Research that Benefits Children and Families-Uplifting Stories

 

For this assignment I chose to focus on research that has a positive effect on children and families.  I focused on an article that conducted a case study on a young girl named Vicki.  Vicki had autism and attended Forest Nursery school.  The school had 50 students that were three to five years old.  The study focused on who worked with Vicki including teachers, children and her parents.  The data was collected over a six month period through videos and field observations.  The researchers documented interactions or dialogs that were observed through play (Theodorou & Nind, 2010). 

The researchers felt that it was important to provide a description that was rich about the child with autism supported in their inclusive environment to play.  It was known that children with autism play.  However, sometime not through social interactions that simulates play with others.  In the study teachers did things to support Vicki with this in mind.  In the study play was strong in including Vicky by using an approach that offered collaboration and using a framework of curriculum.  These played a part in supporting teachers, children, and Vicky through learning about inclusion and actively participating in play (Theodorou & Nind, 2010). 

Upon completion of reading how the teachers, children and Vicki learned about inclusion through interacting in an inclusion environment reminded me of my past student.  I remember a student that I will call Ralph.  He had never been in a child care setting.  He had been born with some physical limitation due to a lack of oxygen at birth.  When he entered our program his parents were very protective and worried how Ralph would do with the other 17 children.  When Ralph walked he was a little unstable, and wore diapers.  He also was limited with his use of vocabulary.  I remember talking to his dad about transportation.  His dad shared with me that he was scared to let Ralph ride the bus for fear of him getting hurt.  I talked to Ralph’s dad about the bus carrying only pre-k children, the bus driver and monitor.  Ralph’s dad was still not on board until one day Ralph asked to ride the bus home.  His dad was willing to try.  After his first try on the bus, that was all Ralph talked about.  He rode the bus every day after that.

Our program also had parent/teacher conferences that were led by the student.  All children had an opportunity to show families what they had learned.  When Ralph had his parent/teacher conference he was able to show his family that he knew how to write some letters in his name, sorting items by color and identifying some letters.  When we finished his conference, Ralph’s parents’ were in tears.  They continued to say thank you in Spanish to me.  His dad said that he was amazed at how much Ralph had learned.  The doctors said that he would never walk or talk.  Ralph was a student who loved going to school.  When he needed support children in the classroom would help.  For example: Ralph needed help carrying his lunch tray and one of his peers would always volunteer to help.

Having Ralph in my class provided me the opportunity to show his family the benefits of an inclusive program.  Our classroom had children with all abilities.  Our environment was set up to encourage children to complete things independently and learn through play.  Our classroom became a community where everyone helped each other regardless of their abilities.  Studies like the one conducted on Vicky are important to show how children, teachers and families benefit from an inclusive classroom.

 

 

Reference

 

Theodorou, F., & Nind, M. (2010). Inclusion in play: A case study of a child with autism in an inclusive nursery. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 10(2), 99-106.

Your Personal Research Journey

To begin my journey on research simulation, I had to revisit what interested me in early childhood education.    My chosen topic for the simulation process is looking at inclusion in child care.  My question is “What resources are available to teachers in child care to support an inclusive classroom?”  I had a hard time narrowing down what I wanted to focus on involving special education in child care.  This was challenging because special education from my experience looks differently in child care versus public school as far as the resources that are made readily available to support and educate teachers. 

I chose this topic due to my current positon as a training and curriculum specialist.  I am responsible for training and providing support to children, teachers and families at our facility.  One of our recent challenges at the facility is the increase of children with special needs or behavior concerns.  Teachers that work at our facility are not required to have an education background in early childhood or special education.  Teachers gain onsite training to support what is developmentally appropriate for children in the program.  Our program also teaches staff about children and strategies to support learning using the curriculum to track developmental milestones.  One resource that is provided to support special education is Kids Included Together (K.I.T.).  This is a free resource that provides strategies for teachers to support children in the classroom that have special needs or behavior concerns. 

Families also have outside resource that come to the facility to work with their child.  As a trainer I remind teachers to work with the resource teacher to learn strategies that will support the child in the classroom.  I have noticed that many of our teachers are constantly seeking support in the classroom when working with children with special needs or behavior concerns.  The support needed is when to identify a special need or what to do with behavioral challenges.  My hope is to see if this is an issue in child care facilities in general.                                                   

Upon completion of the research chart I have learned some new terms about the research process.  Those words were quantitative approach, triangulation, and deductive research methodology. I also had the opportunity to reflect on a question from reading chapter two in the book Doing early childhood research.   I want to find out more information about “what research questions would you like to investigate?” (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010, p. 33).  This week’s assignment has helped me learn more about researching and the terms used.

