated me “significant” or someone who might cross the line to be hurtful. I asked her about how I talked to her and how she felt I spoke to her. I realized that as a parent I don’t spend as much time being careful of communicating with caution as not to be verbally aggressive. It was nice to realize I can change a bit and be more mindful. 

 

Intercultural Communication

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?

Yes. I have a challenging time speaking with people from more expressive and assertive cultures. I was raised to be less aggressive when speaking. I also shy from confrontation. Therefore, when I speak with someone whose normal communication style is upfront and assertive, I feel uncomfortable.

I also have trouble communicating with people who are English Language Learners (ELL) and first language is something other than English. Since Spanish is my first language, I still find speaking English in particular my accent, to make me feel self-conscious. When I have a conversation with someone with a heavy accent, I feel less effective at listening and communicating.

If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

I tend to be a non-aggressive communicator and when I encounter assertiveness I feel threatened and intimidated. Many times I stop listening. I hear them, but my inner monologue I am criticizing the style of communication "Oh wow, this person really is too forward and is making me uncomfortable."  Obviously this is my internalized upbringing how we should listen and respect others talking. Raising one's voice is a sign of arguing. Even though I do raise my voice and I can give my opinion, I tend to be reserve with strangers and new acquaintances.

When I am communicating with people who are English Language learners I feel inadequate. I try to listen carefully and speak slowly. I also find that I am not able to read their non-verbal cues as much because I am paying attention to the words. I have had awkward conversation with adult students in my classes or workshops, I try to explain a concept in English using a technical term and I see their expressions of lack of understanding. I feel less capable of supporting their education.

Some strategies to improve my intercultural communication:

1.       Develop motivation- If I build on my desire to understand others, I can be motivated to listening and be more other-oriented.

2.       Develop appropriate knowledge- learn different communication codes to decrease the barriers of communicating effectively with people from a different culture. This might mean becoming a better listener, observer and researching others attitudes.

3.       Develop Skills- Learning to relate to others and practicing communication will help me improve my skills to communicate, not only with people from different cultures, but with everyone I interact with.

(Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011)

References

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Learning about non-verbal communication

For this blog assignment I decided to watch a show on MTV called "The Inbetweeners". I have never seen the show before, and I thought it would be an interesting program to watch for non-verbal communication.
The episode starts with a group of (what I assume) teenage boys drumming in an abandoned lot with trash cans and sticks. They look like they are friends.  Based on my observations the boys appear to be friends. They smile, punch (friendly gesture) their shoulder and goof around. Then the four boys go to a car wash run by (what I assume) school teen girls raising money for home coming. The boys display a great number of facial expressions of awe and desire for these girls who are attractive and are wearing bathing suits to wash cars. Based on my observations these girls do not seem to reciprocate the same attraction for the boys. Their expressions and mannerism indicate the boys are not their friends. At one point one of the boys is talking to one girl, while she scrubs down a car. He looks very nervous. She looks very flirty, but then the conversation ends with her shrugging her shoulders and dismissing him. From these 15 minutes of no sound, I can tell this is a representation of teenager communication boys and girls.

Source:http://www.tvequals.com/2012/11/06/the-inbetweeners-season-finale-review-the-dance/

After turning on the sound I was able to confirm my observation. Indeed these four boys are teenagers trying to get attention from girls. Their hormones are raging and from the type of things they say it seems they really are in that stage of trying to impress girls. The only surprise from the dialogue were the things the girls were actually saying back. The conversation between the shy boy, who gets really nervous, and the girl in the bathing suit, who is scrubbing the car, was about the girl letting him know that she wouldn't date him because he is a virgin. The conclusion to this dialogue was that she would definitely had sex with him after he lost his virginity. I was not expecting this. I guess a lot of things have changed since I last watch teen shows!

Although I was able to observe some non-verbal communication and accurately understand some of the relationships between the characters and the plot, I probably would have been more accurate if I had been familiar with the show. At least, I would have known the girl characters were not as dismissive and playing hard to get as I first assumed!

