When I think of Research...

When I think of research I think of how exhausted I was these past eight weeks. I think of the frustration I felt and the intensity of the level of concentration it took to get me through many of the chapters in the textbook. I remember reading entire paragraphs and then going, "huh????" and then rereading the paragraph and going, "huh????" and rereading the entire paragraph again and thinking, "Okay, I still didn't get any of that, but maybe tomorrow."

I remember when I first started this course and how unsure and uncomfortable I felt. Of all the subjects I did not want to tackle, this was the one I least wanted to tackle. I discovered I was familiar with far more terms than I initially thought. I also found myself drawn to the results of research papers, wanting to discover the statistics and numbers. It was a different approach for me.

There was so much to learn about research from this one course. It was insightful to learn the standards of ethics required in Indigenous research. I have often found research to be quite bias and stereotypical, so I was quite surprised to learn that research should be equitable and fair and there were certain adherences that must be followed when researching indigenous people. I was surprised to learn that researchers should gain the consent of participants in their home language and respect their familial traditions and customs. I honestly don't believe this happens every time. There seems to be so much research out there that lumps groups together. When I read the reports, I often ask myself who did they interview? How did they deduce that "black" people or "hispanic" people are less inclined to do that than white people? Which black or hispanic people did they interview? Where do they go to get their information? I never trust the statistics when it comes to race or socioeconomic status. However, in reading our textbook and other course readings, I found it insightful to learn that there are requirements to guide investigators to avoid biases and produce equitable, fair, and just results.

My ideas about the nature of doing research have not changed. I think it is hard work, which requires a lot of planning and design and experience.

It was helpful for me to learn so much about the various design methods and how to plan which method would be most appropriate for your study. Obviously, I am not experienced enough to truly know how to plan for a study, but I feel I have a better understanding of what to do. In thinking about the nature of a study, it is very involved and detailed: what do I hope to find out?; who do I need to participate in my study?; the setting of my study; whether it would be a quasi-experimental design or true experimental designs; quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods approach; and so much more.

Learning about ethics considerations and the challenges was really helpful for me. Empowering children and respecting their rights is crucial in involving children in research. Prior to this course, I thought only parents would have been consulted. It was good to learn that children are supposed to be respected and protected in research.

It was challenging for me to digest some of the chapters in the text. I would have to read and reread some of the sentences to make sense of it all. Often, it felt like it was too much coming at me at once, but after I would take my time and read over something it became easier to comprehend. It was also challenging to come up with my own reflective question on one of the charts. At 2 o'clock in the morning I really just wanted to answer questions,move on, and go to bed, not try to come up with a question. I had no idea what to reflect on for that particular topic and was surprised at myself when I came up with one. I do know that research is not for me. I still find it to be too time consuming and complex. Perhaps working on a research project with others and while I was not holding down two jobs and tending to a family, would make it seem a little less challenging.

My perceptions of an early childhood professional have not changed as a result of this course. I think ECE professionals are among the hardest working, most intelligent, highly-skilled professionals working today.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their insightful questions and comments on the discussion boards and the information they provided through their blogs. I think this group was the smallest I have been in so far, but the information was just as enriching.

Dr. Shephard provided some very useful articles (I am on my third very large binder and this is only my 4th class) to use as resources and some very insightful questions on our assignments. I appreciate the support she gave us during the discussions.

Research Around the World

I selected the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) website to explore. The title of this website alone made me curious enough to check it out.
The link to the research being conducted is http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php


I was surprised to discover the current international research topics are the same as the current research topics here in the U.S.:  Quality child care, Quality Child Services, Sustainability, Cultural and Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), Parent's perception of early childhood needs, Indigenous studies, Parent Collaboration, Parenting enrichment and training of trainers, leadership skills training, and school readiness, etc.


The research is being conducted in Uganda, Ghana, Eritrea, Nigeria, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Lesotho, and The Gambia.


Two research topics particularly caught my eye: "Assessment of Interaction and Stimulation in Single-Mother Low Income Families" and "Involving Fathers in Early Childhood Care and Development". I was completely surprised to see what is usually considered "urban problems" in America are also global issues. However, the urbanization of Uganda is also considered to have detrimental effects on the family structure and children's growth and development.


One study that I really enjoyed and gained some interesting insights and ideas about early childhood, which I think my colleagues may also find noteworthy is "Utilizing Indigenous Stories in the Promotion of Early Childhood Programs" in Uganda. The study explored indigenous storytelling-"myths, legends, tales, tricksters, fables, and other stories" and evaluated the usefulness of these stories for early childhood development (Barabogoza Gamurorwa, 2004). We read stories and share tales with children in our programs as part of curricula, but it is interesting to learn that cultural storytelling is not always perceived as useful in supporting children's development.


Of interest to note concerning my own research simulation topic; the study evaluated the issue of children preferring to watch television and listening to the radio or spending too much time watching television and listening to the radio. Television and media are perceived as being harmful to children's learning and development due to its adult influence such as, violence, language, and pornographic content. Some of the suggestions for reviving storytelling was to put the stories on television and the radio or on CD ROMs; forming radio listening clubs at school and in communities and then discussing the stories; and by putting the stories in comic books and videos (Barabogoza Gamurorwa, 2004).


Indigenous storytelling was seen as a way of offering psychosocial support for children with special needs such as, HIV/AIDS and growing up in civil war. The researcher felt it was essential to include indigenous storytelling in a new learning framework being developed by The Ministry of Education and Sports for preschoolers, to provide a more holistic approach to early childhood development-intellectual, social, moral, spiritual, and emotional components (Barabogoza Gamurorwa, 2004).

There were two stories included in the appendix. The second story seemed to be incomplete. The ending may have been omitted or perhaps I missed the point of the story. The first story was about a lazy frog who did not want to help, but wanted to reap the benefits of others' hard work. It was a similar tale to The Little Red Hen, who did all of the hard work to bake bread and when she was done all of the other animals wanted to help her eat it. Isn't it interesting how tales and stories transcend cultures and countries?

The research being conducted in these African nations underscore the importance of providing effective holistic early childhood education on children's growth and development and overall healthy well-being.

Reference
Barabogoza Gamurorwa, A. (2004). Utilizing indigenous stories in the promotion of early childhood development programs in uganda.  Retrieved from http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/documents/major_projects/Gamurorwa-%20MP%20Final%20-%20UVic%20LP.pdf