Research that Benefits Children and Families-Uplifting Stories

            In caring for my great-nephews I’ve seen great improvements in the last 2 1/2years. As early childhood educators we’re taught, “So much depends on a child’s first years. For any child, the conditions present (or absent) in the early years have long-term effects on his or her development. In fact, many issues facing adults in impoverished communities trace back to those early childhood years” (ChildFund, n.d.). I pray I’m not sounding like a broken record to my colleges but, my great-nephews now excel in school, have fewer nightmares because of therapy, stability, health/nutrition, and love. This prompts me to want to conduct a research study locally to see how many more positive foster care parents are needed to deliver security, stability and positive experiences that will last a child a lifetime.

            Therapy is something I always thought was necessary if situations in life are overbearing and individuals are unable to cope with and understand. It can create positive and negative effects down the line. One example is when my nephew explained to both his therapist and I that all he remembers

while living with his parents is eating breakfast cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When he started to attend school, he knew that other meals existed so why couldn’t he have them at home like he does at school? During this process, it gave me a greater appreciation for WIC services that’s an additional supplement for pregnant mothers and children under 5years old because this was the only thing he had. This particular situation made it hard for my nephew to be open to different foods especially vegetables. He would hoard food and sign up for additional meals he can bring home from school to ensure that he will never go hungry again.

            To date, my nephew at times forgets to pick up his food bags from school and enjoys eating vegetables more. While growing up I heard a lot about the big brother/big sister organization that would help children in need by being a mentor to underprivileged children. My nephew, their father, unfortunately, didn’t have the opportunities his children now have so he is in need of help with freeing himself from drug abuse, homelessness, and maintaining a steady job. He needs to obtain stability so that one day he can be able to take care of his children. By increasing the assistance society can provide to children in need on all levels will allow our economy to be stronger.

Reference

“Early Childhood Development.” ChildFund, 21 Mar. 2020,

www.childfund.org/early-childhood- development/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpY75t4St6AIVjoVaBR2lzww3EAAYASAAEgK-zvD_BwE.

My Personal Research Journey

            To restate, I like for PreK to become a standard educational requirement in the USA like K-12^th grade. First, one must explore the political process which advocates for this to happen. This particular topic fascinates me because it shows how positive early childhood education exposure promotes greater success in education for diverse possibilities in life.         

             In researching these topics this will allow me to establish a baseline. To see what programs and learning curriculums are in place to allow the children in the top 10 states/countries to excel in education. This can be broken down even further to see if some of the educational levels may happen to be Charter, Stem, Magnet or Montessori schools. I will start off with descriptive studies, “primarily to document what is going on or what exists” (Trochim, Donnelly, Arora, 2016).  I will have my research be a longitudinal study to see how long have these top ten educational sectors held their place and how did they keep their position?     

            To look at this from a global perspective not just nationally; Australia believes in, “education for all. Placing at the top of the Education Index in the United Nations’ Human Development Report, the country-continent of 24 million expects students will complete an impressive 20-plus years of schooling (The U.S., for comparison, expects 16). In fact, 100% of preschool, primary- and secondary-school age kids are enrolled — and 94% of citizens over 25 have at least some secondary education. Hand-in-hand with full classrooms (in a teacher-student ratio of 14:1), Australia admirably supports its educators. The nation gives incentives to teachers taking rural hardship postings and, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s 2015 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, is taking notable “steps toward pay parity for teachers at all levels” (Global Citizen, n.d.). This is a perfect example of how PreK is the foundation for greater success. It would not hurt for the US to take note of these accomplishments to obtain the same results.

            Colleagues I welcome any advice or resources you have to offer while I embark on this new endeavor?

References

“10 Best Countries for Education Around The World.” Global Citizen, 14 Mar. 2020,       www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/best-countries-education/.

Trochim, Donnelly, & Arora, (2016). Research methods: The essential knowledge base (2^nd ed.).             Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.             https://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/isbn/9781133954774