Time Well Spent - Farewell

As I complete my journey I reflect on three things that I learned from this masters program:  

1.       Equity, Inclusion and Anti-bias education

2.       Effective communication and collaboration skills

3.       Techniques to manage and lead teams.

These topics will help me to reach my long term goal of obtaining my PhD in Early Childhood studies in order to provide education and training to early childhood professionals and college students. I want to thank all of my colleagues and instructors for all of your collaboration and support. I wish all of you the best as we all continue to advocate for all children. We did it!!!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Save the Children – “Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with a staff of more than 14,000 people working in over 120 countries, including the United States. They aim to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives by improving their health, education and economic opportunities” (savethechildren.net/jobs).

A job posting that interested me was for an Education Manager. According to the Save the Children website (savethechildren.net/jobs) the education manger is responsible for leading education-related assessments, program design and implementation at proposal and strategy level, as well as support on fundraising, recruitment and procurement, liaising and linking with other sectors in general and child protection in particular.

• Qualifications needed included:
• Minimum FIVE years of relevant experience of working in humanitarian programs or in fragile states
• Masters education in relevant discipline
• Skills and experience in the education sector specially Education in Emergencies
• Previous experience of managing a team of national staff in emergencies
• Previous experience of program management across multiple locations

Desirable qualifications included:

• Experience of urban programming
• Language skills in Arabic or Kurdish
• Experience or knowledge of working and living in Iraq or Middle East.
• Child protection experience/knowledge will be an asset

2.      UNICEF’s mission is to promote the equal rights of children, and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities (http://www.unicef.org/about/employ)

 A job posting that interested me was the Education Specialist (Early Learning). The position is listed in New York. The job responsibilities included: providing support to the development of evidence based policy guidance and standard setting in national approaches to Early Childhood Development (ECD) and support program excellence in early childhood programming.

 Qualifications needed included:

-Advanced university degree in Education, International Development, Child Development, Social Sciences or a related technical field.

- Eight years of relevant work experience at the national or international levels in education program planning, management, monitoring, and evaluation, with a specific focus on early learning.

- Knowledge and experience of (I) The global development context; (ii) Global developments in education; (iii) Policy dialogue in education; (iv) Education systems and sector planning; (v) Education and policy sector analysis; (vi) Rigorous program management in education; (vii)  Engagement with partnerships; (viii) Strong understanding of gender in relation to education.

- Fluency in English required. Proficiency in another UN language (i.e. Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) would be an asset. 

(http://www.unicef.org/about/employ)

3.      UNESCO’s (United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. The Organization focuses, in particular, on two global priorities: Africa and Gender equality (www.unesco.org).

I did not find any job vacancies but I am interested in going to Africa.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

The three national/federal organizations job opportunities that I was able to locate that appealed to me were from the US Department of Health and Human Services, NAEYC and the Children’s Defense Fund. I chose these three jobs because they would allow me to still work in the area of early childhood but would not require me to work inside of a classroom. These opportunities would allow me to work with and educate adults, ensure quality standards are being met and assist children with funding their educations.

US Department of Health and Human Services- Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Job Title:Program Specialist

Department:Department Of Health And Human Services

Agency:Administration for Children and Families

The Program Specialist in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Head Start (OHS), provides advice and technical assistance to ACF discretionary Head Start grantee agencies that includes programmatic and fiscal oversight responsibilities for discretionary grant programs administered by grantee agencies.

·         Leads and/or participates in on-site reviews for the purpose of assessing grantees performance and compliance with Federal regulations.

·         Provides advice and assistance to grantee in program planning.

·         Monitors grant activities for conventional or pre-established grantee/contractor programs.

·         Collects and analyzes data, provides information and advice, and prepares, updates, monitors and reports on designated program operations and grantee activities, issues and accomplishments.

·         Qualifications:

1.  Knowledge of and experience with Head Start, early childhood and/or child care laws, regulations and other policies.

2.  Ability to apply analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to compile, analyze, and evaluate data and identify problems.

3.  Knowledge of the principle, methods, and techniques of the behavioral and social sciences field.

4.  Skill in oral communication.

5.  Skill in written communication.

**I posses all qualifications with the exception of experience with the Head Start organization.

(US Jobs - https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/398026400)

NAEYC Academy for Early Childhood Program Accreditation- Reliability Specialist

NAEYC is seeking a Reliability Specialist to support the work of our Accreditation System which administers a national, voluntary, professionally sponsored system to help improve the quality of care and education provided for young children in group programs throughout the US.  The Reliability Specialist works as a member of the national team overseeing the process of accreditation for early childhood programs.

