Research that Benefits Children and Families

If I could implement an imaginary study that could potentially make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and their families within the early childhood field I would focus on providing universal high quality preschool programs for all 3-5 year old children. There have been many studies done which have proven the effectiveness of quality early childhood care and education, yet it continues to be something that has a serious lack of funding in many states (including here in Pennsylvania). I would focus my study on making a comparison between the positive outcomes of children who attended universal high quality preschool compared to children who had no or low quality childcare/education prior to starting kindergarten. My hypothesis would be that children who had the opportunity to attend a universal high quality preschool will perform better in all areas of development including cognitive and social/emotional when compared to children who received little to no or low quality childcare/education at the end of their Kindergarten year. My hope would be that the study would help to fund the initiative for the implementation of universal high quality preschool for all children ages 3-5.

My Personal Research Journey-Week 2

I have chosen to study the topic of early intervention effectiveness in relation to the coaching/collaborative service delivery model regarding serving preschool children with special needs in early childhood environments. Specifically, I would like to find out what factors improve the effectiveness of this model and what factors decrease or impede the effectiveness of this model of intervention. With the limited and/or lack of funding available in early intervention right now the organization I work for has had to find creative ways to help children demonstrating delays. One way we are doing that is by implementing a coaching and collaboration service delivery model to help improve inclusive practices, provide training to early childhood educators and implement children's IEP's in "typical" early childhood environments.

I have found the simulation process to be very intimidating and I have really struggled narrowing down a sub-topic of interest. I feel as though constructing the research chart has already begun to help clarify terminology that I did not have a clear understanding of before, however, I know that I still have a long way to go in understanding how to design and implement a quality research project.

If anyone has any experience working with early intervention staff through a coaching/collaborative approach I would be more than happy to hear your experiences, good or bad. Also, if anyone has any suggestions as to how to improve inclusive practices and/or communication between early intervention providers, I'm all ears.

Week 8-Final Blog Assignment

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field:

1) Understanding that the issues related to the perception of early childhood educators around the world is similar to here in the US, helps us see the global need for advocacy in our profession.

2) Reading my colleagues posts who have been able to make contact with EC educators around the world helps me to realize the resources that we have on a daily basis that we take for granted.

3) Learning about the early childhood field and how it is addressed globally assists in broadening our focus on how to build a brighter future for children not only within our community, but around the world.

One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations is for there to be in increase in resources which allow for open communication between various early childhood organizations and professions as a forum for sharing ideas, resources and brainstorming challenges related to the EC field.