Saturday, December 24, 2011

Blog Assignment: When I Think of Research...

Blog Assignment: When I Think of Research...
We did it!! Another course down, almost done! Hope to see you all again down the road.
What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
This class has been a challenge for me in every way. I have done my best to understand the weekly topics but it was too much for a small amount of time. The one thing that I can say about research and early childhood education is that it is necessary to have. Without proper research and researchers our field would not have upgraded throughout the years.
What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
I have learned that performing a correct research is not an easy task. The planning has to be done with a precise objective in mind, what you want to gain from the research. The designing is also tough, prior research has to be done to find out if the topic was researched before and if it was what the results were. The conducting has to be well organized, how is the observation going to be (interview, observation, or both) and how the information is going to be collected.
What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?
The professionals that have dedicated their careers to research have my admiration, this is not easy but it is definitely necessary. Research is a very detailed task that for it to be considered valid it has to be done to precision.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Research Around the World

I love to do these types of research; it gives me the opportunity to learn about organizations that are trying to do something to better children’s life in other parts of the world. For this particular blog I have decided to look in to European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ). EECERA is an independent, self-governing, international association which promotes and disseminates multi-disciplinary research on early childhood and its applications to policy and practice (http://www.eecera.org/ 2010).
Some of the topics that have been published in their journal are; Teaching to learn and learning to teach (in Volume 19, Issue 1, 2011), Hearing voices: participatory research with preschool children with and without disabilities (in Volume 19, Issue 3, 2011),  Signs of knowledge: the appropriation of a symbolic skill in a five-year-old (in Volume 19, Issue 3, 2011) (http://www.eecera.org/ 2010).
Other than the journals offered through this website, there is not very much information on early childhood research. So, me loving to research international organizations, found the website for The NZ Early Childhood Research Network. They bring fresh thinking to early childcare and education.  Research, policy, and practice is brought together to inform, educate, and assist (http://www.childforum.com/ 2010).
Although the articles and journals are for members only, this is an organization in New Zealand that is doing everything to bring new ideas on early childhood education.

References