When I think of research.....

When I think of research the first thing that comes to mind for me is the insights I have gained from my course on Building Research Competencies.  From this course I learned that research is more than just statistics and that I should not be intimidated by research studies. 

I have learned the importance of research design, planning, and conducting a research study.  It is important to reflect on personal biases to ensure equity of the study as well as to ensure reliability of the study.  One of the biggest lessons I learned was the importance of examining each step of the research steps: planning, designing, and conducting. 

My biggest challenge throughout this course has been clarifying my steps in my research simulation.  I addressed this challenge by rereading my simulations with the perspective of someone unfamiliar with the process.  When I took this perspective I was able to identify areas that may be unclear and edited those areas. 

My perceptions of early childhood professionals have been modified in that I have a deeper understanding and knowledge of the ways in which early childhood professionals can contribute to early childhood research.

I would also like to thank all of my fellow students for their encouragement, support, and insights.  With your wonderful insights and feedback I have been able to deepen and expand my knowledge of research in the early childhood field. 

Research Around The World

For this assignment I reviewed several articles on the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA).  The EECERA is a non-profit organization solely funded by its world-wide membership.  They generate their own funding and revenue to ensure its independence, innovativeness, and radical attitude (www.eecera.org).

The first article, Researchers Crossing Borders, by Jin-Hee Lee.  In this article the author examines educational practices and concepts across geographical areas.  The author states " By crossing geographical, cultural, or disciplinary borders, we will be better able to reflect upon and learn more deeply about ourselves, and why we do what we do, through the expanded and diversified perspectives of why others do what they do" (Lee, J., p.271).  The author also stated that they are concerned about concepts and ideologies from other cultures being too quickly adopted by other cultures without first considering and examining the cultural meanings and functions they represent.  For me, this was a new insight. While we learn about diversity and cultural differences we often forget to examine this aspect when we get excited about and adopt new practices. 

The EECER Journal allows researchers and practitioners to share experiences, discuss differences, and to learn more about our cultural meanings and differences. 

In the other article, Let us Disagree, by Michel Vandenbroeck the author discusses the changing views on diversity from the 1950's to the present.  "Today, the early years community is much more aware that equality and equity are not synonymous" (Vandenbroeck, M., p.165).  He also states that we must challenge what is taken for granted, and we do this by disagreeing and we must acknowledge that our expertise is provisional and tentative. 

The past articles on this website were very informative and reiterated that we all face the same challenges and the ways that we address these challenges is dependent on our cultures.  By sharing our different views and cultures we can learn and grow from and with one another.

References

Lee, J.H., Researchers crossing borders, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, Vol. 18, Issue 3, p.271-273.

Vandenbroech, M., Let us disagree, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, Vol. 17, Iss. 2, p.165-170.