This was a fun assignment. I hope my colleagues enjoyed it as much as I did :)

Communication & Collaboration in Early Childhood

Welcome to a new exciting blogging adventure!

For this first post I am supposed to write about a person I admire based on their communication skills.  I chose someone I truly admire for their communication skills my Nutrition Professors, Dr. Patricia Miner. She taught me a lot of what I know about counseling patients. When she talks with you, she engages you. She is receptive, attentive and genuine. She has been a nutritionist for many years, and she knows that health behavioral changes come from more than education. I always remember the tips she shared about body language, verbal and non-verbal communication and how important it is to make the other person feel heard.

Returning to school has been a new challenge for me. I am not the greatest written communicator. I find the message loses it's essence. I wish we had more than a smiley face to connote excitement :) or a sad face to state disappointment :( When will technology give us more than symbols >:S

Working through my second MS online has really pushed my capacity to communicate through written language. I am looking forward to learning more.


Message for the week:

Are you practicing your listening skills?

Farewell Blog Post: Final perspectives on diversity and equity

Dear Colleagues,

This has been an amazing journey... I have learned from posting, reading your comments, and your blogs. I leave this term full of hope, dreams and a stronger vision of my work with young children.

Hopes for my future include

My personal goal is to create professional development that includes cultural sensitive and diversity education.

A goal for the future of early childhood might be to improve our recognition and practices to support equity and cultural diversity.

Thank you for coming along all these weeks. I am honored to have gotten to know you all.

-Angie


Diversity and Social Equity are important...

because the world is full of diversity and social identities

because we are stronger when diversity is embraced!

because there are many right ways...

because inclusion is crucial for social equity

because every family deserves to be welcomed

because children deserve better than "isms"

And because family culture deserves support, not judgment.

Welcoming Cultural Diversity

For this blog I am supposed to select a country I am unfamiliar about, and prepare to welcome a child in my early learn program who recently emigrated from this country.

I selected the country of Eritrea because I do not know anything about this country.

The five things I would do to prepare to welcome my new student include:

1. Conduct a basic online search about general facts about this country using credible websites for information.
2. Find key words in the country’s official languages Trinyan, Arabic and English to display to make it more inviting for the family.
3. Welcome the family and child into the classroom and determine our ability to communicate with one another. If there is a language barrier, find non-verbal ways to communicate such as pictures of familiar object, signs for basic instructions, or a physical demonstration. I will learn their non-verbal cues, and be careful to note their level of comfort with my approach.
4. I will ask questions about the family culture. Discipline, routine, dietary basics and other familiar habits that might help me understand the needs of the child in the classroom.
5. I will encourage the family to visit often, bring familiar objects or pictures in the classroom for display. I will ask if I could have a picture of the family to display for the child to see during the day.

Official Map of Eritrea 

Internet research of Eritrea:

African country bordering Ethiopia, Sudan and Red Sea capital is Asmara.  The area has suffered a lot of uncertainty with government and civil war. It is a diverse country with nine recognized ethnicities and over seven languages. The predominant religion is Islam. Other religions in the area include Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic and Protestant  (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/er.html).

Official Flag

Flag Description:

Red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle; green stands for the country's agriculture economy, red signifies the blood shed in the fight for freedom, and blue symbolizes the bounty of the sea; the wreath-olive branch symbol is similar to that on the first flag of Eritrea from 1952; the shape of the red triangle broadly mimics the shape of the country (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/flagtemplate_er.html).

English

 Trinyan

Arabic

References
http://www.google.com/transliterate
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

During the past weeks I have been learning about bias, oppression and marginalization of individuals based on their differences. It has been a great journey to be able to identify and acknowledge how discrimination exists, it is real and not only an intellectual removed concept.

