Robin's Early Childhood Studies Blog: February 2012

Saturday, February 25, 2012

REFLECTION - BUILDING RESEARCH COMPETENCIES (EDUC - 6163 - 1)

First I would like to thank everyone for all of their help and support through this past eight weeks of the course. Without all of you I also look forward to continue working with those who will be in future classes with me as well. Great luck to everyone on your future endeavors.

The insights I have gained about research this past eight weeks has been more of a refinement for me as well as seeing research through a different lens. I previous had taken a research course for my first master of science (which was in Psychology) and found this course to be both a refresher as well as adding a new twist to how to think about research. Also it was good to learn more about how to design and focus on a research study when working specifically with children and their families. The challenges for me will more than likely always be the same - not to try and research to broad of a subject and which method to use when planning. This is something that I had to work on little by little throughout the course and am confident that I did pretty well at overcoming these challenges this time at least. Knowing myself as well as I do, I will always struggle with certain aspects since I seem to always go down the toughest road to get to my goal. However, I am used to it and now feel I have more confidence in my abilities in the area of research. Time will tell.

Once again good luck everyone! Keep in touch!

Friday, February 3, 2012

RESEARCH AROUND THE WORLD

I think I was born with a mind that just needs to be infused with new information constantly so this week’s assignment is right up my alley. The assigned website (http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php) was full of information which was new to me and my inquiring mind. I loved having the opportunity to view the final major projects and theses page. It was refreshing to see names of countries that we do not usually see when we research topics in early childhood education and development. I also loved being able to connect these countries and their research with the exchange students I have worked with over the years.

Some of the subjects which were covered are, but are not limited to: the development of an integrated early childhood development urban model training program for informal minders and community volunteers in Ghana; building community leadership for quality sustainability in Madrasa Preschools; the perceptions of parents and caregivers of early childhood development needs and quality; and involving fathers in early childhood care and development. I especially like this last one since I feel it is extremely important for fathers to feel comfortable and included in this aspect of their child(ren)’s life. So many times the focus is just on the mothers and there is not much effort to include the fathers as well.

Under this subject, last week I was working with a family who was eligible for WIC but the new mom was going through some post-partum depression and would not go to the WIC office to complete the paperwork. When I asked the father why he did not go instead, he stated that fathers were not welcome to apply since the focus is on the mothers and children. I told him I would make some calls the next day to make sure but I knew that father’s were welcome to bring in their children as well. They did not get the benefits the mothers were eligible for but they could still bring in their child(ren). I made some calls the next day and was told, yes of course, fathers are welcome. When I told the father, he was really surprised that he was going to be able to participate in this aspect of programs and assistance for his son. The program made him feel very comfortable and as far as I know all went well. I believe we need to make sure we focus on both parents as well as the children when we are working with families and conducting research.

I have to say though that the most surprising aspect of the website that I found was the ability to see so many reports in one place which were in easily downloadable PDF files for future reading. As I am sure many of you will agree this is a big asset to our busy lives as we do not always have the time to read a report in one sitting. There were so many to choose from which is great when you are looking for a variety of reports/findings.

I would definitely recommend this website to anyone in the early childhood field to keep handy as a resource.

Reference

ECDVU Sub-Saharan Africa Cohort Delivery: 2001 - 2004 Country

Objectives and Participant Profiles. (n.d.). ECDVU Gateway.

Retrieved from http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php

PERSONAL CHILDHOOD WEB

When constructing my personal childhood web I needed to remember those who contributed to a feeling of being loved, left me feeling special in some way, and cared about. This was a difficult task as my memories of my childhood, especially from the years of ten and up, were more of surviving this time instead of enjoyment.

Those individuals who did leave a positive impression in some way during the course of my early childhood and middle childhood are: my maternal step-grandfather; my mother; my father; my sister; and my mother's long-term boyfriend and father figure in later years.

My maternal step-grandfather, Monty Crytzer, was the one person in my childhood that I could always count on the keep me laughing and see the fun part of childhood. Even though we are not biologically related, I attribute my sense of humor and how I look at life to him. When times get tough, I always remember how he taught me the importance of being a kid at heart. One specific memory is of him pushing my sister and me around K-Mart in a shopping cart telling us to yell for our mom and grandmother. We had fun, they were totally embarrassed. I have many wonderful memories of my time spent with him.

My mother, Sarah, had her ups and downs as a parent. Most of my memories are not of fun times but to give her credit she did the best she could under the circumstances she found herself in during my later early childhood and middle childhood years. She took care of the basics in order for us to be healthy. She made sure we ate, had clothes, got up for school, etc... It was in the department of showing love that she had a tough time in. I always assumed she loved us but just did not know how to show it.

My father, Eddie, was a great father when we were little whenever he was around (which was not often because of work). He was very interested in technology and I credit him with my interest in all types of gizmos, gadgets, and computers of any type. The times I remember the most fondly were spent in his workroom as a young child being instructed on how to use his Ham Radio setup. Unfortunately, he slowly disappeared out of my life when I was around ten or so.

My sister, Wendy, is older than I am but we always shared a room. We were close later in early childhood and in early middle childhood due to the environment we lived in. Specific memories are painful to remember, but it was and is important that she was there when times were tough. We went through a rough time in later childhood but are now as close as ever.

My mom's long-term boyfriend, Ralph, was and still is a father figure for me. Since the age of fifteen, he has been the person who pretty much took on that role in my life. We never lived in the same house but do live only two houses apart. Aside from taking on some of the roles as father figure, he is a great listener as well as full of information that he loves to share.

There were others who had an impact as I progressed into adulthood but these are the five that came to mind for my early childhood and middle childhood. I do believe we are a product of our environment in so many ways and even though three of the five mentioned are no longer alive, the impact they had on my life is still present today.

Robin's Early Childhood Studies Blog

Saturday, February 25, 2012

REFLECTION - BUILDING RESEARCH COMPETENCIES (EDUC - 6163 - 1)

Friday, February 3, 2012

RESEARCH AROUND THE WORLD

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