 

Reference

 

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill

Final Blog Assignment

 

         

Blog Assignment: Final Blog Assignment

 

          Upon conclusion of this semester I learned that it is important to ensure all children have access to education regardless of their household’s financial situation. From UNICEF’s website I learned about how children in Namibia suffer from poverty. One out of three children are living in poverty (“Child poverty in Namibia: A child-centered analysis of the NHIES 2009/10,” 2012). Poverty is an issue that is seen all over the world. It was interesting to learn how efforts are being made around the world to use grants to support individuals suffering from poverty. It is important to discuss issues and trends that children and individuals face internationally. 

A second issue that is shared internationally is sharing the need for early childhood education and how children can benefit from attending. I learned that in Gambia there is a need to educate children who are disadvantaged by putting together a plan to start early childhood education (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006). The need for early childhood education has become a priority in the United States, however, ensuring that improvements are consistent state to state is an ongoing issue. The more information that is shared internationally about what works and how it works will support improvements. 

Lastly, I enjoyed speaking with my international professional contact. I enjoyed talking with her and listening to what she believed were issues and trends in early childhood education.  She is currently stationed in Italy and shared similar views as myself. One that stuck out to me was the discussion on excellence in the field of early childhood education. It is important to change families and individuals view that early childhood professionals are “babysitters.”  Mrs. Rowe and I discussed how it is important to educate individuals about what early childhood professionals do in and outside of the classroom (Taesha Rowe, personal communication, November 28, 2014). I believe that teachers and other educational professionals can continue to use the internet and other modes of communication to share issues and trends in education to assist in making changes. I wish all of my classmate success in their journey to enrich their knowledge in early childhood education.

Reference

"Bite off only as much as you can chew": Gambia's policy for early childhood. (2006). United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, (34), 1-2. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001470/147041e.pdf

Child poverty blog. (). Retrieved from http://www.unicefglobalstudy.blogspot.com/

Child poverty in Namibia: A child-centered analysis of the NHIES 2009/10. (2012). Namibia Statistics Agency, (), 1-32.

UNICEF: child poverty and social protection. (). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/index_childpoverty.html

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3 (Alternative)

This week’s blog assignment I was not able to get a response back in time from my international early childhood professional. This week I selected the alternative assignment and went to UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage. I started on the page access and equity. I then clicked on the related information and clicked on the link to “Bite off only as much as you can chew”: Gambia’s Policy for Early Childhood.  In this article I learned about Gambia’s Early Child Development Centre for children ages three to six years old.  Children of this age group that lived in areas that were considered disadvantaged could attend the program. This program was planned to increase workforce and the school infrastructure in early childhood (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006). 

An interview was conducted between the Director of Basic and Secondary Education of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Momodou Sanneh and Soo-Hyang Choi, UNESCO, Paris. In the interview, Mr. Choi questioned Mr. Sanneh about his thoughts on creating the ECD Centres. Mr. Sanneh discussed how he wanted to provide disadvantaged children with experiences in early childhood. He also discussed how the program was a pro-poor policy to help the poorest community. To ensure children in the program were receiving a quality program Mr. Sanneh discussed how the teachers would be trained. He also discussed that the program was for children ages three to six years old. This was based on the fact that primary and secondary school did not start until children were seven to fifteen years old. Mrs. Sanneh discussed how lowering the age level for children to enter primary school to six years old was considered. However, based on projections of the cost it was too costly for the government to implement without receiving support from the outside (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006).  

Mr. Choi questioned Mr. Sanneh about the ECD Centers providing savings. Mr. Sanneh discussed that the program would cost less due to the infrastructure of the building. The building would be a shed that is considered a playground set up by the community. Another cost saver according to Mr. Sanneh was that the ECD centre did not have a curriculum. The trained teachers would be “responsible more for childminding than for their learning process” (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006, p. 2). Lastly, the trained teachers would come from the primary school under a polyvalent teacher training framework that includes teaching early childhood, according to the government (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006).  

