This website had to be bookmarked for future reference!  I was very impressed by the success it has enjoyed wholly on it's own, with no outside financial support. Being a self-sustaining non-profit organization, they avoid the risk of influence by special interest groups on the information it compiles and distributes.
    When exploring current research, I found it helpful that Journal submissions are categorized by most read, current, latest, and most cited. Browsing most read, many of the articles listed were about incorporating children into the research process, as we studied in this course. Articles such as:

•      Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood by Tim Waller & Angeliki Bitou
•      Introducing children's perspectives and participation in research by Deborah Harcourt & Johana Einarsdottir
•     Listening to young citizens: the struggle to make real a participatory paradigm in research with young children by Christine Pascal & Tony Bertram

spanning from 2009 to 2011. Latest articles held a mixed listing of topics dating as recently as November 17, 2014. Current articles and most cited articles gave me an idea of what is the current trend in the early childhood field. Reading these article titles and observing the dates written, it is obvious and exciting that around the world as well as in the U.S., the importance of a strong supportive experience in the earliest years  of humans is becoming accepted fact. Our professional field is gaining respect for the expertise that it requires and the major influence it can have on a child's trajectory.  Children, with the help of the UNCRC, are becoming visible and are more involved in their own development through pedagogy of guidance rather than authoritarianism. I feel like I am getting in on the ground floor of a maturing professional field!

Reference:

European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA)  Retrieved from: http://www.eecera.org/

Exciting concept of mixed age child care settings

     By comparing the work I do now in center-based care, where classes are grouped rigidly by age, with the home day care I operated for 12 years, I feel strongly that mixed age group care is more beneficial,  not only for the children, but for caregivers as well.

     In reading scholarly articles to determine if any experts had conducted research on this idea, information was limited. A study whose purpose was directed more toward teacher's ability to rate children based on postdevelopmental perspectives as opposed to developmental approaches gave many examples of benefits to the mixed age group setting. Scaffolded learning resulted in older children taking the lead, the younger children rising to challenges, empathy for the babies, and less stress for the caregivers. These are some quotes from the article:

   With regard to ELL's:

"This form of learning was perceived as particularly important to Gina, who worked in a centre with a large number of families whose first language was not English. She believed the multiage classroom contained a variety of skill levels in respect of language development which provided a framework for supporting

the children’s acquisition of English. A chronological classroom containing second-language learners would not necessarily have provided the younger children with the same level of exposure to the older children (Edwards, Blaise & Hammer, 2009)."

 

   With regard to teacher stress and social development:    

"The teachers discussed how, in multiage settings, older children were more likely to intervene when they saw a child upset, providing comfort and reassurance and creating a sense of community and caring within the group. They argued that this level of engagement was not normally possible in situations where all the children are of a similar age, and that having older children to spread the ‘developmental load’ reduced teacher stress associated with toddler tantrums, sharing, turn-taking, and the need to provide scaffolded support for appropriate peer interactions (Edwards, Blaise & Hammer, 2009)."
 

     With regard to cognitive development:

"Although these examples were expressed developmentally, they provided examples of children, particularly babies, working beyond their supposed ‘ages and stages’ of developmental progress. Thus two-year-olds confidently handling hammers and older children competently nurturing babies were reported as examples of how multiage grouping works to support children’s learning in ways not seen in traditional chronologically–based classrooms (Edwards, Blaise, & Hammer)."

  

     I loved all the observations made by the teachers in this article and wish I could post 75% of them to this blog. They overcame parent's worries about older children harming babies, shocked staff who were not teachers with the calmness and happiness of the classrooms, and provided positive social development to all the participants. I wish I could find more about this subject; if any of my colleagues has heard of research done on this I would appreciate the tip.

