AFRICAN CONTACTS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

I was successful in contacting two principles in Africa from two different areas. I asked general questions concerning their trends and issues. District Elder Wilson Madegwa is from Kenya and oversees 3 church schools in 3 different cities. His schools are divided into three categories: baby class - ages 3 1/2 to 5 yrs, Nursery class - 5 1/2 to 6 yrs, and primary school starting at age 7. The schools are private. But most of the students are poor walking to school barefoot up to 6 kilometers one way. Because of the travel times, some classes wait til the students arrive before starting class. Entire families may scrape up the money for one child to go to the private school. Kenya does have public schools. D/E Madegwa's major concerns are lack of nutrition, substance abuse at home, and sexual abuse of the children.

Eld. Sebastian Gaye is the over seer of one church school in Monrovia, Liberia. Eld. Gaye's school is what we would call pre-k to High School. The school is in the city and most of the children are in some way affiliated with the church or recommended by a church member. The children are taught to seek higher learning. Jobs are scarce in their area and they seek education for a way out of poverty.

I will continue to interview D/E Madegwa and Eld. Gaye on other phone conversations. They both were very happy to share. I look forward to learning from them.

Heartland Equity and Inclusion Project (HEIP)

http://heartland.edu/news.jsp?newsID=2065

Don’t get me wrong. I love Walden U. J However, Heartland Community Colleges website posts news vital to our Illinois communities and to the EC field. This project in progress is funded by the U.S. Dept. of Education in order to inform professionals of news and findings concerning the learning needs of young children. The project is a 4 year ongoing program as it continues to gather and report information that will ensure equity and inclusion for all children in the early childhood environment.

This web page posts announcements of early childhood conferences, programs, and Illinois alerts. I’m intrigued that Heartland posts syllabi, objectives, and resources for courses held at their college. Most colleges only allow that information to current and past students, and staff. They do not have an email alert yet. The website is a work in progress and I expect to see more from the site shortly.

ISSUES AND TRENDS IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD FIELD

For the class titled 'Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field', we have been asked to contact two EC professionals outside of the United States. The purpose is to learn the trends and issues of other countries from on hand professionals.

I had not thought before this class about the contacts I already have at my access. My church international affiliation has churches all over the the world. I chose to reach out to some of the African people that I know personally. One contact is a principle of a pre-k to 12th grade school. Eld. Gaye is traveling in the U.S. right now. I emailed and will call the secretary of the Global Missions overseer to speak with him or receive a good email contact for him.

For my second contact, I emailed Eld. Ford, Jr. who has been instrumental in starting schools and building wells in another part of Africa. He promised to contact me Monday with contact information for an administrator or a teacher at one of the schools.

Because my first job in EC is administration, I need to know how to assist the teachers of our center. I chose the site NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATORS to study during this class.

I'm grateful for this opportunity because it will give me first hand information of the conditions of the schools that I have been supporting monetarily from a distance. I would be happy to share my extra contacts with my classmates if needed.

Conclusion of Building Research Competencies

I have gained a plethora of information on research that I had not known before taking this research class. I was afraid that the class would be another math class. However, we have learned how to ask the right question, fine tune the question, construct how the research will be done, and review the construction in order to ensure more than equality in the research but equity as well. I now understand how research of the past had gone wrong or concluded with errors. Dominant approaches to research did many social questions a disservice. Thankfully, researchers with this understanding are now working toward research that will benefit all of society, for information, for solving problems, and for correcting past conclusions.

One main challenge of this class was understanding and retaining the vocabulary of the text. However, completing the assignments and applications of the course ensured that the terms were used and understood. First line EC professionals and administrators need to participate and review research.  Proper research conducted helps improve the conditions of the classroom, teaching styles, environment, and the families of young children.

Once again, I have enjoyed sharing and interacting with the students in this course. I am taking the rest of the summer off. I’m exhausted. I will resume in the fall with my studies. Thanks to everyone that who have traveled with me in the last 4 classes. Best wishes to you all.

Early Childhood Australia

I chose the website for Early Childhood Australia (ECA) to peruse for this assignment because the agency is the equivalent of the US NAEYC organization.

‘Early Childhood Australia will advocate to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years’ (Early Childhood Australia, 2011).

This site has a plethora of information areas for many interests in the ECA field.  Research listed on the home page:

·         How does your state rate? New report examines states’ progress in early childhood reforms.

·         Everyday learning about responding to the emotional needs of children

·         Research in Practice Series: Respecting Diversity—Articulating early childhood practice

·         Research in Practice Series: The Early Years Learning Framework—Getting started

·         Research in Practice Series: Learning and teaching through play—Supporting the Early Years Learning Framework. (ECA, 2011)

There is a page dedicated to resources of the latest published research projects.

Working through the site, I discovered that ECA goals, mission, and concerns somewhat mirror that of NAECY which includes a Code of Ethics. On this site was also information from other countries on their latest discoveries and concerns.

I found it most interesting to read about their efforts for diversity. One of the links guided me to their concerns about teaching the Indigenous children within their cultural settings.  The site also has videos on different lessons. I am adding my name to their mailing list for new articles and findings.

Early Childhood Australia: A Voice for Young Children. (2011). Retrieved from

     http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Research Question

I'm concerned about children and video games.

We are constantly adding new technology into our lives since the late 20th century. I'm not sure that we know the impact of video games on children's cognitive development. weight, and eye sight. Does hours of video games harm children's over all development?

Research Chart Experience and Simulation Research

My experience this week working on the research chart for this research class was a great tool to solidify the information presented in the course. We were instructed to list three terms from this week's resources that we weren't familiar with  and define them in our own words. I wanted to list about 10 words and work with them so that I can refer back to the assignment when I need it. However, the instructions were explicit to list three terms. 

I chose for my simulated research assignment to consider the probability of children in low-income families of having disabilities in cognitive development.  Twenty-five percent of the children in the care of our facility have cognitive disabilities. Two of them have distinct autistic problems noticeable within a moment of being in their presence. I'm concerned whether cognitive disabilities have higher ratios of disabilities in this grouping.

Research can be extensive and costly. Are there any suggestions on how I could poll child care centers on a low budget?