My chosen topic for our research simulation during this course will be the benefits and challenges of a universal approach to early childhood education in our country as a way of improving programs and offering quality to all children. The articles we read in the courses "Effective Programs and Practices" and "Current Trends and Issues in Early Childhood" got me thinking about the current way we approach early childhood programming, recent efforts to raise the bar of quality, and how going to a universal system may or may not be the answer. I previously gave my opinion that a universal system would be a good idea, but I want to research it further to see what has been written to determine if I could fully support such an effort.
So far in our research simulation project, I found the first step of narrowing my question down to three sub-topics to be thought provoking and somewhat difficult. There is so much to consider with the topic of universality. It took me quite a while to zero in on what I really wanted to know more about. My other sub-topics were to research the effects state quality rating systems and NAEYC accreditation has had on program quality and how a universal system could be merged into what is currently being done for quality enhancement. I felt the effects of becoming accredited through a state effort or NAEYC has already been documented and well-known and because a universal system isn't in place yet, there might not be enough information about how to merge it with current efforts. Although, I would like to know about these things, I will leave them for future research.
The resources so far in this class has been very beneficial to me. Reading research has always been like reading another language for me, with the exception of the beginning and ending information. I felt relieved to know that the middle part wasn't crucial to read for novices. Putting the information into the chart helped me gain better understanding of how to look at an article and get the most important, and relevant, information from it.
I hope as this course progresses, we will all be better at reading and understanding the articles of research that will help us become better educators. I would be interested to know what others' processes were in choosing their sub-topics and if has led to any clarity about your chosen topic.
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post!!! Your topic sounds so exciting. I have always had issues with controlling the classroom with children who have behavioral problems. When I researched the names of behavioral problems, my mouth flew open. Reading each description made ample sense of why these children are responding in this manner. I narrowed my research topic to children with ADHD. I am interested in learning how to manage a classroom with these children and make sure they are in a safe learning environment. I feel that this is an interesting class and we should all know more than we started out knowing.
Chere'e
Hi Laurie,
ReplyDeleteI also learned about the universal approach in the Effective Programs and Practices course and this is a topic which causes many debates. One side is for universal standards and the others are against. I look forward to learning more about your viewpoint and subtopics. good luck!