Upon completion of reading the article about early childhood program in Gambia I gained some insights. One of the insights was that every country does not start primary education at five years old. In Gambia children do not start school until they are seven years old. I feel that it is important to expose children to education early in order to support children’s educational journey. I was happy to see that the ECD Centre will provide early childhood for children from three to five years old based on the National Education Policy of 2014-2015. Another insight I learned was that Gambia did not view early childhood education as a time where teachers should focus on educating children using a curriculum but “minding” children. I hope in time that this view will change. It has been a fight for early childhood professionals to be viewed as teachers rather than “babysitters” and it was sad to see that in Gambia the teachers are essentially babysitting (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006).  

Lastly, I was surprised at the percentage of children that attended school in Gambia.  According to “Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood” (2006), the net enrollment in the primary school was 73 percent. In Gambia, providing early childhood centres was a part of universaling education with the hope of boosting enrollment in primary education. In conclusion, my hope is that more information will continue to be provided about the benefits of early childhood programs in order for it to be a part of all public school and child care programs (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006).  

Reference

"Bite off only as much as you can chew": Gambia's policy for early childhood. (2006). United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, (34), 1-2. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001470/147041e.pdf

UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education”. (2009-2014). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Sharing Web Resources

          The early childhood website I followed was Zero to Three at http://www.zerotothree.org/.  I browsed some of the outside links that I have not yet explored.  One of the links was resources for parents.  I clicked on early experiences counts which discussed how emotional development unfolds starting at birth.  I look for related information which led me to Early Head Start.  On the link it led to an orientation page of Early Head Start’s National Resource Center.  Some of the links to this page were on Early Head Start, School Readiness, Child Development and Education, Comprehensive Services and Systems, Program Options and Initiatives. There were also five pages that scrolled across the page.

One on the pages that scrolled across referenced an e-newsletter that individuals may access.  The e-newsletter provides individuals with “news you can use”.  The areas of focus are categorized by school readiness and learning environments.  Some of the topics related to school readiness include developmentally appropriate practices.  When I clicked on the PDF on developmentally appropriate practices, the article defined developmentally as the development of infants and toddlers to include physical, brain, language, social-emotional and thinking skills.  Appropriate was defined as something that is considered to fit or be right.  What individuals may think is appropriate depends on their culture and beliefs.  Lastly, practice is defined as what is done at home or in the classroom.  The article provides supports of how to put the learned information together.  The importance of relationships developed during early childhood to include providing consistency in care is also discussed.  At the end of the article individuals are provided with examples of words they can use ("Developmentally Appropriate Practice", 2011).   Providing understanding of how to support children and assist with meeting their educational needs supports individual’s awareness by providing information about early childhood to individuals working with children and families (Matthews & Ewen, 2010).

Below this page are other links to access information about Early Head Start, School Readiness, Multimedia, Birth to Three Initiatives, Products A-Z, and Events and Conferences.  From this list I clicked on Program Options and Initiatives.  This gave me new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field (Laureate Education, 2011).  I clicked on About Early Head Start.  I learned that the program supports infants and toddlers of low income families.  The program also supports families and women that are pregnant.  Early Head Start has goals that consist of meeting children’s developmental needs such as cognitive, social, physical and emotional needs of infants and toddlers.  The support is intended to help children in the future.  The support provided is also for the father and mother with the goal of helping them meet goals they have set and achieved.  The program also works to mobilize communities in order to provide resources and environment that supports families.  The programs also helps to ensure that high quality is provided to families with staff that cares and is trained.  Early Head Start has program options including center based, home-based, family child-care services, and combination services ("Zero To Three", 2014). 

           From this page I clicked on Program Options and Initiatives.  I clicked on EHS-Child Care Partnership.  This led me to click on promoting local partnership between child care and EHS: Ideas for State Leaders which is a PDF file titled Collaboration Considerations for State Leaders.  The article focused on developing high quality child care across the country.  To fight equity in early childhood the incentive programs that are suggested in the article is one way to support programs meeting the needs of being a high quality program by providing financial initiatives.  According to Collaboration Considerations for State Leaders  (2011), “Many states are looking at building financial incentives into the child care payment systems, including CCDF subsidy payments, bonuses connected to Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), and individual compensation or bonuses attached to higher educational attainment” (Provide financial incentives and supports for providers and grantees to join and maintain partnerships).

