When I Think of Research

After reflecting on all of the things that I have learned about research in this class, all I can say is WOW! Research is a very detailed and informative subject that provides so many people with different insights and data to help them understand and address issues that they may be experiencing, especially in the area of early childhood.  However, I have really enjoyed learning about the research process and hope that one day I will be able to conduct a research study of my own.

The resources, assignments, and discussions have allowed me to gain many insights on the topic of research.  When it comes to research there are many things that the research must consider and determine when approaching and addressing the problem at hand.  The researcher must carefully go through each step of the research process in order to determine some very important aspects which include the type of research, the research design, data collection methods, participants, and rules/ethics that must be applied throughout the entire study.  The researcher has a big job on their hands but have to remember it is all worth the work because of the impact that they will make on people in society.  Going through each week and learning about each part of the research process has made me feel differently about research.  I used to think that research was boring and took too much time, however, now I feel that research will allows the researcher to make an impact on people and develop solutions to problems that have been around for many years.  Just the thoughts of making an impact on the lives of children and allowing them to experience life in a positive way makes me want to share with everyone the benefits of research.

During this course the professor made sure that we were aware of different lessons that pertained to planning, designing, and conducting research.  Basically the researcher has to be patient and make sure that all research guidelines are followed and that they remain ethical throughout the process.  The researcher must also make sure that they carefully plan their study to make sure that it focuses on a specific problem as well as a specific population.  When it comes to designing the study, the research must make sure that every step has been addressed to make sure that no vital information is left out.  The researcher should also make sure that they have received consent from the participants and have explained every aspect of the study to keep from being deceitful and labeled as untrustworthy.  The lessons that I learned allowed me to get through my research simulation which was not an easy task.  While going through my research simulation, I experienced several challenges which were somewhat hard to overcome.  The one challenge that has given me trouble the entire time is the development of a topic and research question which is specific.  Every research question that I developed was deemed as broad and really made things frustrating for me.  Every time I changed the question, I was still stating it in a broad manner.  This is something that I have to work on in order to successfully complete my major assessment for this class.  This is a challenge that I am still facing and have not accomplished as of yet but hopefully I will be able to work through this challenge.             

This class has really opened my eyes to many of the issues that early childhood professionals, children, and families are experiencing.  This information has taken my perception of the early childhood professional to another level in which I am even more excited about becoming an early childhood professional and an advocate for children.  I feel that every child should experience a life where they do not have to deal with the problems that children are faced with today.  I want to be a part of this field and join forces with others to aid children in achieving the best education possible in order to develop into successful adults.   

As I close this blog and complete another class, I would like to thank the professor and my colleagues for such a wonderful time of learning.  I am so glad that I have such a supportive and motivating network of people, who are focused on the same goals and traveling the same road to success.  I wish you all the best of luck and I will see you all in the next class!

Research Around the World

After reading the directions for the blog assignment, I was excited to know that we were given the opportunity to explore different websites that allowed us to obtain information on research topics that were being conducted internationally.  We had to choose only one of the three websites that were listed so I decided to take a quick look at each of them to determine which website I would further explore.  After a quick search on each website, I decided to use the Early Childhood Australia website as the focus for this week's blog assignment.  This was the best choice I could have made because I was very pleased with the information that was shard on the website in which early childhood professionals could really benefit from the information that focuses on different issues and topics within the early childhood field.  

Just like any early childhood professional, Early Childhood Australia is an advocate for children in which the organization is developed to provide information on different topics, issues, and research in order to provide others, such as families and professionals, with quality information on the early childhood field.  Some of the quality information comes from different research topics in which the organization sheds light on different research that has been conducted in hopes of informing others about the studies.  One of the research topics that caught my attention was Early Childhood Flexibility Practices and Patterns.  This topic was a project developed by Early Childhood Australia that is funded by their government.  The purpose of the project includes the opportunity to detect groundbreaking practices that are being implemented or may have the possibility of providing flexibility the types of care families and children can receive, showcase how quality programs and services run effectively, and the identification of the different issues or problems that prevent the increase in flexibility through other sources (Early Childhood Australia, n.d.).  I feel that this type of research study will allow other childhood professionals the opportunity to address some of the issues and concerns that prevent them from becoming a high quality program.  IN addition, this will allow other programs to be reviewed to determine the path they need to take in order to provide flexibility in their practices and patterns that they develop.

As I continued to explore the website, I am across some other information that would definitely be valuable as I continue my journey to becoming an early childhood professional.  The new insight that I gained from the website was through the exploration of the supporting best practices section of the website.  Every early childhood professional wants to know the practices that exists that will allow them to better serve and provide resources to both families and children.  In this case, any professional can come to this website and view information on several best practices that include working with children of different ages, emotions and feelings of children, and their rights (Early Childhood Australia, n.d.).  This information can be considered noteworthy because the information I read in the different sections will allow me to become more informed on the different topics in which I will be somewhat knowledgeable on each of the topics.

References

Early Childhood Australia. (n.d.). Early childhood flexibility practices and patterns. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/projects/early-childhood-flexibility-patterns-and-practices.html.

Early Childhood Australia. (n.d.). Supporting best practices. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/supporting_best_practice/supporting_best_practice.html.