Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

According to Solomon & Chung (2012) there has been a dramatic increase of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the past 20 years. Autism can change a family's way of life because it can affect how a child interacts with others socially and learns (Solomon & Chung, 2012). Much research has been completed on autism, including how family therapists can help support parents of children with autism. Autism can take it's toll on parents, causing higher levels of stress, lower adaptability and cohesion, and lower marital happiness than families of children with developmental disabilities and lower functioning children (Solomon & Chung, 2012).
The same research by Solomon and Chung (2012) has also found that having a child with autism can strengthen a family's bond. Family therapists who have a basic understanding of autism and who stay current on new research are well-apt to helping parents of children with autism (Solomon & Chung, 2012). The family therapist can assist in advocacy work such as attending IEP meetings for the child, consulting with other providers and "helping parents find access resources such as support groups in the area (Solomon & Chung, 2012)."

There has also been research on how gestures can help infants with and without autism communicate by Watson, Craig, Baranek, Dykstra & Wilson (2013). Through their research, they have discovered  practices that have the potential to inform early screening, assessment, and intervention practices for infants at risk for autism (Watson, Crais, Baranek, Dykstra & Wilson, 2013). The have found a contrast between infants with autism and those with developmental disabilities and typical development in who will using joint attention gestures during the first and second year of life. Joint attention gestures involve directing another person’s attention to an event, object, or person solely to share interest and are “triadic” in the coordination of the gaze of communicative partners toward something else (Watson, Craig, Baranek, Dykstra, & Wilson, 2013). The authors of this study gave an example of joint attention gestures as a child pointing to draw another person’s attention to an airplane in the sky or holding up a toy to share interest with another person (Watson, Craig, Baranek, Dykstra, & Wilson, 2013). Their studies confirm that when a child lacks these necessary social–communication skills, it can be an early and defining sign of autism (Watson, Crais, Baranek, Dykstra & Wilson, 2013).

So to conclude, research in the area of autism in young children have helped discover early screenings, assessments and interventions for children with autism to help them develop the necessary social skills to help live a successful adulthood as well as help the parents of children with autism find support and assistance in advocacy for their child and their family life. Research has many benefits in early childhood, and these were just a few that caught my attention. I look forward to reading everyone else's blogs and seeing what they see as a benefit of research in the early childhood field. 

References

Solomon, A. H., & Chung, B. (2012). Understanding Autism: How Family Therapists Can Support Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Family Process, 51(2), 250-264. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2012.01399.x

Watson, L. R., Crais, E. R., Baranek, G. T., Dykstra, J. R., & Wilson, K. P. (2013). Communicative Gesture Use in Infants With and Without Autism: A Retrospective Home Video Study. American Journal Of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(1), 25-39. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2012/11-0145)

My Personal Research Journey

The subject I am going to research is play in the early childhood field. I chose this because as a kindergarten teacher, I feel play is being taken away from young children and more rigorous standards are being expected than ever before. My fear is this will affect future generations because our children will grow up with a lack of passion in many areas because we are taking away what they know (play) at such a young age. Since beginning the program through Walden, I have begun to understand the importance of play for children in many developmental areas. I look forward to researching more into the subject so I can be well educated on the topic and advocate the importance of play when I maintain my master’s degree. The program has already affected the way I teach. I have taken more time to sit back and watch my students and let them be kids.  As early childhood teachers, we are pressured into teaching standards we know are not developmentally appropriate for our students. I am currently trying to find ways to teach the rigorous standards in kindergarten while keeping it fun and hands-on for my students. This has been a challenge, but when I find something that works, it is such a great feeling to know my students are doing something fun and worthwhile. (Math is really easy to make fun!) For example, trying to teach 5 year olds how to subtract, after we just finished teaching them how to add is a very difficult concept for them to understand. So I try to make our activities like they are playing. I give them these little logs and 5-10 frog manipulatives and while signing 5 Green and Speckled Frogs, the kids are acting out the song with their “toys.” Now this may not be play like we grew up with (as in free play)... but the kids really enjoy it and they are learning through the process. I also make sure my students get 20-30 minutes a day of recess... (Outside when it’s nice, or indoor when it’s too cold or rainy).

As we begin the research simulation, I will try to find articles using the Walden library website as well as Google scholar when necessary. Have any of you found any other great resources to find research articles and journals? I have been one who always skips over the research articles because they were so foreign and LONG to me that I never felt like taking the time to try and read them. Now I am looking forward to improving my skills in reading research and understanding what they mean so I can be a better child advocate.

Final Blog Assignment

Consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development

1. I became aware of how early childhood professionals make a positive impact in our field around the world. 
2. I learned how different organizations support the early childhood community and the resources it offers. 
3. That there is ongoing research and studies being done in our field constantly. 
4. Other professionals in varying fields are starting to see the importance and value of the early childhood field. 

One goal that I have developed since starting this course would become involved in an organization in the early childhood field that is related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations:

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Three new ideas I gained about issues related to international early childhood education UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage...