The incident I want to share happened to my wife a few weeks ago... She called me upset because some guy had been very threatening to her. She stopped on her way to work to get coffee from a coffee shop. This has been part of her routine for a while. Apparently this guy was upset she took up the only parking space available in the lot. He got out from his car and followed her inside. In there he proceeded to yell at her to stop acting like a man and accept she is a woman. Then threatened to beat her up. The guy was making so much fuss that the store manager felt the need to escort my wife to safety.

On the phone, I asked why she had not contacted the police. Since in fact he had threatened her safety and it was mainly due to her sexual orientation or gender identity. She was glad to be out of the situation, but had not felt empowered by anyone in that place to contact the authorities. The store was full of witnesses who stood by, listened to this guy humiliate and threatened my wife, yet they did NOTHING. I felt so hurt that in the eyes of society we can witness injustice or hate crimes and people still do nothing.

If I had been present, I would have called the authorities and made this guy realize it is not okay to verbally abuse others because he is uncomfortable with their sexual orientation. It is important to stand up for ourselves and let everyone know it is not okay.

This class has made me realized members of the targeted and oppressed social identities can be invisible; their humanity is stripped away so that the privilege members can ignore their existence. However, it is within us to make this change for our future generations.

Thank you for reading!
Angie

My wife, Lan, on the left. Her gender identity is different from the mainstream identity of female.
She identifies as a butch, or masculine, lesbian. This has made her target to hateful words and prejudice. 

At the Gay Pride March on 2010.
Emmy proudly advocates for her parents.
Her classmates told her remove this photograph from her writing journal because 'gay' was a bad word.
She educated them instead.

Microaggressions in Everyday Life

Let me tell you a piece of my mind about microaggressions

According to Dr. Derald Wing Sue, Professor of Psychology and Education from the Teacher College at Columbia University, microaggressions are brief everyday indignities that can be verbal, behavioral or environmental. These can also be intentional or unintentional. Usually microaggressions contain an insulting or belittling message. Microaggressions hidden messages often cause severe psychological stress and harm to their target, mainly because the attack comes from a place of a non-threat. In truth, they reflect a view of inclusion versus exclusion, inferiority and superiority; one group is better than the other. These perspectives on diversity often happen outside our level of awareness… We are conditioned to think, repeat and use microaggressions (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

Interested? Keep on reading this blog... 

I want to share how I have witnessed microaggressions in my everyday life. I have not only been a target for microaggressions, but I have used a few of them myself: 

I have heard repeatedly how hot and spicy Latin women are. Media images of actresses like Sofia Vergara and Jennifer Lopez help to promote this message. Maybe it can be perceived as a compliment, but it also gives a hidden message of Latinas as objectified beauties. Not to mention perpetuates a terrible stereotype of having bad tempers. 

I once told a dear friend she was really good with money, because of her Jewish heritage. At the time it was meant as a joke, but it was not received well, and it should not have been. The hidden message was that Jewish people are frugal, a terrible stereotype with negative connotations.

I told another high school friend he was quite articulate for an African American. He responded with a remark about how he makes it a point to not use slang and pronounce the words properly. This was awful to have put him in this position. I unintentionally marginalized his abilities and undermined him for his ethnicity.

I often used the term “third world” to refer to the developing nations, and now I can see how offensive this can be perceived. No one should be referred to as a less than human or as a second class citizen. We are all citizens of this world.

Here comes the conclusion... 

My least favorite microaggression is the use of the word ‘gay’ as a derogatory insult:

“You’re so gay, stop being a sissy” “That shirt is gay” “That band is so gay” etc. I’m sorry but no inanimate object has a sexual preference, yet the adjective gay seems to be used quite freely.

Unless you are referring to a person who is a homosexual; or using the word as in the adjective of happy/cheerful, please do not use the word gay. It is just plain wrong. 

Sadly at school my child was lectured by her classmates for saying her mom is gay. They said she was naughty for using a “bad” word about her mother. <<Gasp>> How could she?

