When I Think of Research...

When I think of research now after my EDUC 6163, it is not as intimidating as I thought it to be when I began this course. It is all about answering questions, following a systematic investigation of a topic, exploring relationships between events, comparing approaches, and building new understandings. 

The past eight weeks have truly been an educational journey where I learned that developing the right attitude, considering research as a tool, and not the only paradigm itself, being critical of what we read and evaluating ourselves, putting aside our own biases, being open to modifying, reconsidering our beliefs and practices is what is required in doing research effectively. Researcher may use different methods and techniques depending on the focus of their research question. What is important in planning, designing and conducting a research is that it follows the systematic steps from selecting the topic to writing the report in order to generate a research that is ethical, meaningful, persuasive and significant.

We can be easily guided by our own personal values and morality, and be biased when we conduct an investigation. Therefore, when doing a research in early childhood, it is imperative for the researcher to possess additional skills such as be a good listener listening to children in different ways and recognizing that they can be competent participant in the research with the right to be heard, provide multiple opportunities for children to express their views and experiences, and, be objective keeping aside one’s own experiences, biases, emotions and even cultural and social norms. 

The past eight weeks has not been easy. Every week was stumbling upon challenges, discovering and gaining insights and overcoming the challenges. Right from the first week, in selecting the topic I was faced with challenges. Early Childhood Field is a vast and diverse field that deciding the research topic, taking that first step was the hardest part. The next week came up with the next challenge of finding relevant literature. With the availability of online databases, access to information being limitless, especially since the early childhood field is vast with various diverse issues, finding relevant literature turned out to be difficult and time consuming. However, learning that using the key words or concepts would help refine our search and quickly access information helped me gain access to more scholarly based articles. 

The research process involving children and their families can be quite a challenge, but considering the benefits that early childhood research brings to society and shaping the future, we as early childhood professionals should be willing to rise to the challenge and give this client group the opportunity. This course has been an eye opener for me not just in terms of what research means but the relationship that an early childhood professional, be it as a researcher or a teacher should have. When working with young children, an early childhood professional need to build a confident relationship with children giving them the feeling of familiarity and intersubjectivity that will enable children to express freely their views and ideas, build a relationship minimizing adult-child power relations, and build a relationship that is built on ethical considerations and shared thinking.

Research is a ‘tool’ that produces knowledge, give us new insights into the early childhood field that would enable us as early childhood professionals to be better equipped with the techniques and strategies needed to handle an ever growing diverse group of children. The knowledge that research contributes, the ideas that it provides that foster the development of early childhood professionals and, its benefits for children, makes research indeed essential.

 Learning this ‘tool’, for a novice researcher like me would not have been possible without the help and support of my colleagues. Your thoughts and insights helped me gain knowledge and confidence that enabled me to face the hurdles and pitfalls along the way. A big thank you to all of you especially Dr. Davis for the extremely valuable support.

Research around the World

Innovative research in the early childhood field is happening all over the world. There are various international web sites that are dedicated to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years. EECERA (European Early Childhood Education Research Association) is one such influential organization dedicated to early childhood http://www.eecera.org/ . This organization publishes a journal called European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ), which is one of the most well respected early childhood journals in the world. EECERJ is peer reviewed, scholarly and is particular interested in research which has application. It aims to provide a forum for the publication of original research in early childhood education in Europe.

Some of the topics that are currently being researched that are published in the current issue of EECERJ volume 20, Issue 3, 2012 http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/recr20/current are:

Infant’s experiences of early childhood education and care settings. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350293X.2012.704758

Teacher-child relationships among racially/ethnically diverse backgrounds http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350293X.2012.704759

Parental influence on the development of the children’s language competence - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350293X.2012.704760

School readiness of children and importance for early interventionists. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350293X.2012.704761

Role of human capital in determining value for money in early years education http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350293X.2012.704764

Outdoor environment as part of an educational practice http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350293X.2012.704766

Exploring this journal, we can find that issues of concern in early childhood field are the same in every part of the world. Child care and child care settings, the influence it can have on the development of the child is the utmost need across the globe and one that needs to be addressed. Of the several research articles that are available for online reading from this journal, I found the one with the importance to outdoor environment especially interesting.

Did you know

Norway is one country that has realized the importance of natural environment as educational practice and has already emphasized the use of outdoor environment in both schools and kindergartens as part of the pedagogical/educational practice.

Gagen , E. A. 2000 . “ Playing the part. Performing gender in American Playgrounds ” . In Children's geography. Playing, living and learning , Edited by: Holloway , S. and Valentine , G. 213 – 29 . London : Routledge .

Natural environments give children the rich experiences that they need to become avid learners. Through play children make connections between the forest space and ‘the modern world’, building bridges between different contexts, or one could say recontextualize the given space. From this website I was led to a partner site http://www.educationarena.com/ which has a whole page dedicated to this topic connecting to various research and articles relating to play, outdoor activity and children’s health, http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/explore/PlayVI_1.pdf.