Research That Benefits Children and Families: Option 2

If I had full reign to design and implement a research project it would be one on the topic of Effective Home Visiting Programs and the impact on young children and families.  I believe a research project of this type would provide many positive benefits for young childen, families, and the early childhood field.

These benefits would include:

• Greater awareness of home visiting programs
• What are they?
• Identifying different types?
• Identifying characteristics that make-up an effective home visiting program
• Professional development for staff
• Types of curriculum utilized
• Documenting positive benefits of home visiting programs
• Child abuse prevention
• Closing educational gaps
• Parental education
• Early detection of possible developmental delays

These are just some of the benefits that I believe would be found in this type of research project.  By learning more about home visiting programs and their positive benefits I believe early childhood professionals can provide higher quality services to young children and their families. 

Below is a video I have included from the PEW Organization.  It is a testimonial from a parent on the role that home visitng played in her life with her child.  The more we learn the better services we can provide!

My Personal Research Journey

I have to admit when I saw that this course, Building Research Competencies, was coming up I was a little intimidated and concerned at how interested I would be in this subject.  I was concerned with the statistical aspect and reading detailed research papers.  I am happy to say that I am really enjoying the course so far and was excited to pick a research topic.  The research topic I chose was Homevisiting Programs in Early Childhood Education and narrowed down a subtopic of factors that contribute to the success of these programs.

I have a very personal interest in this subject matter being an Early Head Start Home Visitor.  Within my career I have also been a Head Start Home Visitor.  I have also worked in the classroom but have always found myself going back to the home base option.  I have also participated as a parent in a home based intervention program for my son when he was little and found it to be very beneficial to both my son and my family as a whole.  I am always trying to look at ways that we can improve our program and provide better services to  my families.

I have also found working on the Research Chart has been very beneficial to me in that it gives me a better understanding of terms and topics.  By writing them down in my own words I am better able to remember and use the information in my own work.  Just this week I was able to show my supervisor why an article she chose to share with us on ADHD may not be the most accurate information.  I also was able to show her how to read a research article to get the information that you wanted, the article she chose was not even on preschoolers.  When we looked at the Participant section we found it was done actually on older children.  The research chart helped me to remember this information quickly and easily.  I was very excited to be able to share this information.

I now look forward to the remainder of this course and learning more about how to best utilize research data.

EDUC6162 Week 8

Consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development.

1. By learning more about the international early childhood field I will be better informed of global issues and trends that affect the field.  I can share this information with my colleagues and co-workers.
2. By communicating with others and learning more about international practices I will become more culturally competent.  I believe early childhood professionals should continually work on being culturally competent so that they can provide higher quality services to the families they serve.
3. I have also learned that we all, nationally and internationally, are fighting many of the same issues in the early childhood field.  We all struggle with access, availability, and providing quality programs. 

One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations.

My goal for the field is that all professionals will work together, learn from one another, share what they have learned and bring more awareness to communities, political leaders, and society in general on the importance of high-quality early childhood care and education. 

Getting To Know Your International Contacts - Part 3

Korea

This week in my correspondence with Jo Theis, my international contact from Korea, she told me that her professional goals are to continue doing what she loves, working with children.  She enjoys working with children who have challenging behaviors, who can't sit still, and who think outside of the box.   She uses Art as her "vehicle" for doing this.  Ms. Theis holds four Teaching Licenses and always feels like she can continue to learn more, to her it is not about a "title" but rather about enjoying what she does. 

The school that Ms. Theis works at provides each staff member with $1200 a year for professional development which they can use as they choose.  This is how she was able to attend the conference in Malaysia, she is able to choose her own professional development.  She also attends any required or requested conferences, workshops, and/or seminars requested by the school.  These requested conferences, workshops, and/or seminars do not come out of her $1200.00 yearly budget. 

She believes that the International schools maintain a high level of professional development in order to keep their clientele.  Families pay a lot of money to attend these schools and expect staff to be knowledgeable, competent, and the best in their field. 

Ms. Theis hopes that one day the schools in the United States will also take professional development of staff as a priority and that we are able to find the funding to make our schools comparable to those around the world.


Costa Rica

My correspondence with  my other contact, Mrs. Tapiaaguilar, from Costa Rica stated that her professional goals were always to provide the best services to her families and the children that she worked with.  She still continues to stay current on issues and trends in the education system in Costa Rica and Mentors new teachers when needed. 

During the time that Mrs. Tapiaaguilar taught she stated that Professional Development was done at the Teacher's expense.  This shows how committed teachers truly had to be within the profession.  Now that Costa Rica has improved so much on their education system Professional Development is on going once you become a teacher.  You have yearly trainings, workshops, and conferences that you are required to attend.  These are paid for by the government.

Mrs. Tapiaaguilar stated that her professional hopes and dreams include seeing all children throughout the world receiving high-quality education services.  She believes every country has their own challenges to work through but that with commitment of professionals, parents, and governments these challenges can be overcome.

Sharing Web Resources - Week 6

The Global Fund For Children (GFC), www.globalfundforchildren.org, posted their Winter/Spring 2011 E-Newsletter.  In the Newsletter the new CEO, Kristin Lindsey introduces herself and two new board members.  She also summarized the mission of GFC for children globally by quoting her favorite Dr. Seuss book, Oh, The Places You Will Go.  From the book she quotes:

You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.

The mission of GFC is to focus on children's safety, access to education, health, and their ability to thrive.  With these needs attended children can go anywhere and achieve anything.

The newsletter also provided an outside link to the conference the founder, Maya Ajmera attended at Duke University's National Conference on Social Entrepreneurship Education.  The conference focused on social problems facing children today and their solutions.

On the outside link at Duke University the article on the conference referenced what was discussed at the conference.  Issues such as health disparities, quality education, and the importance of grass roots organizations.  Michael Merson stated that the health disparities are a result of chronic disease, climate change, and inadequate health systems.  He also referenced the importance of health and its relation to development.

Leela Prasad discussed the quality of education and how it continues to be a global problem in both rural and urban areas.  She stated that their research shows dramatic changes in the quality of education can be seen when governments invest in schools, when this investment is reduced or taken away education quality declines.  This demonstrates the importance of government funding and investment into education.

The area of the website that I researched further was the Our Work section.  This section focuses on the news in Children's Issues.  There is an article on former child soldiers who even after a demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration process remain living in poverty.  Another article discusses the Democratic Republic of Congo stepping up its immunizations for pneumonia which is its leading cause of death in children under five.  The last article discussed how child advocates continue to fight in the Philippines for justice for young children who are targeted by the militia. 

One important insight I have gained from this website is the importance of grass root organizations.  These entrepreneurs who start up organizations and programs in their communities provide services for health, safety, and education for children who are often sometimes invisible, lost, or forgotten. 

Getting To Know International Contacts - Part 2 Equity and Excellence

Unfortunately this week I have not been able to correspond with my first International contact, Jo Theis.  I believe she is still in Malaysia attending a Conference.  However, I reviewed her previous correspondence and found several references to the excellence in her experience in Korea.  The school Ms. Theis works for costs $25,000 a year to attend and none of the students are attending on a scholarship.  She told me that education and children, rich or poor, are a priority in Korea.  Families will make great sacrifices for their children's education.  She also talked about how the children push themselves and strive for excellence.  Because the students work so hard it pushes the teachers and raises the bar for them to challenge the students.  Many students will attend after school what is known as Hogwon, which is not tutoring or assistance with homework but rather it is more school.  Compared to her experience in Minneapolis it is drastically different.   Excellence in education is expected in Korea.

From my contact in Costa Rica, Jeanette Tapiaaguilar, she told me the history of education in Costa Rica and how they are the most literate country in Central America.  She proudly told me that the country is proud of their 93% literacy in the population over the age of 10.  Teachers are highly respected in her country and out number policemen she jokingly told me.  Even very rural communities have a elementary and high school.  Education is state-funded in Costa Rica with even their Universities being state-funded.  There are also private elementary, high schools, and universities but they also do not cost very much to attend and are regulated by the State Ministry.  Libraries in rural areas also assist with educating older adults if they need improvement on their literacy skills or just want to learn more.  Education is available for everyone, rich or poor, and she was very proud that even children from poor families have the opportunity to obtain a higher education.

From both of my contacts it is evident that both countries make education and children a priority.  This seems to be something that here in America we lack.  While education and children are important in our country I don't feel that we make them a top priority.  The tide seems to be changing in America, however we still struggle for funding, accountability, achievement gaps, and meeting standards. 

Sharing Web Resources - Global Fund For Children - Part 2

The website I reviewed, Global Fund For Children (www.globalfundforchildren.org), was relevant to my current professional development in that it allowed me to learn more about the needs and issues facing children around the globe and to learn more about the innovative programs being implemented in other parts of the world.  I love learning more about other cultures, other programs, and how others are meeting the challenges facing children and the youth of the world.

One statement from the site that really stuck with me was the comment under the Our Model section that stated that "the needs of children and youth, though in many ways universal, are best responded to in ways that fit the particular situation on the ground"(www.globalfundforchildren.org).  I found this statement to be very thought provoking and it made me realize that "one model" will not fit all circumstances.  This can be applied even to the United States.  What works in Minnesota may not work in Georgia.  We need to ensure that we are meeting the needs of children so that it is appropriate for the children in that area. 

The Global Fund For Children has several strategic partnerships with several organizations such as: Charlesbridge Publishing; Good Weave (combats child labor in India); International Center of Photography (fellowship program for young photographers); Tea Collection (clothing line used to raise funds); and youth Philanthropy Worldwide (an organization to increase New Global Citizens in schools across America).  The organization also is made up of a very "diverse, motivated, and highly accomplished professionals" in the fields of grant making, philanthropy, communication, development, books, and finance and operations.  Their Board of Directors consists of professionals from finance, philanthropy, management, and consulting.  These individuals partner and work together to help fund programs operated and managed by professionals in their own fields, such as the early childhood care and education field, to "advance the dignity of children and youth around the world" (www.globalfundforchildren.org). 

Other insights that I gained from exploring the website came from reading the Blog Section, On The Road.  The blog is made up of many different authors from many different regions from around the world.  Each posting gives you wonderful insight into programs and daily life from around the world.