Thursday, May 31, 2012

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 (2nd 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.
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3 comments:

  1. Alissa StarkJune 1, 2012 at 7:00 AM

    Arica,
    I would love to have a camera available in my classroom. I would primarily use them for assisting in my observations. I agree children would be aware of the cameras used in research. In time I am sure the children would become desensitized to them and not notice they were around.
    Alissa

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  2. krista-eduJune 2, 2012 at 10:16 AM

    Arica,

    I thought about this topic while preparing my research simulation. Since my topic is about bullying, I thought that children would change their behaviors if they noticed me or a camera in the classroom. The research study that you mentioned seems to confirm my initial thoughts about the subject. Also, I like the idea of including children in the research process. I have read several useful articles about this topic as well.

    Krista

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  3. Brandee K. PierceJune 3, 2012 at 11:32 AM

    Hi Arica:

    Children need to have that sense of control, even if they really aren't in control. I understand how they feel lol. You don't want anyone walking into your life thinking that they can do whatever they want without at least explaining what is going on and making you feel comfortable enough to move forward with them. So that is something important for researchers to keep in mind when conducting research with children. Great post!

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