When I think of Research ...

As another course in my program on public policy and advocacy comes to a close I look back on the last eight weeks. What I have found is how unsure and hesitant I was about this course in the beginning. Research has not, in the past, been a topic or a task to complete that I felt strongly about or that I felt I could do on my own as a professional. However, after this course I feel that if I wanted to or needed to I could perform a research study now. Each week of this course the elements and steps of a research study were discussed and reviewed. Aong the way, understanding the different types of research studies that could be conducted gave me uncertainity at first but once broken down into steps, completed in the chart format as given, it gave me a clearer picture. So if I follow the steps and be sure to include all the necessary elements I could complete a research study that could impact the future of early childhood. Through this latest course and therefore gaining the knowledge of performing a research study, significant impact and changes could be made in early childhood if we all take the individual research study simulations we designed, put them in practice, and share the results.

International Early Childhood Issues

As we continue to learn about early childhood through this research class, as we have in previous courses I am always interested to learn if other states or even countries have the same or similar issues in relation to early childhood. So to see if this were true I used my long time interest in Australia as the source of comparison for early childhood issues.

Therefore, it was enlightening to learn that when I viewed the Early Childhood website in Australia, http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/, that the topics I found were the same. Current resources include sleeping, health and obesity, school readiness, climate change, and belonging. In the archives I found that quality standards, an early learning framework, literacy, and health are all issues related to early childhood affecting Australia just as the same issues affect early childhood here in the US.

What I also found interesting was the online catalog with the availability to purchase resources for children, families, and professionals. As with other early childhood sites here in the US there was also the option to join the mailing list or become a member. Connections between the US and Australia exist within the realm of early childhood if in no other aspects.