Responsibilities include working with child care program staff, NAEYC’s nationwide network of accreditation field assessors, and other NAEYC staff involved in the accreditation process. The Reliability Specialist helps develop, revise and maintain instruments, forms and protocols used in accreditation site visit assessments; support, train and monitor the performance of field assessors; support field assessors in their roles; travel to conduct field assessments or present training workshops; help develop training workshops and materials; and perform analysis of the data collected and instruments used during assessment site visits.

Minimum BA in Early Childhood Education/Child Development, experience in the field working with young children in an early childhood program and a sound understanding of its ECE practices is required. Experience with high quality programming and NAEYC accreditation and evaluation systems, or other program quality assessment systems used in educational or early care settings is required. Excellent oral and written communication, analytical, MS Office and database skills are also required. Must be able to meet deadlines, work in a team and in a fast-paced environment. Travel is required.

***I possess the qualifications with the exception of experience with NAEYC accreditation and evaluation system.

 (NAEYC Job Opportunities - https://www.naeyc.org/about/jobs)

Children’s Defense Fund - Beat the Odds Program Manager
Job Responsibilities: Specific job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Coordinate all aspects of BTO scholarship application and selection processes, as well as school/student engagement and cultivation Coordinate outreach to high schools, churches and community-based organizations for the purpose of securing breadth and depth in the scholarship applicant pool Monitor the student application process, including vetting applicants as necessary Oversee the student selection process, serving as primary staff contact of BTO Selection Committee, a committee comprised of prominent volunteers, providing them with a high level of support Shepard winners through the awards process, working not only with the students, but also their parents or guardians and mentors in order to ensure a positive experience before, during and after the awards ceremony Provide intensive support to scholarship recipients and alumni as related to the BTO program Maintain and grow organizational and individual relationships as related to the BTO program, including those with current and past scholarship recipients, schools, associations, CDF youth leadership programs (i.e., Beat the Odds, Freedom Schools, Internship programs) and key volunteers Develop networking and other support mechanisms for current and former BTO recipients as part of CDF’s youth leadership ladder Collaborate with CDF state/regional offices to attain consistency and uniformity in the BTO program practice and share effective strategies and tactics Coordinate the event video, including securing a videographer, working closely with him/her on the student interviews, and reviewing/editing the final product Support and assist in event planning and fundraising efforts for the annual awards dinner Monitor any CDF-approved, third-party BTO events Qualifications: Understanding of and commitment to the vision of the Children's Defense Fund and Beat the Odds Program At least three year experience in the field of teaching or youth development Knowledge of the college application process and financial aid is preferred Strong interpersonal skills, especially with students and youth of all backgrounds Excellent written and verbal communications Strong organizational and time-management skills Attentive to details and ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously Ability to work both independently and collaboratively Demonstrated ability to build and maintain inter-organizational and individual relationships to grow a program Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint Knowledge of web-based tools and social networking applications

**I possess the all of the qualifications for this job posting.

(Children’s Defense Fund Jobs - http://www.childrensdefense.org/about/careers/)

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

This week’s blog post consists of three local, state organizations or communities of practice that appeal to me. I have also included the Job opportunities that interest me along with the skills and experience needed to competently fulfill each of the roles.

           Texas Association of Education of Young Children (TAEYC) mission is to provide opportunities for professional growth and to broaden public awareness on early care and education issues affecting the lives of children and families.Texas AEYC is a bridge of collaboration and communication and between early care and education and the communities we serve.(http://www.texasaeyc.org/?page_id=506#more-506)

              Houston Area Association for the Education of Young Children (HAAEYC) is one of the largest chapter affiliates of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a national organization comprised of early care and education professionals.  Their mission is to promote and support high quality care and education for young children through improved professional practice and broadened public awareness (http://www.haaeyc.org/about).

These two organizations (TAEYC and HAAEYC) would allow me to join a community of practice that I could learn from and share information with in my local area. I could meet with this group regularly and contribute to their efforts to bring community and public awareness to issues regarding the early education of young children.