Obviously these children are ignorant, being educated through narrow minded perspectives. There is no insult from the word ‘gay.’ It is the way is implemented that is negative and can become a microassault, an intentional form of microaggression. As parents and educators we need to be prepared to change and educate our children. Let’s start by becoming aware ourselves about the microaggressions we currently use. 

What microaggressions have you used? What microaggressions have you been a target of? Sharing will create awareness and bring to light the hidden messages.

Thanks for reading & sharing!

Angie

Was it interesting? Now it's your turn to share.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [DVD]. Perspectives on diversity and equity. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Thoughts on Culture and Diversity

This week the assignment was simple: Ask three people to define culture and diversity. At first I went to my friends and family, coworker and spouse. Their answers were focused on superficial culture. They listed information about traditions, holidays, cuisine, and ethnicity. Then I started to think about my own children and their thoughts on diversity.
Early this week one of my daughters Emmy made an innocent yet disturbing comment. "Mommy, do you think I look American? I know I don't look Latina like you, I mean I am not tan, or you know look Latina." My response: "Emmy what does American look like?" She looked up and replied "You know like not like you".
This short conversation started me thinking about the messages my children were receiving about culture and diversity. Cultural identity starts from early in life; since preschool young children are figuring out who they are and the rules of their social culture (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).

In her article "Beyond the illusion of diversity: How early childhood teachers can promote social justice," Gloria S. Boutte talks about how children process lessons in diversity.  She states "young children are continuously internalizing messages about people who are different  than they are—even when parents value diversity" (Boutte, 2008, p. 166).  I wondered what messages my children are receiving from me, school, peers and media.

I interviewed my oldest children (9 and 6 year old) about their thoughts on culture & diversity. The results of the interview were, for lack of a better term, disheartening. I cannot believe my own deficit of educating my children on diversity.


Here are some brief pieces of the interviews. Emmy is 9 years old and Gabby is 6 years old.

Me: Emmy what is culture to you?
Emmy: Culture... What Indians and Chinese people do (shaking her head with bollywood dance pose), they follow their religion and follow their culture. Like we... I don't know what we do, but other people do this... I don't know, that's it.
Me: And what it's diversity?
Emmy: Diversity... I think I learned this in fourth grade... I learned this in fourth grade. Hmmm... How everybody is different?Ugh ah I suck at social studies (bangs her head with her hand).
Me: Did you learn about culture and diversity at home?
Emmy: If you call that thing you do over there culture (referring to my praying ritual)... Yeah I guess.
Me: Gabby do you know what culture means?
Gabby: I have no idea what culture means...
Me: Have you learned about culture at school?
Gabby: Nooooo
Me: Have you heard us mention culture at home?
Gabby: Nope.
Me: What about diversity?
Gabby: (shakes her head)
Me: Ok. What is your culture?
Gabby: (lifts shoulder) I don't know (laughs). 

 

These interviews made me wonder about the types of messages and information adults give children. Culture is exotic, culture is something others practice, my customs are just the norm. Culture and diversity are part of social studies class. etc.
This assignment was truly a teachable moment. I learned just as much as the girls. We later talked about differences, languages, being Latina...

Perhaps next time they are asked what culture is they will have a better answer!

Here is a short clip of one of the interviews :

References

Boutte, G.S. (2008). Beyond the illusion of diversity: How early childhood teachers can promote social justice. Social Studies, 99(4), 165–173.

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J.O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Insights about my culture

This new class is going to be full of unexpected insights! We are learning about ourselves and our unique cultural diversity. This week’s blog entry touches on a topic of material items that represent our culture…

We start by imagining the following scenario:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of my country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. My immediate family and I are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, I have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. I am told that the host country’s culture is completely different from mine, and that I might have to stay there permanently. In addition to one change of clothes, I can only take 3 small items with me. I decide to take three items that I hold dear and that represent my family culture.

What are the three items I would choose?