 1. The Roma (aka: gypsies) are the largest ethnic minority in Europe with over 10 million residents. Sadly, over 50% of Roma Children do no finish primary school, even with efforts to expand and improve education.

2. The Roma are at greatest risk of being poor, uneducated and unemployed. It points to European and national opinion surveys that show many European citizens have negative views about this group that are often based on stereotypes and prejudice dating back several centuries.

3. To meet the challenge of Roma exclusion and continuing deprivation, the Governments need to employ upstream financial, social and work policies to reduce family poverty and give young children a fair start in life. UNESCO and the Council of Europe are working to improving access to early childhood educational opportunities and the Roma’s transition to quality primary education.

This week I listened to the podcast that interviewed TJ Skalski. TJ is the Principal of The Mother Earth’s Children’s Charter School (MECCS), the first and only Indigenous charter school in Canada. Her first year at MECCS was very unpleasant. She was the 5th principal in 5 years and the school had only been open for 5 years. In her first year, she had gone through 2 superintendents. She is the first principal to stay for the 2nd consecutive year. Now she’s on her 6th superintendent and there is a whole new board of directors. She has had 2 years to learn about the evolution of the school. Her focus is investing into the kids. She focuses on creating a community where culture is put as a priority and culture and language is on the forefront. She feels that so many students are caught and trapped in this cycle of depression, poverty and hurt. When thinking about her own life and how she avoided those feelings, she realized that it was b/c of her family values, having grandparents who were very strong and a mother who had a strong work ethic and wanted to provide for her family. She notes that the kids who she serves are lacking that at home. Students are coming to her school feeling damaged, hungry, wounded, scarred, depressed, and not feeling of any worth. So being at the school for her is about building dreams and inspiring kids to do something with their life. She wants them to realize that there is something beyond the walls of the school. She shares her story with the kids and how she grew up living between 2 worlds to inspire them and give them hope. I found her story inspiring and I could definitely connect with her. I have made these same realizations with her. I was a very blessed child and was lucky enough to grow up in a home where I was raised healthy, loved, and cared for daily. Not all children are as lucky, especially ones where I teach. We have social service workers in our school and a guidance counselor to work with our children with mental and emotional problems. I have the same hopes at TJ for my own students. I really enjoyed listening to her podcast and making some personal connections with someone in the field outside of our country.

Sharing Web Resources

Pre-Now is an organization that was based under the Pew Research Center. I was interesting in finding more information about the center. I found out that the Pew Research Center works on developing reports, data trends, quizzes and graphics, which inform the public about issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Pew Charitable Trusts funded the 10-year campaign to develop high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three- and four-year-olds in 2011. Through its accomplishments, Pre-K Now reformed the national conversation about pre-k education, and in its final report, challenged the nation’s policy makers to transform public education by moving away from the current K-12 system to pre-K-12. The pre-k now website has a lot of links to articles, videos and reports relevant to the Pre-K Now organization’s research and studies.

While continuing my search through the Pre-K Now website, I found some very interesting articles that apply to what we are learning this week in class. The first article I came across was called Tapping Title I: What Every School Administrator Should Know about Title I, Pre-K and School Reform. The article discussed how several school districts have difficulty discovering resources to provide needed early childhood programs for families in their communities. One largely available funding source that can be utilized more to fund pre-k is Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Title 1 is the biggest source of federal funding for public schools that ensures all children living in high-poverty areas receive an effective and high-quality education.  Title 1 and Pre-K both have similar goals: “to help reduce achievement gaps and improve academic performance among students living in poverty.” The article also gave strategies that are pre-k related to complement Title 1 school reform:

·      Increase pre-k access for at risk children

·      Align pre-k through 3rd learning goals and standards

·      Establish common standards and expectations across all Pre-K programs

·      Extend pre-k program hours and/or school years

·      Offer additional literacy instruction for ELLs

·      Provide joint professional development opportunities

·      Implement age-appropriate screenings and assessment tools

·      Provide comprehensive services (i.e. health, nutrition, social services)

·      Hold parent-education seminars

The next article I read was titled Meeting the Challenge of Rural Pre-K. The article stated that accessibility to pre-k in rural areas are lower than urban and suburban school districts. Low accessibility for pre-k in rural areas translates into low school readiness for those children. To be more specific, research found that children in rural areas are 15% LESS likely to start kindergarten with important early literacy skills and 50% LESS likely to know beginning sounds than children in urban and suburban areas. They are also 60% MORE likely to need special education versus children raised in non-rural areas.

The following article titled The Pre-K Pinch: Early Education and the Middle Class discussed how middle-class families earn too much to qualify for state pre-kindergarten programs, so private early education and care is among the most burdensome expenses. They went onto say how by providing high-quality pre-k to all, policymakers can help these strapped families while enhancing children’s school readiness and our nation’s human capital. Only eight states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to extend eligibility for pre-k to all children whose families want to enroll them, and only Oklahoma has achieved an enrollment rate greater

than 60 percent of four year olds. For the remaining 30 states with pre-k programs, 20 use family income on its own or with other “risk factors” to determine eligibility. In the majority of these states, a family of four earning a little more than $40,000 a year would not be able to enroll their children in pre-k.

