Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

            My ideal research would be to conduct research on improving the school experience for African American boys.  It would be action research provided in a culturally responsive classroom that would address different learning styles, the home environment, and teaching teachers to be culturally sensitive to the needs of African American boys.  This is essential because African American males are being lost at alarming rates because of high suspension rates beginning at the preschool age and being subjected to negative stereotypes by school personnel and society.

            By conducting this much needed research I would be able to demonstrate the best practices for successfully educating young African American boys.  Hopefully I would create a paradigm shift that would change the way that educators treat African American boys and this would stop the preschool to prison pipeline.  I envision one day that more of these boys would be academically equipped to attend college and be successful contributors to society.  When children are surrounded in a culturally responsive environment where they see positive images of themselves and have teachers that care and hold high expectations, then failure is not an option!

The Research Process

My experience so far with the research process has been a bit challenging because there are many steps to creating a research plan.  The planning chart has been helpful in dissecting the different components of the research process and understanding what each step entails.  There is very little difference between African American children and Caucasian children at birth, but something happens in early childhood that causes African American children to fall behind academically between the ages of two and five.  It is my goal in life to increase the academic achievement of minority children using effective strategies.  So I must first construct a list of questions to research on this matter for instance:

1.     How do young children learn?

2.     How does poverty affect learning?

3.     How to increase literacy skills in minority children?

4.     How does culturally responsive teaching affect minority children?

This topic is of interest to me because I have experience in teaching in urban school settings and I am very concerned about the academic learning gap.  I have also witnessed very young African American boys being putting out of classrooms at the early age of three because of behavior.  These boys are feeling isolated at such a young age and this does not help them to like school or want to achieve, so I feel that the curriculum needs to be changed to be culturally responsive.  I am still trying to formulate a research question that will capture my concerns.

 

The Research Process



International Early Childhood Field

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field are being able to compare and contrast educational systems, discovering the economic plight of poor children globally, and increasing awareness of what immigrant families have experienced before coming to the US.   I have learned a wealth of information from the UNESCO (United Nations educational, Scientific, and cultural organization) website because they focus on providing quality early childhood programs and this has inspired me to take a critical eye when observing early childhood programs and policies.  The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) website provided a lot of information about how poor families struggle to survive in this country because of the lack of quality health care, housing, and quality education.  Not only did the CDF supply highly informative articles about the inequities of poor Black children and families but there was glaring statistical information to support the devastating stories.

All of this new information has impacted me greatly personally and professionally because I now have a better understanding of how the early childhood field is interconnected globally and I would like to create an international collaboration network to exchange ideas with other professionals in the field.  I have enjoyed learning from my classmates and imparting valuable information.  We can all learn from each other because the teaching career in the past was an isolating profession when teachers would just stay in the classroom and not communicate with other teachers to exchange information.  I am so much stronger and confident because of this learning experience and I plan to take this valuable information to the classroom and beyond.   

Early Care Website

 

 

 

I researched the UNESCO (United Nations educational, Scientific, and cultural organization) website (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early) and discovered that this organization supports worldwide early learning programs that focus on the whole child which includes healthy nutrition and a stable quality learning environment.  The educational section of the website highlighted the need for equality and availability of quality education in many countries.  The next section focused on quality education and the importance of instilling nutrition in children and getting parents involved in early education before formal schooling begins.  Child-centered learning is encouraged and the appropriate learning materials must be provided.  Investment and financing is another area of concern this website addresses because many countries experience challenges to afford quality education programs.  Especially in developing countries, a choice has to be made to either feed or clothe the poor or to invest in universal early education.

This website raised my awareness of the advocacy measures that are being implemented globally for the educational rights for children.  All children deserve a meaningful quality education and even this organization realizes that when educating children it has to be viewed holistically.  We cannot be focused on just the academic needs for children but also the health and welfare of our children.  I now realize that many countries struggle with prioritizing universal early childhood education as well as the United States and this website has given me a better understanding of what our immigrant families have endured in their countries before arriving in the US.   Education is a priceless commodity and should be accessible to all children equally without economic biases. 

