Research Around the World

The website I decided to investigate over the past week is European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) (http://www.eecera.org/). It had a lot of information in many articles. Some of their research articles I wasn’t permitted to view (most recent studies), so I sort of just skimmed the titles and read the summaries for each article.  Some of the many research topics covered on this website were computer use, playing and learning in another language, teachers using “inviting” language in the classroom, changes in play, challenges for participatory research, language competence, behavioral training, and the list goes on. The one particular research article that caught my attention is Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood. I looked further into this article because in the course reading Doing Early Childhood Research it also discussed the challenges of working with children.  The study revolved around these three research questions:

Ø  Does using ‘participatory’ tools (such as cameras) necessarily engage children?

Ø  Does the adult research agenda inevitably change children’s experiences?

Ø  How does participatory research empower children?

Tools can distract children just like adults can. Adult researchers that enter the classroom are seen as adults and not other children, therefore affecting their behavior. It amused me by stating the idea that children could become research assistants and informants. Access to these participatory tools does affect children’s experiences. Because children can see cameras set up in their classroom, some children to act differently. Research does seem to empower children. It gives them a sense of having control of their classroom and the observer that in it.

References

http://www.eecera.org/

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

Waller, T. & Bitou, A. (2011). Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19(1), 5-20.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

When imagining what I would complete research on that would make a major contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families it was a pretty easy decision on what topic it would cover. Autism is a disorder that affects developmental and social skills in children. The first signs of autism usually are noticed in the first few years of life. Many studies have been conducted on autism to try to find the cause of it, but that remains to be determined. The spectrum of autism disorders have become wider and wider so it has become more and more common. In the 3 years that I have been an educator, there has been at least one child per grade level with some form of autism in class sizes of around 70-80 students. The major contributions that I would love for it to result in are finding the cause of autism and in return determining a cure for the disorder. Earlier detection and treatment of this disorder benefits children in the long run. So, noticing the early signs of it such as unusually strong tantrums, sensitivity to certain sounds and lights, little verbal communication, or withdrawing from physical contact with others is extremely important.

Resources

PubMed Health. (2010). Autism. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose for the simulation is how much stressors in a child’s life can affect his or her academic achievement. I want to research this topic more because I know that many children in my classroom experience stressors every day. Some stressors are more severe than others. I haven’t researched this topic to my full extent yet, however I plan on doing so. I feel that if I can’t find enough information, that it would be a sign to change my topic of interest. Unfortunately, I have no experience in this simulation process, so I am worried that my topic is either too vague or not very specific. For those of you who have experience in this area, do you think the topic I have chosen will be sufficient enough? Please explain why or why not. Any feedback and insights will be extremely helpful!