                       The Neighborhood Centers Inc. Choices In Education division provides an integrated, holistic education system for families with children in pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade. The Choices in Education division oversees the Agency’s early childhood education programs and the Promise Community Schools, including 10 pre-Kindergarten centers, two community-based elementary schools, one middle school, and a “New Neighbor” school for refugee children, serving a total of 1,900 students and their families (http://iamforgood.org/choices-in-education)

I chose NCI because this would allow me to work with parents as well as their children by providing them access to community resources that will to prepare the parents and children for continuing educational achievement as well as a successful career.

                        Early Childhood Intervention Services (ECI) ECI is a statewide program in Texas through the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services for families with children, birth to three, with disabilities and developmental delays. ECI supports families to help their children reach their potential through developmental services (http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis).

ECI would allow me to help support parents and their children who have developmental delays.

Job Opportunities:

Early Intervention Specialist – Skills needed include ability to develop evaluations and conduct assessments, Ability to develop a plan of car and experience working with infants and children.

Family Development Worker- Skills needed include problem solving, ability to handle crisis, experience working with families of diverse ethnic, language and cultural backgrounds.

As We Continue on Our Professional Paths

As I prepare to move into my specialization I would like to thank all of my colleagues who have been on this journey with me. I have been able to share and learn with everyone in many different ways. It has been very helpful to be able to share with people who share the same visions and have experienced some of the same things that I have as we educate and prepare children to be successful in school and their lives. I would like to wish everyone much success in whatever specialization that you choose. I also look forward to those who will continue this journey with me as we specialize in administration, management and leadership. We are almost there!!!  

Andrea

Adjourning From a Group

The group that was the hardest to adjourn from would have to be the group of women that I worked with while I was working as a Licensing Inspector with Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. We had a great leader Lalah Ash and the women in my unit were and still are a great group of women. I loved working with them and they helped to make the job a lot easier. We all had each other’s backs and when someone was out sick or on extended leave we would all spit up the cases and work them as if they were our own without complaints. I could always go to my supervisor for support and assistance and knew that she would be able to help find a solution that would be in the best interest of the children in care. My unit celebrated my marriage with me and the birth of my first child. They also gave me a going away party when I left to begin my teaching career.

It was also hard for me to leave or depart from my Women’s Track and Field team that I trained and competed with for four years of my life. Track and Field was a part of my everyday life from the time I was 12 to 22 years old. I truly miss competing and the friendships and bonds that were created.  

I have enjoyed the discussions and insight that I have gained from my colleagues.  I feel that although we have not been able to bond with one another face to face we have been able to build relationships. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues and continue to share and learn from them.

I believe that adjourning is an essential state of teamwork because all relationships that end must have closure. You will either agree to keep in contact or go your separate ways if the relationship was not high performing or cohesive. 

Managing Conflict

A professional conflict that I experienced last school year involved myself and my department chair (DC). My DC was the previous nursery/child care director and decided that she no longer wanted to be in charge of the nursery in order to alleviate some of her workload. When I became the nursery director I arranged the director’s office in a manner that would make it more functional for me as well as provide a safe exit for the preschool children to use in case of emergency. (My office is in between two classrooms that connect). One day I walked into my office and saw a table was back in the office. I removed the table and placed it back. When the DC arrived she came into my office to make copies and then asked me about the table outside. I informed her that someone had placed the table in the office and I removed it because I did not need it. She then told me she placed the table in the office so she could have a place to work when her classroom was occupied in the morning. I informed her that I did not want the table in the office as it made the office cluttered and would make the exit route unsafe. The DC then began to verbally personally attack me and my decision to not have the table in the office. As a result of being verbally attacked I became defensive resulting in an argument.

Looking back on this event and after learning about managing conflict, nonviolent communication and the 3 R’s I would have handled the situation in the following manner instead:

1.       Focus on the issue (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012) – I should have made it clear that the reason for the office being rearranged and for me not wanting the table was to ensure the safety of the children. Not to keep her out of her old office or to “shut her out.”

2.       Considered Options and Alternatives (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012) -  I should have suggested that she could go work in the Teachers Longue on their computers and tables when she needed a place to work.

This school year I plan to not use the Escapist Strategy and make sure that I am communicating and not avoiding having conversations that need to be had. I will make sure that I am considering the other persons feelings and focuing on the issues and not who is “right or wrong.”

O'- Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Communication Evaluations

This week’s assignment required me to evaluate myself and my communication anxiety, listening and verbal aggressiveness. I also chose my mother and co-worker to also evaluate me in the same areas. I was surprised that based upon my Communication Anxiety assessment that I fall into the Mild category and not the Low. I feel that I am very comfortable and confident when I have to speak in front of others and am only nervous or anxious if I am not familiar with the subject matter or what is to be communicated. My mother and co-worker both ranked me in the Low category so I feel that I am able to mask any anxiety or fear when I am in front of others even though I may not feel the same way on the inside.

