When I think of research ...

Research is hard work. There are so many things to consider and to decide before the data gathering even starts. It is vitally important that the question your study asks is specific enough to be researchable. A very broad topic will means that time and resources needed will become unmanageable.

I was very interested to read and learn about qualitative methods of research. Before this course I usually equated research with statistics and quantitative data. I've learned that research takes a lot of planning. Hayes writes about "[t]he 'what' and 'how' of research" (2010, p 105) as the first steps in research design. After these points have been addressed the researcher must decide on when, where and who. All these aspects need to be decided before the study begins so that the findings reflect a 'true' answer to the question or questions being asked.

I found it very difficult to complete the tasks for the research simulation. The theoretical nature of the assignments challenged me to think in a different way. To meet this challenge I tried to incorporate the feedback I received into the next task.

Thank you to everyone who came on this journey with me. I appreciate your comments and your thoughts on the different topics we've discussed. Good luck with your future studies.

References

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Research around the world

The website that I chose to check out was the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). In the current journal from the organisation,  The European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, there are several different research topics that are explored. The role of play in early education is examined in a cross-cultural study involving Chinese and German teachers and a look at play through a Vygotskian lens. There is an article involving identifying gifted and talented children in early childhood. A study looks at interactions between children and teachers and how the teachers encourage communication. An article that caught my interest is about bilingual education preferences of Russian-speaking parents in both Germany and Israel. There are also articles about parental involvement of minority parents and school readiness. Most of these topics are universal. Many countries are trying to include bilingual children and minority families. Many programs are looking at the role of play. School readiness is also a hot topic these days as more pressure is put on early childhood programs to teach academics. 

It was interesting to read about some of the cultural differences surrounding play. Having worked in Germany, I recognised the attitude that  free play is an important aspect of learning. Having been trained in Canada, I also related to the idea that teacher guidance is vital with play activities.  Two sayings from the different cultures seem to sum up the attitude towards play. In Chinese society the saying is "industry becomes fine because of hard work and is deserted because of play" (Wu & Rao, 2011). Learning and play are seen as opposites. Recently in Hong Kong, where the researchers focused their attention, there has been a push to include more play. In German society and many other European cultures the saying is "By that we could conceive of play and learning as being inseparable and also associated to children's life-world and how they experience their surrounding world" (Wu & Rao, 2011). Play is essential to learning in this view. In recent years, though, pressure has been mounting to include more academics in early learning. This pressure comes as a result of poor showings in international testing. I found this article relevant to my situation. The Netherlands, where I live and work, has similar attitudes towards play as Germany. There has been a lot of debate recently about this topic.

References

Wu, Shu-Chen & Rao, Nirmala. (2011) Chinese and German teachers' conceptions of play and learning and children's play behaviour. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 19(4). Retrieved from website http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1350293X.2011.623511 #tabModule.