When I Think of Research

While taking this eight week course on Building research competency the insight what I have gained about research is that it takes time and dedication as well as discipline. Research requires for one to take his or her self out of the equation in order for the results to be valid. The lesson that I learned about planning, designing and conducting research in early childhood is that it all must be done in an orderly and timely fashion. Some of the challenges I encountered what trying to stick to the facts and not going off my opinion when conducting research, how I met this challenge was staying true to my findings and seeking evidence to back that up. Ways in which my perception of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course has only strengthen my level of respect these professional.  I can only hope to be labeled as a early childhood professional later in my career.

Research Around the World

What are some of the current international research topics?

·         Improving the quality of childcare through parenting enrichment and training of trainers: The Eritrean Model

·         Leadership skills training for Administration and Parent support Training for Caregivers

·         A Guide for Effective schools and Parent Collabration in support of Early Childhood Development Program in Tanzania

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

“Among others, Landers (1992) and Evans (1998) greatly acknowledge and advocate for the family’s role as a major force in the development and provision of ECD. They perceive the family’s involvement as an indispensable ingredient for sustaining the accomplishments of early childhood programs” I always thought of parent to be an important part of the success the early childhood program after reading the text the term use to describe family involvement was a “indispensable ingredient” which caught my eye because it very rarely used in relation to the early childhood field.  To be an indispensable ingredient means that you are essential to the process without it all things lack.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

I noteworthy information I found on this website is that although it is not advertise in the media, Africa is taking stride to move their early childhood programs to a quality level through research, education, and training.

 

Reference:

Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Developed and maintained by the University of Victoria, Canada, this virtual university is the international gateway for early childhood research worldwide. Through the link below, you can access ECDVU’s Sub-Saharan Africa portal. The second link takes you to a list of current early childhood research conducted by students in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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

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