Insight that I have gained from these evaluations is that I have the characteristics to be moderately verbally aggressive and will be able to use this in my professional and personal life. I do respect the viewpoints of others and try to rely on the facts and not the person. I do not believe in personally attacking anyone in order to prove a point or make myself look good. I am also aware that the way in which I view myself and the way that I project myself when I am around my family, friends and co-workers will determine their view of me and the ways in which we communicate. 

Communication with People from Different Groups and Cultures

Question: Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?  Explain.

I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures because the world calls for the adjustment of our communication methods in order to function in society. The Andrea that goes to work each day to work with children and families is different from the Andrea who is at home and who is at church. Different forums call for different methods of communication. I am not going to speak to my Pastor the same way that I speak to my friends. This is the same for my parents and friends. When I speak to people of a different culture the main thing on my mind is making sure that I do not offend them or make myself look disrespectful or ignorant.

Based on the information that I have learned in my previous course and the past three weeks the strategies that I will use to communicate are:

1.       Put my viewpoints aside in order to view things from the perspective of the person I am communicating with.

2.       Don’t be so quick to judge and make assumptions.

3.       Education myself on other cultures beyond the surface and learn deep cultural facts and information.

4.       Don’t be afraid to ask questions when I am unclear of what is being communicated in order to prevent misunderstanding. 

Interpreting Communication in Television

The show that I chose to view was Return to Amish on TLC. This is a reality show that follows a group of Ex-Amish young adults who left their Amish community and are now retuning to be closer to their Amish family and loved ones.

When I watched the show with the sound off I observed the relationships between the cast to be civil between a husband and wife, brother and sister, mother and son and friends.  Based upon the nonverbal communication the husband and wife were going though something and the wife was trying to make up by giving him a handmade shirt. The brother was taking his sister out to a party that made her feel uncomfortable.  Two friends were out at a restaurant eating and talking to one another and a mother was having a serious conversation with her some about something important. One of the girls from the restaurant is emotional about something that happened at the restaurant.

When I watched the show with the sound on I was correct in my assumption about the husband and the wife. I assumed that Jeremiah and Katie were brother and sister but he is not related to her. He took her to a party and then showed her how to talk to boys without her parent’s knowledge. Katie had never been to party and was uncomfortable about what was going on around her. Rebecca and Chapel were meeting at the restaurant to talk about Rebecca’s previous relationship with Andy who is now with Chapel. Chapel was trying to get information about Andy’s previous relationships with other girls. Mom and was speaking to her son Andy about her concerns about him being with Chapel and her being a bad influence on him. The mom was worried that Andy would go back to jail. The show ended with Chapel giving a confessional about her being called to come into the doctor’s office and her not knowing what it is about.

I believe all of my assumptions would have been correct if I would have been familiar with the character and already knew their back stories as I was watching the show. After completing this exercise the first thing that I have learned is that I am very blessed to have the gift of hearing. I have an aunt who is deaf and I used to watch TV with her as a child and wonder how she knew what was going on and when to laugh when she could not hear what was going on. Looking at a show in which I am not familiar and do not know what is going on what a little frustrating for me as I thought I knew what was going on but had interpreted some of the episode and relationships between the cast incorrectly.

Competent Communication

The person that has demonstrated competent communication in my life has been my mother. She has always spoken to me and others in a way that did not degrade or intimidate. When my mother was upset or wanted to make sure my brother and I were listening to her she would not raise her voice but begin to whisper because she said that whispering would force us to listen to her words. That technique worked with us all of the time and it is something that I use with my own children and in my classroom as well. My mother was also always honest with my brother and me providing reasoning and explanation instead of just dismissing us and telling us what to or not to do. I appreciated that as it would allow me to understand the consequences of my actions and make my own decisions. I believe decision making is a very important skill that has helped me throughout my childhood and into adulthood and it one of the reasons I am successful today. 

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I can use what I have learned these last eight weeks to make a difference in my classroom and in the lives of every child I come in contact with including my own children. I have learned that we must respect others and individuality. I will work to collaborate with families and make sure that I am respecting their culture and ideals while being conscious of microaggressions and –isms.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice would be that all professionals would embrace the anti-bias education approach and work to advocate for all children and their families.

