Examining International Research Topics

In the last course we were asked to establish communication with an international contact. I was fortunate to meet Mahamadou, a university student in Mali. Over the course of the term, he helped enlightened me to several issues in his country such as poorly funded schools and huge numbers of students per teacher in even the earliest grades. Unfortunately, the ECDVU Sub-Saharan Africa had no research links for this particular country but it did have several for Nigeria, geographically the closest country to Mali represented.  One study focused on the extent to which fathers are involved with their children’s upbringing (Hua, 1986) and another on the care and nutrition of motherless babies’ (Akomas, 2004).

(Different community than one studies by Hua.)

Concerning the childrearing practices of fathers within the Shanna community in Nigeria, Hua (1986) found that traditions were fairly strongly upheld by the men; women were seen as the predominant care giver to all children before the age of five and then men became stronger participants – especially in the lives of their sons. It was a bit surprising to me to learn that by the time a man reached his twilight years (too old to work in the fields) he took on the role of early childhood provider with the assistance of the grandmother. Grandfathers provided guidance, instruction, mediation and entertainment expectantly. The article gave me the impression that this was seen more as a positive responsibility – never a burden. The only indications of negativity were the true enough statements about taking the bitter with the sweet where children are concerned (Hua, 1986). Unfortunately, the article is more than 20 years old – I would be very interested to see how this community has survived Westernization since.

Upon initial examination of the research article regarding orphaned children (Akomas, 2004), I am a bit confused by the mechanics of the paper. The abstract focuses almost exclusively on the nutritional support provided to children orphaned by HIV/AIDS with a minute mention of cognitive stimulation, but the outline includes such information as hygiene, immunizations, the father’s role and the adequacy of care for sick children (Akomas, 2004). Upon deeper examination of the study, I found it to be somewhat confusing in its organization and contain a great deal of repetition, creating for me a high level of frustration and low level of comprehension. Perhaps I am being too critical, but I did not get the sense of completion from this paper.  Nonetheless, this does appear to be primarily a “fact finding mission” and the recommendations are significant yet idealistic. Akomas (2004) includes a great deal of content, but in my opinion, there is little meaning.

I suppose it is apparent that there are significant structural differences between the two chosen research articles: so much so that it strongly affected my ability to follow the content. I’m not sure if that was partially the purpose of this assignment, but it was certainly an eye opening consequence!

hypothetical research

What would early learning programs across America look like it if all government officials were required to enroll their children/grandchildren in state/government run early learning centers during their term of office?

I would imagine that at first there would be many who would either balk at the prospect of enrolling the children in their lives into these programs due to the possible stigma that accompanies participation in government assisted anything. Others would perhaps look for loopholes to avoid such requirements and still others would embrace the idea, get a genuine feel for the experience and become advocates for ECE across the nation. It would be my hope that the majority would fall into the later camp and use their political influence to improve early learning for all children, raising the bar for the care/education of children, as well as training and compensation for professionals.

From personal experience, I have seen support for my program improve at two different school after the principals’ children were enrolled in the program!

Let the process begin...

I am finding research to be very challenging so far. My study has to do with the connection between the developmentally appropriate practice of play-based learning and the early learning standards as well as the issue of pre-service teachers; how are they being prepared for employment and are they receiving training in how to implement DAP that include play to meet these standards.

I have spent the last several years primarily in secondary education (and anticipate returning to either high school or community college after graduation) and I really would like to improve strategies for teaching pre-service teachers – and even future parents – in the importance of play and how it can be effectively implemented to prepare children for school and a lifetime of learning. Too often I have students who just want to do worksheets or “cookie cutter” projects with children; they look at the standards and all they see are direct instruction. I suppose this has to do with the mindset of “this is how I am taught, that must be the only way to do it” or that many of the students that I have in my classrooms either don’t remember how to play or they never really had a chance to do so as a child in the first place so they cannot relate the concepts of learning and play-based activities. I try to incorporate play into my classroom whenever I can, but I know I fall short.

That said, I would like to find strategies to improve teaching that will ultimately make a huge impact on learner and teacher alike. Unfortunately, this is a tall order for the 6 weeks left in this course. Fortunately, it is a challenge that I look forward to – even if I make a small impact it will be worth it. But where do I start? I am really struggling trying to narrow down my topic to one workable question. Do I focus on how play is viewed as an instructional tool, what resources are available to assist in the planning and facilitation of play-based learning, or how play relates to the current standards?  I even considered looking into the strategies that instructors currently use to teach this concept to pre-service teachers. I just feel lost and overwhelmed already!

Tomorrow will be a better day…