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

 

 

            This week I spoke to Taesha Rowe who is and early childhood professional originally from Jamaica where she was a high school teacher.  Mrs. Rowe is currently stationed in Naples, Italy on a military base. She has three children and is a wife to an active duty member. Mrs. Rowe’s husband has been in the Navy for 16 years. They have been together for 18 years but married for 11. Mrs. Rowe has been with the Department of Defense (DOD) for nine years. She started working as a flexible employees with a child development center in Connecticut.  Mrs. Rowe moved to Virginia with her husband and children and worked as a toddler program lead teacher at a DOD child development center.  Currently Mrs. Rowe works with DOD as an Assistant Director at the child development center in Naples, Italy (Taesha Rowe, personal communication, November 28, 2014). 

I asked Mrs. Taesha Rowe about issues in excellence and equality in early childhood field: How do you measure excellence in Early Childhood?  Mrs. Rowe discussed how it was difficult to do so.  However, Mrs. Rowe discussed how the lives we impact are not subjected to a particular test to measure the caregiver's success. Unlike the elementary level where the teacher's success can be measured by the academic success of her students, in early childhood it is usually about the parent's view on their child's development. Not only is this the first difficulty, but there are other obstacles. Excellence in early childhood education, I believe, is limited because of the guardians' understanding on the service offered. Many believe that early childhood education is about "baby sitting" and "potty training." Caregivers may not be encouraged to strive for excellence because of others opinions of what they do. Despite all these different pieces, Mrs. Rowe feels there is still excellence in the field. Caregivers who have identified each child in their care as an individual and treat him/her as such, focuses on how individual children meet their milestones  (Taesha Rowe, personal communication, November 28, 2014). 

There are a few issues with equality in the field. Gender is certainly a consideration in the early childhood field. There are still parents who feel "uncomfortable" with male caregivers. Mrs. Rowe discussed how she had situations where parents have approached her and asked "Does Mr....... change my daughter's diaper?" or "Is Mr...... allowed to be alone with my child during nap time?" In Mrs. Rowe’s experience, early childhood is predominantly dominated by young single females. Another issue of equality in early childhood is caregivers of the minority groups who are in management positions. While there are many caregivers of minority groups working in the classrooms, managerial positions are usually held by White Americans. It is however fair to say that this trend is changing slowly (Taesha Rowe, personal communication, November 28, 2014). 

Sharing Web Resources

    

 

          I have e-mailed Zero to Three in order to register for the e-newsletter.  I have not yet received a link to access the newsletter. Until I get a response I also e-mailed NAEYC.  I browed Zero to Three’s website at www. http://www.zerotothree.org, and I was able to access the featured update. The topic was the 2014 budget proposal of President Obama. In the proposal there is a large investment on the field of early childhood education with the focus on learning.  The funding focuses on supporting children and families that utilize or need access to Early Head Start with 1.4 billion dollars to expand these supports. To ensure programs provide high quality for the working families that need to place their children in programs, 200 million dollars is planned to be allocated. A 10 year span is planned using seven billion dollars to ensure children and their families have the ability to use programs that provide high quality such as child care  ("The President’s Budget Proposal: A Groundbreaking Moment For Our Nation’s Babies", 2013).

With the budget plans this will help support implementing home visits to reach more families in the community by investing 15 billion dollars spanning 10 years. To support children during their development the plan helps parents learn about evidence based practices to support their child’s development in all areas including their brain. With the President’s plan the budget plans to help by staring early with young children’s education by supporting children and families to ensure the programs provide consistency, implement practices that are evidence-based, and provide high-quality. These efforts also supports parents by helping them nurture and support their child’s development into adulthood ("The President’s Budget Proposal: A Groundbreaking Moment For Our Nation’s Babies", 2013).

In conclusion, I learned that it is important to continue to invest in supporting children and families early.  The need is to ensure that program are high-quality.  According to U.S. Department of Education (n.d.), “Today, fewer than three in ten 4-year olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program...Studies prove that children who have rich early learning experiences are better prepared to thrive in kindergarten and beyond.” In the multimedia segment Dr. Grace discussed how there was not enough word about how early childhood programs need support and how funds have been “underutilized” (Laureate Education, 2011). The information provided by Zero to Three helps get more information out about how there is a plan to support early childhood education.  I think it is important for organizations to continue to provide information about research, benefits, and funding that will support children and families throughout the child’s educational journey.