Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

I chose option one because I would like to share and article that I read that relates to research that benefits children and families. Early childhood education has many different research that is done which has a great impact on the lives of children and families. "A vast body of research has demonstrated that Early Child Development (ECD) programs benefit children, families, and communities. The reduced dropout and repetition rates, improved school achievements, greater adult productivity, and higher levels of social and emotional functioning encouraged by ECD programs make them a highly cost-effective means of strengthening society as a whole by ensuring that its individual members live up to their full potentials"(worldbank.org).

Evaluations of well-conceived programs designed to foster early development demonstrate that children who participate in these programs tend to be more successful in later school, are more competent socially and emotionally, and show better verbal, intellectual and physical development during early childhood than children who are not enrolled in high quality programs.

With the evaluations of these programs helping young children to be more successful, I wish that all children could go to schools that will help them get a great education because it is important. In my opinion no child should be left out from getting a good education because at the end of the day they need education in order to move through their journey in reaching their highest potential. I work at a high quality center and I make sure that my classroom environment is positive and welcoming to all my students so that they will feel comfortable learning.I love children and want the best for them and will continue teaching them to the best of my ability.

Reference http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTCY/EXTECD/0,,contentMDK:20259127~menuPK:527099~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:344939,00.html

My Personal Research Journey

The topic which I have chosen to research is Diversity in early childhood education. I chose this topic because I want to learn more strategies to use to help with my diverse children and families in the classroom.I also chose this topic because in today's society we are seeing more young children and families that are diverse entering into the schools every school year and early childhood educators have to know how to build relationships with diverse children and families. I see so many children and parents that speak different languages especially Spanish which is the most dominant one I hear a lot.I have found that being able to communicate appropriately and being able to teach diverse children effectively helps them to be able to learn and be successful through out their journey in school. For example, I have two Hispanics in my classroom this year and both of them are speaking primarily English at school and Spanish at home so I am happy that they know both languages.They are both are progressing very well and I know they will do even better in kindergarten next school year.

The process on researching Diversity has been interesting.There are a lot of great resources available that support Diversity in early childhood education. According to Barrera, Corso, and Macpherson understanding how to respond to cultural diversity is one key to successful interaction with young children and their families (Barrera, Corso, and Macpherson, 2003).We are approaching the end of week two in this course and I am getting more knowledgeable about researching resources and expanding on the learning resources weekly. Check out this link that talks about "Supporting cultural and linguistic diversity in early childhood "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWg-ZrV3wPk this is a great video on how teachers around the world are opening up with diverse children in their classrooms.

I am interested in finding out more helpful ways with diverse children and families in early childhood. I ask that if any of my colleagues are able to find additional resources that is related to my topic to please share the information with me. I promise it will be beneficial.

Reference

Barrera, I., Corso, R. M., & Macpherson, D. (2003). Skilled Dialogue: Strategies for Responding to Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood. Brookes Publishing, PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624.

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=548