My Family Culture

I can’t imagine having to relocate to another country permanently, especially if it isn’t my decision. Having my immediate family with me is more important to me than anything. I have many things of sentiment, but if a catastrophe were to happen, the three things I would take with me would be pictures, my wedding ring, and sentimental gifts from loved ones.

My pictures are dear to me because I have pictures from my childhood living in Philadelphia and pictures I’ve taken since I relocated to Georgia. I was born in Georgia, but raised in Philadelphia. I was three years of age when we moved there. I made many friends in Philadelphia and also had family there. I’ve always loved to take pictures so I have many pictures of friends and family from Philadelphia. These pictures mean a lot to me because some of the people on the pictures, family and friends, have passed away, so this is one of the ways I remember them. When I relocated to Georgia at the age of 21, I started taking more pictures of family and the friends I met throughout the years here. My wedding ring means so much to me because my husband passed away and this is one way I remember him and our life together. Sentimental gifts from family, friends, and co-workers mean a lot to me because the gifts from them showed me how much they cared about me.

I would be deeply hurt if I was told I could only keep one item, because they all mean so much to me. I can’t imagine having to give up any. If I had to choose, I would choose the pictures because I have pictures of all my family, friends, and some co-workers.

An insight I have gained from this exercise is it is difficult to choose what is most important to you, besides your family. I also reflect back to the victims of the hurricane, they could not choose what to take with them when they had to relocate. It means a lot to have that option.

 

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

Beneficial Research for Children and Families

 

If I could conduct research studies in early childhood it would be how a free high-quality education program for all children world-wide would be beneficial to children, families, teachers, staff, etc.  This would include all facilities (Head Start, public schools, daycares, etc.). This will also include all teachers and staff of high-quality working in these facilities. Other studies can include are there enough facilities in all areas to accommodate, are there enough teachers and staff who are highly qualified to work in these facilities, and will parents who are unemployed  take advantage of the program? There can also be other studies within these studies. High-quality education is a broad subject that can include many areas.

There are too many children starting school behind and failing because they do not have access to a high-quality program and some don’t have access to any programs. We need all children to have a fair start and for the teachers, families, and staff to be involved in some way.

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose for my simulation is, what defines a high-quality EC program? I chose this topic because I’m interested in reading the different thoughts on what defines a program as being high-quality. Many people have many views on this subject. I feel all children should have access to a free high-quality program.

I had a difficult time with the research simulation. I was unsure which database to use. After trying several databases and entering my topic several ways, I was able to find what I was looking for. The database I used was EBSCO Host Education Research Complete.

The research chart has been very helpful in guiding my understanding of research, so far. I don’t know if it will become easier or more difficult. There are several areas of the research process that I find to be complex that I want to learn more about.

I welcome any advice on making the research process easier. Please share any resources you feel may be helpful for my chosen subtopic. Thanks in advance.

Final Blog Assignment

One consequence of learning about the international early childhood field is it has brought awareness to me personally and professionally that they are having the same issues we are having in the early childhood field. Knowing this has inspired me to continue receiving the newsletters to stay abreast of what they are doing to correct their issues.

A second consequence is learning about their issues have broadened my understanding about the different issues and trends in the early childhood field. All the information I’ve read, although it comes from another Country, has been helpful in my understanding of issues and trends in the field of early childhood.

A third consequence is, it is enlightening to know there are organizations who are working together to address these issue in the early childhood field. There are some organizations working together to address the needs of children and families.

One goal for the early childhood field is to ensure every child has access to a high-quality early childhood program. Participating countries teamed up to expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education for the poorer children who did not have access to these quality programs.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

After exploring UNESCO’s Early Childhood Care and Education website, I came across some information about the region of Arab. They are working on providing a stable learning environment that provides good quality education for all in society. This relates to my professional goals because I want all children to have access to a good quality education. It is their right regardless of their income level.

In Africa they have workshops on ways to improve teacher development in Early Childhood Care and Education. This applies to my professional goals because I want to be a high-quality Early Childhood Care teacher. It is important to know how to educate our young children. Early Childhood is the starting point for their learning development. When they leave my class I want to have inspired them to want to continue learning.

In Latin America and the Caribbean they are addressing the needs of education and cultural diversity. Issues addressed are how they can communicate educational policies that promote respect for cultural diversity, how education can bind the richness characteristic to cultural diversity to improve the teaching learning process and add to a more broader human development, and how they can turn cultural diversity into a foundation of understanding, multiplicity, and social structure. This relates to my professional goals because I want to learn ways to educate children and families of cultural diversity. As more families from other countries move into the United States it is important to know how to communicate with them in ways they understand.

These are not my only professional goals, but they are three important ones. I never had an idea that other countries were dealing with cultural diversity issues. This was surprising to me. It is enlightening to know that other countries are working to address issues related to education, especially early education. It is all about the children.