I was going to say my cell phone, laptop and iPad. But then I realized that perhaps technology is obsolete in a different country; and without the ability to charge these items, I would only have some fancy door stoppers. Therefore my list was amended as follows:

1. A family photo album (at least one picture of each family members)
2. A recipe book (containing traditional Colombian recipes)
3. A journal to document my memories 

How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you?

These three items are meant to help me recreate part of my culture. The photo album provides the visual. The recipes recreate the flavors and traditions. The journal ties it together with the stories. The items alone do not have any meaning. It is my recollection and explanation of their importance that will explain my culture to others.

Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you

I probably keep the photo album. I can always remember recipes and re-write stories, but I could never replace the photographs.

Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise

I was not aware of my dependence on electronics. This entry took time to think because in all honestly all my culture is currently tied into electronics. If a disaster were to truly strike without warning, I do not know if I have any non-electronic item to take with me. All my photos, books, journals and even recipes are in my various gadgets. My identity and culture has been tied to the commodities of the modern world. I fear my children would probably never know a time where we had to develop film in order to get photographs. But all electronics depend on technology, electricity and even internet access. Our culture is being stored in machines, and can be wiped away with the loss of energy power. Perhaps continuing to teach our children to use books and write in journals is a good idea!

My most important job is to pass on my traditions to my children...

Reflection on Research

Once again, I am completing another wonderful semester and course from my MS in Early Childhood Studies. This class on research reinforced knowledge from my previous MS degree and gave me new information to digest and expand my perception of academics.

As I conclude my studies of research, I want to reflect on the experience answering the following questions:

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

Research is not as intimidating as I originally imagined it would be; especially because I am intimidated by math and the scientific methods. If you look at the basics and apply common sense, the truth is that it can be simplified for the non-science expert. Designing a study is about asking questions. Collecting information methodically and analyzing it in an organized manner. We conduct research all the time. What is the best book to read to prepare me for class? What lesson plan is the best for my class? Where can I buy quality supplies for cheap? This is a matter of asking the questions we are passionate about; finding the right design to gather information, the right tools, and the right method to accomplish the study. Then you just do it. Maybe it takes more resources and I am oversimplifying it, but at least I am not intimidated anymore!

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

I am excited about doing research! I can't wait to conduct informal surveys and gather data. I feel case studies and informal research can add to the field and the individual professional. I also find that I am a better consumer of research; I will read more closely and be more skeptical about information that it's published.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

I really enjoyed learning about mixed methods. I once felt that qualitative and quantitative research methods were quite different. Although this is still true, there is merit in using both together. Human nature is not easy to quantify... But it is important to draw logical statistical conclusions too. Using both methods I believe leads to stronger results.

What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

My biggest challenge was narrowing the question for the simulation. Since I am passionate about the topic of early childhood, it was easy to get excited and be too ambitious on my simulated research question. Less is more in this case. A more concrete, narrowed topic can lead to a better study design. At least one that is doable and not all over the place!

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

The last piece on equity and power relationships made me think about the early childhood field and the way it is stratified with hierarchical order. The more educated and knowledgeable are on the top. The lay or every day early childhood professional is meant to learn, read and put into practice all this knowledge... But how are they contributing to the field? I think collaboration and more opportunities to involve the folks who are working daily with the children are the keys to bring balance into producing a rich knowledgebase for this profession.

Future scientist! Using the scientific method for science fair project.

The love for research starts from the beginning. Science fair project 2010.

Research Around the World

The website I chose was the Early Childhood Development University of Victoria

What are some of the current international research topics?
Some of the topics that are researched by the researchers in Africa that are similar to the US include:
Improving quality in childcare  (Eriterea)
Parenting enrichment/builing relationships with families (Nigeria, Ghana)
Building multisectoral cooperation (Tanzania)
Preschool preparation and school readiness (Kenya)
Childcare policies for working families (Uganda)

Some topics unique to these researchers:
Intergration of Indigenous knowledge and resources in Early Childhood Development (ECD) (Nigeria, Uganda, Lesotho, Malawi)
research of child care for young children with HIV/AIDS (Uganda)
intergrating ECD into rural communities (Malawi)

