Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

• 
  
• I reached out to social media (Facebook) and my own family to seek out personal definitions of culture and diversity.  These are the answers I received:
•  
• 
  
  • My mother (Claims Adjuster for a large insurance corporation) Culture – Is where your grew up, our beliefs and values of our family.  There are varying levels of culture.  Diversity – Understanding and open to everyone’s interests, values, traditions, nationalities, etc. 
  
  
  • My husband’s aunt (Studied French Literature at the University of Delaware) Culture - a group of people who live in an area determined by geography.  They share certain norms and limitations. Diversity - When several cultures have the good fortune to meet there is diversity.  No longer are there limitations and minds are open to more ideas and wider possibilities.
  
  
  • One of my sorority sisters, Sam (Patient Care Coordinator) Culture – The family and ethnic traditions (i.e.) how people celebrate holidays, how people prepare food, how people raise their children, etc.  Diversity – is the melding of these traditions and mixing cultures into a culture unique to the people. 
  • One of my sorority sisters, Jess (Inclusion Services K-8th teacher) Culture- they have certain morals, values, and traditions that represent their culture. Diversity - is when you have different cultures in one area.  In a teaching aspect you have to teach the different cultures to make students aware of the diversity that exists to they can respect each other.  
  
  
  I found it interesting that everyone had similar ideas and definitions of culture and diversity.  I was influenced to apply their definitions to the cultures I know they have come from and the experiences they have had in their lives.  We are each diverse in our own ways.  We do not share similar cultures solely based on our current living locations.  We each live in different states, with different jobs.  I really liked this assignment!

My Family Culture

If I had to take three items with me to another country with a totally different culture, I would have a difficult time choosing what to take.  I would have to take a photo album filled with pictures of my friends and family, most importantly.  My friends and family mean more to me than anything in the whole world.  The photo album would give me the chance to still feel a connection with everyone in the photos.  I would also take an I Pod or some form of music player filled with music that is nostalgic to certain periods of my life.  Music has always been the perfect addition to my life, I could not imagine a world, my world, without music.  There are several songs that hold significant meaning to me and I would need access to those songs to assist in my transition.  Last but certainly not least, I would have to take my pets.  While they are not conventionally my family, they quickly become family and are my fur babies.  I could not leave them behind.  
I feel as though my items are clique, but are so important to me that I couldn't be without.  I think the best way to explain to others what these "items" mean to me, would be just watch me.  I wear my heart on my sleeve, it is hard for me to mask how I feel.  Watch my face when I look at those pictures, watch my face while I listen to a song, watch my face when I interact with my little ones.  That is how you know how much they mean to me.  

I would be absolutely devastated at first, if I was told I could only keep one item upon arrival to my new destination.  But, I try to keep a positive mentality so I know I would eventually be okay.   They are just items.  I have my memories to live on with me.  

As a result of this exercise, I realized how important family is to me.  The need I have to have my family as close to me as possible either through photos or in person is what molds me and keeps me level.  

 

When I Think of Research...

I am just two months away from being done my first year of grad school, it is crazy to think about that!  Here's how I have changed my perception of research throughout this last course:

• What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
• I learned a great deal about the research process in regards to early childhood education.  It is by no means an easy task and you must be so very careful to take in all ethical considerations, be aware of who you are researching and who is participating, and most importantly keep in focus why you are researching your topic.  
• In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
• I have always known research to be important, I knew that it was time consuming, but I didn't realize how rewarding and energizing research could be.  
• What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
• There is a lot to take into consideration!  You can not just rush through the process or do it halfheartedly.  It takes hard work and patience to effectively plan, design, and conduct a research project.  
• What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?
• The repetitive nature of the research design process was sometimes a barrier for me, but I always found something new to learn and that helped me jump that hurdle.  
• What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?
• My perceptions of an early childhood professional have not been modified necessarily, but my perceptions of researchers within the field of early childhood have been altered.  I give researchers a great deal of respect and credit for the work they do, it benefits all ECE professionals and the families and children we serve.  

Research Around the World

I explored the website for the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) located at http://www.eecera.org/.  On this website I discovered that current international research topics range from the importance of play in early childhood development and learning, supporting early childhood education and care, leadership and diversity in the field, transitioning children from home to school, and social support and dispositions of early childhood education and care.  
This association has one large international conference per year, hosted by a different country.  The conferences works to bring together local, federal, public, and private early childhood sectors to learn and discuss current initiatives.  Within the association there are Special Interest Groups (SIG) ranging from gender balance in the field, learning and participation, professionalism, and birth to three.  I really enjoyed that each journal issue focused on one central theme, for example, the most current issue focuses on play and the current research initiatives of participating European, Asian, and African countries. 

Research that Benefits Children and Families

I found a really interesting research study called the "Spongebob Study".  This study evaluated preschoolers' attention spans after watching "Spongebob Square Pants" for several minutes.  The study did showed that after watching even just a portion of the show the children had "that the immediate effects of viewing very fast-paced programming could potentially affect how children learn, a conclusion consistent with other research showing a long-term effect of television viewing during early childhood and later attention problems and academic outcomes" (Kyle Snow, Ph.D., n.d.).  The study consisted of 60 children, all Caucasian from middle class families.  The kids were randomly assigned to three different groups, one group watched "Spongebob", another "Caillou", or draw with crayons and markers (Kyle Snow, Ph.D., n.d.).

I really liked this study because  of the reflection parents and educational professionals engage in.  Children's cartoons and t.v. shows today always make me feel uneasy in the sense that it just goes too fast, nothing is developed (in regards to a child's idea of "plot"), and most of the shows are plain ridiculous.  It also reminds us adults to monitor what children watch and take the time to watch the shows with them and to talk about the content afterwards.  

Resource

Snow, Ph. D, Kyle.  (n.d.).  Research news you can use: Dissecting the "Spongebob Study".  

           Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/content/research-review-dissecting-%E2%80

           %9Cspongebob-study%E2%80%9D.  

My Personal Research Journey

I have chosen to look at recruiting, training, and retaining high quality teachers in early childhood facilities.  This topic relates closely with my personal and professional life.  Personally, I have struggled with my love of working in the early childhood field solely because of the pay.  I know I can get a higher paying job, but do not want to leave the environment or people I work with.  Professionally, I struggle every day to recruit and retain high quality teachers for my center. 
So far, in this research process, I have learned a great deal.  I am now more attuned at looking closely at the sources I chose for my research and am more aware of the actual research process.  While, I have a lot of background doing research papers and the actual task of "researching" I never really embraced the process.  The chart I completed for this week's assignment helped me narrow down my focus and will be extremely helpful through the rest of this simulation.  I look forward to sharing new insights and suggestions with my colleagues. 

Sharing Web Resources

This week I explored the Take Action portion of the Child Care Aware of America website.  I was nativagated to the Legislative Action Center.  I could view child care standards for all 50 states and there were several links pertaining to every issue we have covered thus far in our programs and this course.  I could also put in my zip code and find the officials in my area, contacts for the media, and election information.  Right now Child Are Aware of America is urging everyone to contact their officials to urge them to cosponsor the Child Care and Development Block Grant of 2013.  

The website has a whole section dedicated to equity and accessibility of child care for children.  The website has a ton of valuable information including stories behind the issues, the reasons why these issues are relevant and what the next step is to reduce or eliminate it.  

I am really excited that they provided direct emails for their Public Policy and Advocacy staff.  I will be contacting their staff to gain more insight on their job and how I can become more involved in my area.