 

Reference:

 

Edwards, S., Blaise, M., & Hammer, M. (2009). Beyond developmentalism? Early childhood teachers' understandings of multiage grouping in early childhood education and care. Australasian Journal Of Early Childhood, 34(4), 55-63. Retrieved Nov. 15, 2014 from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=157c4832-337c-4316-9030-cf0e876695be%40sessionmgr4001&vid=11&hid=4109 

 

My Personal Research Journey

     My assignment is to attempt a simulated research on a subject that interests me. Throughout my life I have been fascinated by what drives a person to hurt defenseless children or animals. I have always been a gentle, caring person who loves to love and be loved, and I am so at a loss to understand what is going through people's minds who act in a hostile manner toward anyone. My child rearing did not involve any spanking, yelling, or manipulation. The three children I raised and the many children I cared for in my home day care are happy, successful people at different stages of their lives. My goal in working with children and families is to teach people how to raise their children with my methods, and proving that corporal punishment is not necessary will work toward that goal.
     My research subject will be "Is inappropriate student behavior displayed more or less by children who experience corporal punishment at home?"
     My first general search on the web led me to a blog called "Kidjacked", which although was not a quality source for data, did provide links to every state for the most updated laws regarding corporal punishment. The copyright for Kidjacked was 2014, but the notation on updates stated the last one was November 19, 2012. Many of the links led to current information, such as National Child Abuse Defense and Resource Center, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and InnocentDads.org.(http://kidjacked.com/, N.A., 2012)
     I plan on reading whatever updated information I can find on the Pearls, a couple who wrote a book about the proper use of corporal punishment. Their philosophy came to my attention when reading a news article about the arrest of parents who caused the death of their child from following the Pearl's methods (Eckhold, 2011).

References:

Eckhold, E. (2011). Preaching Virtue of Spanking, Even as Deaths Fuel Debate. NY Times, Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/us/deaths-put-focus-on-pastors-advocacy-of-spanking.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Kidjacked, Retreived from: http://kidjacked.com/

THE RESEARCH CHART
     I am having difficulty with the terms in the chapter for this week, and ultimately with the chart. I want to hear from my classmates--is anyone else finding this hard to understand? I am reading it over and over, but I think I need examples to understand it.
     What are some paradigms? Are there a specific set of "beliefs?" or are they infinite? Because ontology and epistemology's definitions rely on sets of beliefs, I don't really understand them fully either. Methodology is clearer to me because it is more concrete.
     Any laymans terms out there would be greatly appreciated.

Not a Villain in the Bunch

   

 This Friday at my Child Development Center we celebrated "Fall Festival". The children were encouraged to dress as superheroes, princesses, or a person from a storybook. No pirates, no skeletons, no Captain Hooks, and we were not allowed to mention Halloween. Like as if the kids didn't know it was Halloween.
     How can we have all good guys and no bad guys? Can children fully understand what not to be like? All children's folktales have bad guys, usually a wolf, and sometimes it's stepparents. I put this question out for opinions of my classmates--is it wrong to let children dress up as the big, bad wolf, or the wicked witch?

Learning on an International Level

     Before beginning my studies of Early Education at Walden University, I did not think beyond the scope of the world I was familiar with. From the first assignment in The Developing Child in the 21st Century by Sandra Smidt I was introduced to global issues children face that are much different than the ones the children I had taught and cared for face.
     This awareness was enlightening. To think about improving the lives and experiences of children around the world, not just here in America, was exciting. Currently going through NAEYC accreditation at my center, I find myself constantly wondering if other countries are aware of the standards we strive for.
     A consequence I have experienced is a constant comparing of America to other countries. I can get lost for immeasurable amounts of time following links from one article to the next, trying to decide: are doing better by our children or are we falling behind? As with most things, there is no exact answer when many factors come into play.
     I have developed a new appreciation for the amount of work being done in advocating for young children. Researching the many websites devoted to causes and backed by scientific research has given me hope that the future of our profession will be taken more seriously. I must do my part but am still working on how to be more effective than 8 families at a time.
     A goal of mine would be to take part in and possible even head a committee at one of the organizations introduced to me over these courses, many of which have offices in Washington, DC, such as:

Association for Childhood International
NAEYC
ZEROTOTHREE
Children's Defense Fund
Stand for Children
Save the Children

Early Childhood Deveopment in Mpumlanga, South Africa

   

      Through my chats with Lindiwe, it seems high turnover and low education of providers is a problem there as well as in America. Not only are those new to the field undercompensated, most are volunteers! Most become volunteers through word of mouth and relative referrals, then become paid contracted teachers after years of experience and further education, which is costly. There are home providers, private centers, and government run centers. Trainings are all provided by government departments of education, social services, and health.
     Lindiwe is satisfied with her position and does not intend to pursue further educations other than the recurrent trainings she receives from the school and the government. She has been teaching preschool for 12 years, and is happy. I did not receive any response when I asked her about her hopes and dreams.
     I did a bit of further research because the conversations intrigued me to learn more, but I did not hear back from her as often as I had questions. Training of "child minders" and ECD practitioners through workshops has been done on curriculum knowledge, skills development and assessment of children's knowledge and skills. They received certificates of different levels, the highest without university studies being a 4 (N.I.H.E., 2011)
     Major issues for educators are overcrowding of schools (in the province of Gert Sibande, the rural school studied had 390 children and 3 practitioners), educators who hold certificates in ECD are paid the same as those who don't, salaries are often paid late, and many "educators" are not qualified to teach (N.I.H.E, 2011).