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?
I gathered that EC professionals and researchers across the globe are interested in improving services to benefit young children. There is a big emphasis of quality early education and improving resources. I was also impressed that these researchers view the resources of their communities, such as cultural diversity and indegenous knowledge, as strengths.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?
I thought that this organization's efforts to provide evidence-based training and resources for EC educators in Africa is noteworthy. I was happy to see the World Bank financially support their belief of investing in young children. Click here for more information about ECDVU

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

If I am going to share a research story that touched my personal life I am going to share the story of Kangaroo care. This method of skin-to-skin after birth for preterm babies was a novelty thirty years ago. A group of researchers were finding that premature babies did quite well at their mother's body rather than in an incubator. Dr. Nils Bergman, conducted several studies overseas to document the positive effects of this new method of neonatal care. Having a baby stay against mom's skin in a make-shift pouch, like a kangaroo baby. Here is a link to one of his study papers.


The reason this research is important to me is because it saved my baby sister's life. Literally! My baby sister, Juliana, was born a few months before her due date in a hospital in Colombia. There were no incubators available for the usual neonatal care provided to preterm babies. The doctors did not know what else to do for my sister. One of them was familiar with this new (thirty years ago it was a really unknown method) technique of Kangaroo care. They told my mom the risk was great, but there was a slight chance it might work. I can attest my sister is alive and healthy today! Research saved her.

A picture of Juliana in our mom's arms

A family moment for Juliana's birthday last year!

My Personal Research Journey

Research is a bittersweet topic. I am not alone, when I say that I am intimidated by the terminology, and methods used by researchers to describe their results. On the other hand, we use research to justify our practice and reassure others that we have evidence to support our intentions. 


Therefore, it is pertinent for educators, practitioners, and early childhood professionals to understand how research is created; we also need to differentiate between good and bad studies, and most importantly learn to implement this knowledge. 


In my research simulation, I am constructing a research study to improve practices in Family Child Care. If you have not noticed, the name of my blog describes my professional passion and purpose: I advocate for family child care providers. It is my belief that with the right support, information and empowerment, FCC providers can become an affordable alternative to high quality child care. 


In a tough economy, parents are making difficult choices between paying for quality child care or paying for food. Simultaneously, subsidy to pay for child care and early childhood programs is getting heavy cuts from governments trying to balance tight budgets. How can we compromise our future generations? Simple, we need to find affordable alternatives.


Although, many studies support the positive outcomes of early education programs in centers, few if any studies focus on family child care as a legitimate alternative. My simulated study will focus on effective professional development strategies to improve quality in FCC day cares. Since, I provide professional development for FCC caregivers in NYC, a study of this nature would help me in my personal practice. A study like this one, could also show policy makers, administrators and regulatory bodies what is needed to successfully improve the quality of this type of child care. 


For example, the study can determine if workshops or Technical assistance or a combination is/are the best strategy to improve overall FCC program quality.

Class 2011 Family Child Care Providers preparing for NAFCC Accreditation

So far, in my literature review, I have found a few related articles looking at common issues with FCC day cares including health practices and high variability of providers' education level. I am looking forward designing this study.


Tip of the week: Use google scholar to get quick scholarly articles and publications.
This a great way to find studies, secondary research papers, and general information on your topic. I use this when I am stuck looking for papers on a particular topic.
1) Go to google
2)Click on more 
3) Then click on 'Even more' 
4)You need to scroll down to find 'google scholar'. If you click on the downward arrow next to search box, you can use advance search to narrow the selections.


Let's say you found an article from a journal, but you need to pay... Easy first look it up in the Walden Library. You might get lucky and find it here. Go to journal from A to Z. Type the name of the journal publication, and hit search. 


The next best thing is to look at the references from these journals, you never know, you might find a great study that will be more relevant to your topic. Even better, many databases have links of the references for fast and easy search.


