Reflections

Coming into this course, I was pretty much a novice at research.  I had never really studied this much beyond science class where hypotheses were tested as part of a lab course.  Taking this class has opened my eyes to the world of research.  I imagined research to be carried out by people in white lab coats, and while some may do this, this course helped me see that research is possible for everyone.  As I soaked up the knowledge in EDUC 6163, I began to see that research can be carried out by everyday professionals.

Most of the terms to me were new, so I had to really grapple for understanding at times.  However, I believe that I am much more prepared to conduct research, but really I am much more prepared to READ research.  Through this course I learned the importance and technique of conducting a literature review.  I guess I really gained a greater understanding of the research process.  I had no idea that quantitative and qualitative research existed (using those terms to define) and the mixed methods approach was new to me as well. 

I learned that there are many steps involved in a research project. I never realized the number of hours that a single project could take.  I also learned that above all, ethics must be maintained in all facets of the research. 

One of the biggest challenges for me was understanding the difference between dependent and independent variables.  I had to read and reread the examples, and read some other examples as well.  I think I have a better understanding of these terms.  Since most of this information was new to me, I really had to keep an open mind and seek to find the answers to my questions.  I think that the charts we completed really aided my understanding.

I will no longer see researchers as those mad scientists wearing lab coats.  I now see that research is an extensive process that individuals can accomplish and participate in. 

A big thank you goes out to all of you, as you have aided my understanding in this class!  Your thoughts and insights have been extremely valuable.  Thank you, Dr. Walker for seeing us through the end of the course!

International Website

For this blog assignment, I visited the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) website.  This website gave general information regarding early childhood programs in Sub-Sahara Africa.  The goal is to create strong leadership in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) field by aiding those in the field with support. 

I found that a vast amount of research has been conducted.  On the ECDVUSSA website, there is a link to publications.  I found that research topics from several African countries are listed.  I saw topics ranging from the role of fathers in ECE in Nigeria, to the importance and ways of strengthening the role of grandparents as parents in Uganda. 

In looking at the topics that have been researched, I see that the concerns of children in other areas of the world are similar to those of other countries.  It seems that a desire to aid families in empowering through education is alive.  I also found in skimming a couple of the research articles that there was a sense that researchers were not trying to implement new practices, but strengthen existing ones, but at the same time tried to provide education to empower.