References:

N.I.H.E, National Institute for Higher Education. (2011). Early childhood development in Mpumalanga: A review of the integrated ECD provision and implementation, Mpumalanga Department of Education, pp 79-89 Retrieved from: http://www.nihemp.ac.za/images/Report%20on%
  

 The website I have been following has this link along the right side of the page, toward the middle. Each of the categories leads to articles written by the various sponsors who are experts in the headed fields. While all the links have pertinent, current information, the E-Learning category led me to an article that relates to
my discussion post suggestion this week


.

An article entitled Bringing World Language Education to Everyone describes a tablet program issued to 100 students in a small rural town in Vermont. It enables students beginning in kindergarten to learn Spanish, French, Chinese or German through interactive activities. The tablets go home with the children, where they can practice and easily involve parents. The following paragraph is from the paper, which does not designate an author but is more of an advertisement with validation.

                                      The result has been a different view of world

                                      languages, one that recognizes its importance in

                                      putting students on a path to academic achievement

                                      and cultural empathy. “The language program has

                                      grown from being perceived as an enrichment activity

                                      to a core subject area that is increasingly integrated

                                      with and central to the rest of the school curricula,”

                                      said Principal Johnston. “Middlebury Interactive’s

                                      courses have been transformative to our school and

                                      is unique in my 40 years of experience as an educator.”

To read the whole presentation, click on the link:https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/images/WP-Middlebury_BringingWorldLanguageEducation.pdf

An area I found by a tiny link in the upper right corner of the screen was the Education Week Digital access. It displayed an interactive version set up like a paper hardcopy. In the "inside cover" was a listing of their supporters, which I was unable to find on the regular webpage. A short list of the many foundations includes:

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-supports college and career ready reporting and standards
Hope Foundation-supports educational equity and school reform
Joyce Foundation-supports improvements of the teaching profession
NOYCE Foundation-supports the institution of STEM in public schools
School climate and student behavior are supported by a number of different foundations, including but limited to Atlantic Philanthropies, Raikes Foundation, and California Endowment
The Ford Foundation supports visionary leaders and organizations on the frontline of social change, the strengthening of democratic values, the reduction of poverty and injustice, the promotion of international cooperation and advancement of human achievement.

There are so many more, all with FANTASTIC GOALS AND PURPOSES!! I love this website.

My e-newsletter alerted me to a free webinar High Quality Early Education: Policy and Practice with guests Laura Bornfreund, deputy director, Early Childhood Initiative, New America Foundation
and Debi Mathias, director, QRIS National Learning Network. They discuss current early-childhood policy, efforts underway to bolster preschool quality, and suggestions for improvements at the local, state, and federal levels.  Although I was not available to attend the webinar on October 6th, it will be available to me through the archives for 4 months.

This website is so full of information on current issues that it is impossible to read it all every issue. I have found it extremely resourceful every time I have gone to it regarding the subject at hand. By searching "excellence and equity", I accessed the following article:

Excellence and Equity: Policy Lessons From Around the World by Anthony Jackson. It was a summary of the ideas discussed at the 4th  International Summit on the Teaching Profession  held in Wellington, New Zealand.  this past April and attended by countries as diverse as Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. The result of their discussions of what works to reduce the achievement gaps seen in lower socio-economic students was a combination of solutions, including bonus incentives, increased technology as additional teaching tools, training of skills and data to identify problems early, along with mentoring and coaching, forming collaborative cultures among teachers for support (Jackson, 2014).

Reference:

Jackson,A. (2014). Excellence and equity: Policy lessons from around the world. Education Week. Retrieved from:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/global_learning/2014/04/excellence_and_equity_policy_lessons_from_around_the_world.html?qs=equity+and+excellence