Happy searching :)


-Angie 

Can Parents Access Enough Information to Judge For-Profit Childcare? - Early Years - Education Week

Can Parents Access Enough Information to Judge For-Profit Childcare? - Early Years - Education Week

Consequences of learning about the international early childhood field

Learning about children around the world has been educational!

Three realizations I made this term: 

1.  Developmentally appropriate and evidenced-based practice are happening globally.
2. We have many things in common with EC professionals abroad, in particular our passion for supporting children!
3.   In some nations, equal opportunities are not granted to every child, in particular children with challenges and varying abilities are discriminated against.

In my opinion, one important goal for the EC field globally should be to maintain and establish international relationships, such as those created by the World Forum Foundation and Unicef. We need sharing and networking across the continents to create a better world for our children.

THANKS TO ALL

I want to thank all my classmates for your dedication and collaboration for this blog. Every comment was truly appreciated!

I also want to thank my international contacts: Wanda, Deepa and Franchesca. Without their help and communication this would have been more challenging.

Until next time,

Angie

International Contacts- Final post

Wanda Martin, works for the department of defense dependent school (Dodds) in Germany

What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work? “The German programs have better resources than what is offered in the American programs.  Funds are available for field trips, materials, etc to assist in the education of the children.  The American parents who are allowed to put their children in the German Early Childhood Programs love it.  They say their children get much more out of the program than if they were in an American program.  The American parents have to pay for the extracurricular activities as they do not pay into the German taxes.” (W. Martin, personal communications, 2012, May 25)

What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

According to her friends, German educators must complete intense education preparation programs and continue education in order to teach in German schools.

What are some of your professional goals?

She wants to continue working abroad with Dodds. She is able to live with the wages she receive because Dodds pays her rent and utilities for living overseas. The downside is that positions for teaching pre-K classes are scarce and few educators leave their posts. She continues to put an inter-district application in hopes one day she will be able to teach pre-k again.

What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

To return to the pre-K classroom. Complete MS program.

Deepa Joseph, Educator working in United Arab Emirates

What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work? The ECE is developing in UAE. Before professionals in ECE were not given much recognition. In fact, in their work permit paperwork their official title was ‘Nanny’. There were no minimum qualifications or education requirements to work as a preschool teacher. Now things are improving. The education ministry has realized “ECE is equally an important field and therefore teachers have to have at least minimum teacher training to work as a preschool teacher” (D. Joseph, personal communication, 2012, June 11).  They are also standardizing the curriculum to cater to the developmental needs of the children.

What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

Due to the recent improvements the ministry of education is offering trainings for educators that do not meet basic education qualifications.

What are some of your professional goals, hopes, dreams and challenges?

Deepa sees her future working for private companies creating curriculums that are developmentally appropriate. Even though she loves working with children in the classroom, she hopes one day to work behind a desk to improve the quality standards of ECE in UAE. She wants to apply the knowledge she is receiving from Walden; at this moment her biggest challenge is to finish this intense MS program.           

Franchesca Ventura, Pre-K Teacher from El Salvador

I have not been able to reach Franchesca, but based on previous emails I will answer as many questions as possible.

What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work? There is a movement towards child-centered curriculum, competency standards, and assessment based on observations of children development. However, there are limitation based on financial resources, poverty of the population and quality of the educational materials used, like books.

What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

Many professionals in the ECE field from El Salvador are still unable to understand developmentally appropriate practices. Perhaps due to limited funds for training and professional development support (my personal assumption).

What are some of your professional goals?

She views herself as a highly professional EC educator who implements the latest evidence based information provided by researchers from her country. She wants to be part of the latest education reforms in El Salvador and implement DAP, child-appropriate assessments and curriculum.


Addendum:
Franchesca replied back... Her hopes, dreams and career goal include completing her education in psychology, her initial field of studies; she wants to continue her professional development in early childhood and improve her practice based on current information of child development; lastly, she wants to learn to speak and write English to be able to communicate globally with others in the field.