 

 



Sharing Web Resources

 I deserve a

#StrongStart!

http://www.nbcdi.org        National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI)

 

Our mission “to improve and advance the quality of life for Black children and their families through education and advocacy.” 

VISION

NBCDI envisions a society that ensures a successful future for all children

          The National Black Child Development(NBCDI) is a great advocacy organization that focuses on improving the health and well being for Black children by advocating for policies, programs, and engaging professionals in the quest for justice.  Every year NBCDI puts on a very informative conference that offers workshops and dynamic speakers that share the new research in early childhood education and suggestion on how to improve the Black family as a whole (healthcare, education, and economics).  The NBCDI addresses the following initiatives which are:

·       Policy

·       Early Care and Education

·       Health

·       Family Engagement

·       Literacy

·       Child Welfare

 

            In early January the NBCDI started a great advocacy campaign called “Smart Start Campaign for Early Learning” which involved a massive Twitter feed on January 21 advocating for early learning to the President a week before “The State of the Union Address).  Supporters (children, parents, and educators) were asked to take a photo holding a sign that read “strong start for children” that they could download from the NBCDI website and send to President Obama a week before his speech to remind him to speak up for the rights of young children.  This campaign was very effective because the President did mention the benefits of an early childhood education. 

            Under the resource section on the website there is an article “A Framework That Works: How Prek-3^rd Can Be a Smart Strategy for Black Kids. Families and Communities” that suggests strategies to close the achievement gap between White and Black students.  The earlier Black children are submerged into a quality early childhood setting the better the results (NBCDI, 2014).  These children benefit from having a close and supportive relationship with teachers and culturally responsive teaching.  Strong family engagement in the learning process is crucial for academic attainment.  Teachers must be “Highly Qualified” in order to give the best services to Black children and they must have high expectations for these children if they are to be academically successful.

            I gained a wealth of knowledge from this website and I would welcome my colleagues to visit this website often.  The resource section contains helpful articles that have enlightened my thoughts on the best strategies to serve my students and their families.  I also learned that there needs to be an academic framework established through a cultural lens if we truly want Black children to thrive and succeed academically.

 

References

National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), (2014). Retrieved from

            http://www.nbcdi.org

 

 

“Global Children’s Initiative” website

 

“Global Children’s Initiative” website

 

            The Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University uses research to provide each child in the US and around the world with a promising future {Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010).  Good health and economic security are some of the primary focuses because children cannot function well if they are plagued by illnesses and poverty.  Out of this organization came the Global Children’s Initiative that accentuates three main areas which are:

1)     To educate the people who impact policy about the scientific research regarding health, behavior, and the dynamics of learning.

2)     To support multidisciplinary research and projects in various countries and to explore the components of healthy development and what causes the interference of healthy development.

3)     To create leaders in early child development policy and research in low to middle income countries in order to gain a diverse perspective for the advocacy of children’s rights.

The three areas of activities are early childhood development, child mental health, and children in crisis which are led by faculty of the organization in order to build a larger research base   In the early childhood field the focus is to create quality early childhood  programs around the world and to develop meaningful assessments.  There is research being done to improve the early learning programs in Chile. 

In the areas of mental health there is a concern about the mental health of children globally and if they are actually receiving mental health services.  A study is being conducted about the affects of HIV/AIDS on Rwandan children and what strategies would be helpful for parents.  Also there is a study being done about child abuse and how mental health services are being allocated in some of the Caribbean countries.  There is also a push to study the effects of natural disasters on children who live in Chile and Haiti because earthquakes impacted both countries.  There are a lot of children suffering from malnutrition globally and the Harvard researchers involved with this initiative want to form a collaboration team that is interdisciplinary to help find some solutions.  I think this is a wonderful research group and it is very helpful for teachers because it gives a scientific basis for why some things occur in early childhood.  This site offers much more than just research because it is research in action, because these scientists are actually changing the world by one project at a time. Now I am more inspired to do more scientific research.

References

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2010). Global children's initiative.

            Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities