Saturday, July 28, 2012
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
Friday, July 13, 2012
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.
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.
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| A picture of Juliana in our mom's arms |
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| A family moment for Juliana's birthday last year! |
Saturday, July 7, 2012
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.
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
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
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