When I Think of Research...

Insights I have gained about research is it takes a lot of work and time to do. The research process is very demanding.

My ideas about research has changed in regard to I thought it was geared more towards researching information on the internet. I see it is much more than that. I now know a research is performed to find something out and it won’t happen overnight.

When planning, designing, and conducting research you should prepare for possible setbacks. There are times when the research may not go as planned. You also have to ensure there are no biases. Everyone should be treated fairly. Know exactly what you are looking for.

Challenges I encountered were choosing the right research question and trying to figure out how to apply it to a quantitative design. To overcome these challenges I revised my question several times and I asked myself can I measure it. I finally figured it out, although it was difficult for me.

I now feel more confident knowing there are researchers out there, including me and all the participants, who are willing to go that extra mile to better assist our children. Information gained in the research process in very important to the early childhood program.

 

I would like to say thanks to all my colleagues for the support they’ve given me throught this course. It has been eye opening.

 

 

 

Research Around the World

After exploring the three websites I decided to use Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This website caught my attention specifically, because of the program in Uganda. It is called Strengthening the Capacity of Grandparents in Providing Care to Children Less than 8 Years Old Affected by HIV/AIDS. This program assists grandparents who are left to care for their grandchildren because their parents died from HIV/AIDS ( Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU), 2005).  The grandparents may be in poor health themselves and are unable to financially or physically care for their grandchildren. The program assisted grandparents in trainings on how to care for young children and assisted them with food (ECDVU, 2005). Early care is essential to a child’s cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Another program this organization has that caught my eye is in Ghana. The program is called Parents’ and Other Caregivers’ Perception of Early Childhood Development Needs and Quality: A Study of the PLAN-Assisted Programs in Bawjiase, Ghana. This program addressed the creativity and understanding of children’s needs and quality of Early Childhood development from the parent’s perspective (ECDVU, 2005).  They compared the perspective of the parents with the perspectives of caregivers and Early Childhood development program managers. The parent’s perception did not differ much and it showed parents were knowledgeable about their child need to develop (ECDVU, 2005). 

A new idea I thought would be useful is training grandparents on how to better assist their grandchildren who they care for. There is always focus on parents, but there are many grandparents caring for children who are not ill or whose parents have not died. Caring for young children can be challenging, especially for the elderly who hasn’t raised children in some years. This program can benefit many grandparents.

 

Other information I found interesting were studies that addressed parent involvement in their child’s development. Parents are the first teachers, so these studies addressed ways to implement parents into their child’s development. It is important for parents to begin teaching their children at home, understand what their child learned at school and to reinforce what their child has learned.

 

Reference

 

Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). (2005). 

Final Major Projects and Theses. Retrieved from

http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php