Saturday, May 28, 2011

Research Around the World








I chose the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).  As I toured the links for this organization, I was intrigued by the educational opportunity it affords. This website discussed early childhood from the prospective of children in Africa. 


Diversity is a topic that has been on the minds of many organizations and individuals.  This is very important in the early childhood field because children exist in any country, culture and part of the word. If diversity is not discussed and addressed in early childhood, professionals dedicated to this field will not fully service their children.  I say this because, we have to acknowledge others’ beliefs and practices as a part of their lives and learn how to incorporate, within reason, different facets of their lives in the classroom in order to foster positive self-concepts that will follow them through to adulthood.
Whenever I embark upon new information, I try to look at what I have gained and what has accentuated my present scope of knowledge. This was an interesting site, because, while they had many of the same ideas about early childhood as I have, it was refreshing to see it from a different cultural perspective.  The educational piece of the website was very intriguing because I am always looking for a new learning experience.  I was a little saddened that the video presentation was not available to view, because it took look at the organization from a students’ point of view.  And while I did not read them in their entirety, the collaborative papers written by past participants in the program were very informative and demonstrated their dedication to working together as a group for the good of children.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories


The topic of choice for my research would be the benefits of play throughout the life span of a child.  I would look at all the factors surrounding the presence of free and structured play from birth through the middle years.

I think that the positive contributions this study would make would be to give educators and policy-makers a bird’s eye view of the effectiveness of play as a medium for growth and development.  Just as in Bronfenbrenner's Theory, I too believe that all ecosystems in a child’s life have a direct impact on the development of a child.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Your Personal Research Journey

Greeting fellow colleagues,
  I have chosen to focus my attention on play/learn experiences in classrooms settings. It has been a passion of mine to re introduce teachers and schools to play/learn experiences since this massive desk/assessment era has begun. I think our children are losing out on what we experienced as children; the ability to learn self-regulation, cooperation, and to just plain, have fun. 
It has been an interesting journey thus far, researching play/learn, because there are many organizations now dedicating themselves to reviving play in school settings. It is great to know that others, in more established positions, have the same desires as me.

It has been helpful constructing the research chart because I can appreciate the work that goes into a complete and reputable research article/journal. While I am far from being a professional, I can understand now what it takes to be a researcher.
Having said this, is there anything that anyone can suggest to help my journey into research produce effective results?