Considering Research

           Over the last eight weeks I have developed a better understanding of the different types of research and the processes involved in designing a study. There are many things to consider when designing a research project. One must first decide if the topic being studied lends itself to a quantitative, qualitative, or combination study. Then decisions must be made concerning who should participate in the study and how data should be collected. When making these decisions, issues of validity, ethics, and bias must be considered as well. It seems to me that, depending on the type of study being done, one could spend as much time preparing to do the study as it takes to actually do the study itself; this is a new realization for me.

 

            One of the challenges that I faced during this course was incorporating new knowledge into the work I was doing on the research simulation. Each week I would think that I had a fairly good understanding of the process and what would be required to carry it out, and then I would learn new information and have to rethink what I thought I knew.

Research Around the World

 

                This week our assignment was to look at a website containing information about groups from around the world and the research they are doing in early childhood education. I chose to look at the Early Childhood Development Virtual University: Sub- Saharan Africa site. The mission statement for this group is “To further develop African ECD leadership capacity as a key strategy in support of child, family and community well-being and broader social and economic development.” They do this by offering a one year Professional Certificate program, a three year Master’s Degree program, and a one year specialization certificate as well collaborating with other organizations in the region to offer a triennial African International ECD conference.

                There are many different research topics that have been covered by this group, they are displayed according to the country in which they originated. For instance, the topics covered within the country of Ghana included: The Status of Co-ordination and Supervision of Early Childhood Education in Ghana, Parents, and Other Caregivers' Perception of Early Childhood Needs and Quality in Bawjiase, Ghana, and Development of a Model Framework for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in their Early Years in Ghana.

                I looked at one of the research papers, not one of those mentioned above, that dealt with the role of fathers in the upbringing of children. It said the researchers had found that the father’s participation in the rearing of the children was very much influenced by cultural expectations and that the raising of children was a communal thing. While I did not find that statement particularly surprising, I was intrigued by the fact that one of the suggested future topics of research was whether or not fathers are actually participating in ways that have been culturally expected. I wonder if this question is put forth because they had found fathers going beyond what was normally expected, or if, in general, they were not living up to those expectations.

I also found it interesting that one of the topics dealt with the question of how to incorporate the stories of an indigenous tribe into the curriculum of early childhood education. This type of research may also be useful in areas of the U.S. where teachers are working with children from an indigenous culture – like on reservations, or in Alaska.

Here are the links, if you interested in investigating them for yourself.

http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php
http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php