Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

The three individuals that I spoke with this week concerning culture included three different ethnic groups:  White, Arabic and Black.  This group included a co-worker, a parent in the programs that I work for and a friend.  When I questioned them of their definitions of culture their definitions were pretty similar.  They referred to culture as the values, beliefs and traditions that they have.  They all believed that their culture is important to them and that every person’s culture should be respected.  When speaking to them about diversity and their definition of the word they thought that it meant the differences between individuals and groups no matter their ethnicity or culture. 

The definitions that I received from all three of these individuals are similar to those the definitions that have been studies thus far in this course.   The beliefs, values and traditions all represent culture and diversity meaning each person is uniquely different and should be respected. 

I believe that when listening to others definition of culture and diversity as opposed to my own and what I have learned thus far is that each person’s culture is important to them.  They want to be valued and respected no matter their cultural background.  A person’s culture can help you to understand a person and shouldn’t be looked down upon, instead you should try to understand why others may react differently than most, why their traditions and beliefs may differ from your own and you should respect them for those differences and appreciate that without this diverse world there would be no uniqueness.    

My Family Culture

If there was ever a catastrophe in my country and I had to live in a country where the culture was different from my own and I was only allowed to take three small items I would take my Bible, a photo album with family pictures and my wedding bands.  These are three of the thinks that are most important to me.

My Bible is important to me because it represents my religion and they are the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.  This is and would be my comfort while trying to get accustomed to another culture and for my daily living and survival.  I would take my photo album because pictures are worth a thousand words and they hold fond memories of me and my family together showing unconditional love.  I would take my wedding bands because my marriage and my husband are one of the most important parts of my life, I wear them daily and would be lost without having them on.

If I was told once I arrived that I couldn't have but one of those items and would have to give the others up I would be devastated.  I wouldn't want to part with any of those items because those would be the only things left that I would own.  The choice would be easy but it would still be hard to handle.  I would have to give up my family album and my wedding bands.  I would have to keep my Bible because this would be the only thing that would allow me to cope and live from day to day in a country where everything around me is unfamiliar and new.  Memories last a lifetime and I could never forget my family, my marriage or my husband because they would be right there with me and we could begin to make new memories together, however, my Bible would be needed so that I can continue to learn the word of God and to continuously keep my faith, as well as my sanity. 

I have always knew that my religion and my family are the most important parts of my life.  I love them dearly and would probably be lost without them.  When starting this assignment when asked the three things that I would take with me I think I thought about it all of five minutes because I know what is important in my life, my religion and my family.  When having to narrow it down to only one item it was easy because God will always be first in my life.  Don't get me wrong I'm not where I need to be in Christ but I am a work in progress and I know that if I continue to pray and I read the word of God, He will direct my paths.

When I Think of Research......

     As I began the journey of learning about research there were many thoughts going through my
 mind.  Not being able to understand research studies was a little intimidating and I honestly didn't know a whole lot.  As we come to the completion of this course I can say that I know more now than I did starting at week 1. 

     My ideas about the nature of research hasn't changed.  Research is important, it can still be hard to understand but now I have a foundation that will allow be to be better prepared when reading research studies and when conducting my own.

     Some of the lessons about planning research that I have learned is first you have to be interested in the topic and others would need to want to know more on the topic.  A good research design is imperative as well.  I also learned to dertermine what types of research there is and differences between qualitative and quantative research, what to look for when trying to find credible sources for research and here in week 8 about equity being just and fair. Although I believe their is more to learn about research I am confident that what I have learned throughout this course will be beneficial to be as I continue on in the field of early childhood education. 

     The biggest challenge that I had during this course was refining my research topic so that I could find the best information on the topic.  I met these challenges with the help of Dr. Darragh and her providing feedback from the countless emails that I sent to her and for that I say thank you. 

    I would also like to say thank you to all of my colleagues for you feedback, from your post on blogs and in discussion board because reading your comments that were given to me and the post that you all did throughout the weeks were a big help in becoming more familiar with research. 

     Research is and always will be important in the field of early childhood education.

Thanks again for all of your support!!  Good luck in 6164!!

Research Around the World

Early Childhood Australia serves the same purpose as the NAEYC does for us here in the United States.  Some of the international research topics that ECA is doing include learning positive behavior through educator-child relationships.  The topics covered in this research project includes what is meant by positive behavior, both educator and child perspectives on the reasons for the different types of behaviors, being able to understand children’s feelings and intentions, nurturing children and building relationships.

In February in their Early Childhood news they discussed ECA’s submission in advocating so that all children can be exposed to quality early childhood education and it is their belief that it is a child’s right to that education, no matter the backgrounds that they come from.  To improve access to early childhood education, ECA has proposed a target that 90 percent of children three to five years old should be accessing Early Childhood Education and Care(ECEC) by 2020 (ECA, 2014).  ECA is also in the process of trying to implement a new funding system so that all children will have access.

There weren’t really any surprising facts about the international site as many early childhood educators and programs around the world are having the same issues and trends as many early childhood professionals are and they are attempting to find innovative ways to alleviate or work around obstacles so that they can ensure all children receive quality early childhood education and care.

Reference

Early Childhood Australia:  http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Research that Benefit Children and Families

When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school longer and like school more (National Education Association, 2013).

This topic is important to me because I have been in education for quite some time now.  I began this journey working in the public school and from there began working in early childhood and it is my opinion that parents aren’t involved the way that they should be in their child’s education and because of this children aren’t learning at their full potential. 

A synthesis research was conducted by Southwest Educational Development Laboratory that has been done over the past decade on the involvement of parents.  In their findings it showed that children tend to do better with learning, they go to school more because they are interested, they have a higher educational ranks, many go on to continue their education once graduating from high school and their social skills tend to be better with less behavioral problems and this is all because of parental involvement. 

Even in my own experiences I have found that children strive to do better because of the encouragement and involvement that they receive from their parents.  I have learned that most of the behavioral problems that I have encountered since being in the education profession were from children whose parents were less involved. 

If parents truly understood the impact that they have on their child’s learning we would have more children who would reach their full potential.  The only problem is getting them to learn and understand that it’s not all up to the professionals; they play a huge role in it as well.

Reference

National Education Association (2013).  Research Spotlight on Parental Involvement in Education Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/tools/17360.htm/

My Personal Research Journey

The subtopic that I chose for my simulation is understanding emotional development and regulating emotions.  I chose this topic because children often have problems with their emotions and sometimes find it hard or don't know how to regulate them. 

During this week I have payed close attention to the resources provided and it has allowed me to begin to get a better understanding of research and the proper steps to take when choosing a research topic.  Our text tells us that we should choose a topic that we are interested in and secondly one that others are interested in (Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010) and I know one of my interest is emotional development and I believe parents and others would like to learn more on the topic. 

While constructing the research chart this week I was able to better understand some research phrases and it offered me the chance to reflect on what I have been reading this week to better understand research.  I won't deny that I knew little about it when first starting the process and I have only begun to learn what it means to look for credible and quality sources.  I believe that as this class continues I will become more knowledgeable of the research process and hopefully one day become an avid researcher. 

If there is anything that any of you can do to help me to better understand this process or if you have any ideas/suggestions or questions that you have on the topic that I have chosen I hope that you will share them with me, and I will do the same for you. 

Reference

Naughton, G. M., Rolfe, S. A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing Early Childhood Research, 2nd Edition.  New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.