I would like to thank my colleagues for opening themselves up and sharing their stories of sadness as well as your triumphs. I also appreciate your feedback and words of encouragement and support. I wish you all the best and look forward to collaborating and working with you in the future. 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Country: Finland

Scenario: I am working in a child care center and receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from Finland will be joining my class. I have no prior knowledge about Finland but want to prepare myself to welcome the child and her family.  The five ways in which I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family are:

1    1..    Know the primary language of Finland. I would try to learn a few basic phrases or words in Finnish.
2.       Finland’s ideas about education
3.       The role of children in Finland
4.       Gender Roles in Finland – how men and women are seen or valued
5.       Primary religious beliefs of the people of Finland.

I believe that taking these preparations will allow me to be prepared to welcome the child into the classroom. It would help to ease any uncertainty or apprehension that I may have about adding a new child to the learning environment and will also equip me with the tools I need to help make their transition smooth.  Knowing beforehand how the child’s previous county viewed education, the roles of children and gender roles will help me to know how to approach certain conversations or topics with the family as I work with them.  I do not want to offend them or make them feel as if they are not welcomed or understood. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The memory that I will share involving bias, prejudice and/or oppression will be a story that I was told by mother.  My mother was working as a consultant providing home training services to parents who needed additional strategies to help their children at home and school. My mother made contact with a woman regarding her son over the phone. My mother informed her of who she was and what she would be coming to the home to do. When my mother arrived at the home she introduced herself as Dr. Johnson and asked to come into the home. The mother looked at my mother as if she was surprised to see her and that my mother was not the person she was expecting to see. While my mother was at the home providing information to the mother the father arrived home. The mother and father then began having a conversation in the other room and then the mother came out and said they would not be needed the home services. The next day the mother called back to the office and requested services again asking would the person coming out be white or black. A white person was sent out to the home and the mother accepted the home services. 

I believe this incident diminishes equity as I feel the mother and father were saying that a black person was not capable of providing services to the family because they were black. My mother has worked very hard to obtain her doctorate and was more qualified to provide the services but was denied the opportunity to help the child and their family just because of the color of her skin.

The feelings that this incident brings up for me are anger and frustration. I am upset that my mother was treated in this manner but I am also upset that a parent would turn down services that could benefit their child because of the race of the person trying to assist them.

The people that would need to change in this incident would be the mother and father as well as the company that my mother was working for at the time. Once the company found out that the parents were requesting a different consultant of a specific race they should have informed that parents that they would not be sending another person if race was the only reason to request another person in their home. I feel the parents were being told that it is okay to discriminate by the company when their request was granted. 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

The memory of microaggression that I will share towards myself comes in the form of a microinsult. Growing up and as an adult I have been told several times that I do not “sound black” when I am speak. I take offense to this. Being told that I do not “sound black” implies that black people only hold conversations full of grammatical errors and use slang and vulgarities. I make sure that I let everyone who implies or makes this silly statement towards me that I take offense and that they are insulting me and stereotyping me.

The information that I have obtained this week on microaggression, discrimination, prejudice and stereotypes will help me as I move forward in my career and as I raise my children because I am now more aware and will watch what I say. I recently attended a meeting where another director was telling a story about how her 5 year old daughter was telling her she did not have anyone to play with on the playground at school because she “didn't speak Dora.” The director laughed about it and then ended the story with “but she is not prejudice or anything.”  When people feel they need to tell me that they are "not prejudice" I usually think that they are. Children must be taught at an early age that there are people around them who speak languages other than English and that the language that the children were speaking was Spanish and not Dora. We cannot take these teachable moments for granted and laugh them off we must use these moments to help prevent these children from eventually growing up to use microaggressions and offending people in the future.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I completed this assignment while visiting friends for the weekend so I posed these questions to them along with my husband. The cultural differences included gender and age. They collectively came up with the definitions for culture and diversity. Culture was defined as a person knowing where they have come from, their roots, traditions and being able to pass that onto the next generation. Diversity was defined as being exposed to and being able to adjust to your environment including how your react when you are around people who of a different tradition or culture than your own.