The website has many more interesting articles I look forward to reading as the year goes on. These were just a few that stood out to me that I believe appli

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I watched the podcast about Maysoun Chehab. She works with early childhood practitioners, policy makers and the Arab Resource Collective (ARC) community. ARC is a not-for profit non-governmental organization based in Beirut, Lebanon. She helps raise awareness about early childhood care, early childhood development, and child rights. She also trains early chidhood caregivers on best practices and produces Arabic resources for parents and teachers on issues related to early childhood.

According to Maysoun, her most rewarding project she worked on was a psychosocial support project that took place in July 2006. A lot of young children were affected by the war that lasted for 30 days. 126 primary schools were destroyed. Families, teachers and young children needed support. After the war, they went into the affected villages and implemented psychosocial projects where trained parents and teachers emotional and social reactions that children would have in post conflict situations. The most successful part was targeting parents and teachers to help support children by training them for 6 days on coping techniques and strategies that supported themselves and children. Afterwards the parents and teachers were more confident in dealing with young children.

I have yet to hear back from Maysoun, so I researched information regarding equity and excellence from Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website. In association with the Global Children’s Initiative, the Center on the Developing Child is beginning the Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância. This is the center’s first major program outside the boundaries of the U.S. In partnership with native experts, this project targets child health and development to assist in the development of greater policies and bigger investments that can help benefit young Brazilian children and their families. The organization aims to construct a program full of Early childhood development scholars as well as translate and communicate the organization’s goals and resources to a Brazilian audience. They also hope to build leaders in the field by providing training for policy makers.

While knowledge and research has been developed in many developing countries, there has been little evidence that is made available on early childhood development in sub-Saharan Africa. In response to this, a combined effort to evaluate the outcomes of an continuous anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia. It is believed that their work will not only improve comprehension of child development in this context but also help develop necessary interventions towards improved outcomes in a rapidly changing developing world.

The last insight I have gained would be how science research is showing that investments in early childhood and in healthy life course for young people in hardship have a social and an economic impact. Theresa Betancourt, a Center-affiliated faculty member designs invertventions for parents and children in Rwanda. For example, even with strong antiretroviral therapy made available to them, many HIV-infected parents in Rwanda see their diagnosis as a death sentence rather than a chronic illness, like diabetes, that they could live with and still be great parents. She encourages outside interest in doing family-based interventions with groups experiencing other forms of adversity, such as extreme poverty or communal violence.

All three of these programs not only work with young children, but they also include the child’s families.

References

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/applying_the_science_of_early_childhood_in_brazi/

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/zambian_project/

Lawton, M. (n.d.) Studying the Effects of Global Adversity, Two Generations at a Time. Center of Developing Child. Harvard University.

Sharing Web Resources

First off, I want to apologize for my late posting this evening! I usually try to get my work done in the morning, but found out yesterday afternoon that my Grandpappy passed away so I've had a hard time concentrating on my school work. But I finally got some motivation to finish it tonight, so here we go! 

While searching through the Pre-K website, I found an article that was relevant to looking through an economists eyes at the benefits of early childhood education. According to Albert Wat (2007), the Pre-K now’s research on several high-quality pre-k programs (for children ages 3 to 4) have confirmed that children who attend high-quality pre-k are more likely to graduate from high school and acquire secondary education. Pre-K now’s research also validates that a more educated workforce increases a nation’s productivity. Pre-K Now’s research concentrated on early childhood education’s impact on the nation’s macroeconomic growth and provides reasoning for growth in investing in nationwide Pre-K programs.  Through studying the research done by Pre-K Now and really focusing on how economists view the importance and value of Pre-K programs, I just wonder what it will take for our society and government to take action and make it available for ALL children. Also in the article by Wat (2007) he mapped out the lifetime benefits of Pre-K.

Some examples are:

Education Impacts

• Lower special education
• Lower grade retention
• Increased high school completion
• Increased test scores

Social & Emotional Impacts

• Fewer behavioral problems
• More self control
• Improved peer relationships

Economy Impacts

• Increased Earnings & Tax Revenues
• Decreased Reliance on Social Services/Welfare
• Decreased Criminal Activity

Child Well Being

• Less child abuse, neglect, and maltreatment 

Improved Health Behaviors

• Less Reliance on Health Services
• Better Health Outcomes

More Skilled Workforce

• Increased Productivity
• Higher employment
• Higher earnings

A new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field that I have gained from exploring the Pre-K website is that with the ongoing research and studies being done in our field, other professionals in varying fields are starting to see the importance and value of what we do. It makes me feel proud to be part of something that even thought we don’t get the recognition and appreciation we deserve, that I know I am doing something important and making a different for every child that walks into my classroom door.

References:

Wat, A. (2007). Dollars and Sense: A Review of Economic Analyses of Pre-K. Pre-K Now.