Based upon the answers that I received I believe the answers did reflect some of what we have studied in this course. I think that the answers that were given were generalized statements that I believe the majority of people would provide if posed the same question. Unless you have been involved with taking a course on cultural diversity most people do not think deeper or past the obvious. I am guilty of the same but am glad that I have enrolled in this course and am looking forward to the next few weeks and the things that I will learn. As a result of this exercise I think that there should be more discussion or training on this topic beginning at the high school or middle school level in order to raise awareness and possibly prevent some of the events related to lack of cultural awareness that we are hearing of in the news these days. 

My Family Culture

If I had to relocate to a new country due to the scenario in this week’s assignment I would take a photo album/scrapbook, bible and cookbook. The scrapbook would allow me to have photos and memories of my family and friends. The bible will allow me continue to study and practice my religion. My cookbook would allow me to continue to cook and pass down traditional foods to my children and others that I come in contact with in my new country.  

If I found out upon arrival that I had to leave two of the items behind I would leave the cookbook and bible because I can rely on my prior knowledge to get me through cooking and God is always with me and I can practice my religion without having to have the bible on hand.

Insight that I have gained this week is that I hadn't thought about what I would truly do or take if I had to leave my home country and live somewhere new due to a catastrophe. I have seen it many times on the news and have close friends who had to relocate as a result of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana but I don’t think it really sank in as to what they went though until I put myself in that place this week. I will never take not having to do this (sudden relocation) for granted again. 

When I Think of Research.........

The most important insight or skill that I have learned from this course is how to read research. The breakdown that we received at the beginning of this course helped me to see what parts I need to read and what parts I can skim or skip over. I think this benefited me a lot as I would sometimes get so confused when looking at research that I would just say forget it and just use another source for information in the previous courses. I have also learned how to identify valid resources and vocabulary words such as quantitative, qualitative, mixed method, triangulation and validity as it relates to research.

I have to admit I was not very excited when I saw the name of this course as our next course but I am glad that I made it through. I would have to say that research is not my passion but know that I could get through it if I had to.

The lessons that I have learned about planning, designed, and conducting research in early childhood are that you must first make sure the benefits of the research outweigh the risks and the ethics involved in the research process.

Some of challenges that I have encountered during this course was knowing whether I was on the right track during my simulation. This was something that was new to me and I was confused a lot of the time.

I would like to wish all of my colleagues luck as we continue on this journey together. We are almost there!

Research Around the World

The website that I chose to explore this week was  from the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) found at http://www.eecera.org/.  Some of the topics found in the journal included play, motor-skills, social-emotional interaction and technology and outdoor activity.

An article topic that caught my attention was entitled “How often do you play with your child? The influence of parents’ cultural capital on the frequency of familial activities from age three to six."This article caught my attention because I have children who are between the ages of three and six. As a working parent who is also attending school I find that it is often hard for me to find time or the energy to play with my children and keep up with all the things that I have to do throughout the day. According to the abstract:

The article analyses the role of parents' cultural capital as a mediating factor between families' social and ethnic background and the frequency of stimulating familial activities in early childhood. Using the data from the German longitudinal study ‘Preschool Education and Educational Careers among Migrant Children’, it is shown that parents' cultural capital completely mediates the effect of mother's education and part of the ethnic origin effect. Additional longitudinal analyses reveal that the influence of parents' cultural capital changes over time and is most pronounced at the earliest measurement.

I was not able to read the full article as I had to have had a subscription but I feel that it is important to find time to play with my children and am looking forward to the break between the semester and the warmer weather so that I am able to go out and play with them and share times and cultural capital with my children.

European Early Childhood  Research Journal, 2014

Vol.22, No.1, 4-13, http:/ /doi/full/10.1080/1350293X.2013.865355

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

I do not know anyone who has personally participated in a research study but I do know people who I believe have personally benefited from the research process. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996. She is currently in remission but I believe if it had not been for scientific research and the people who participated in the medical studies prior to my mother’s diagnoses she may not be here with us now. I believe the research process is critical to the preservation of life and for the betterment of our society but only when it is done is a safe and ethical manner.

I also located an interesting article that relates to my simulation topic of social/emotional development and its influence on a child’s future. In this study 1000 children were followed for 30 years in order to see how their ability or development of self-control as a child affected their health, wealth, and criminal offending. This study suggests that parents should focus on strategies that will encourage their children to develop self control as early as toddlerhood. Children will benefit from the development of self control and may be less likely to suffer from ill health, substance abuse, poor finances or perform criminal acts in the future. The study can be found at: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/2693.full.pdf+html

                                                                                                                                      

Reference

"A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety," Moffitt et al., 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Volume 108, p. 2693 - 2698.