WEEK 8 Reflection 6163

I learned a lot from this course.  Prior to this course, I read research studies frequently about issues related to my son's medical issues.  However, I was always unsure what actually to believe from the information.  The terminology that I learned from this course will be very helpful in deciphering the important information. 

My research simulation was about whether parent knowledge about the laws regarding the transition from early intervention services to preschool impacts a parent's choice on available programs for their child.  I can tell you that I truly believe that it does.  My youngest son just "aged-out" of First Steps services and I have several friends whose children are in the process of "aging-out" of services.  If I did not have a background in special education, I think that I would have been lost.  This has made me realize that my role as a future developmental therapist for First Steps can also be an advocate for parents to learn about their parent rights.  It is so important to know the laws. 

I did find the course to be very challenging.  The terminology was hard and I was often confused on the variables of the studies.

Thank you all so very much for your input during this course.  I look forward to "seeing" many of you in our next courses!  Best wishes to you all!!! 

International Research Week 5 EDUC 6163

Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Developed and maintained by the University of Victoria, Canada, this virtual university is the international gateway for early childhood research worldwide. Through the link below, you can access ECDVU’s Sub-Saharan Africa portal. The second link takes you to a list of current early childhood research conducted by students in Sub-Saharan Africa.

What are some of the current international research topics?

The topics included: Pilot Study of the Adaptation of an Established Measure to Assess the Quality of Child Services in a Selected Orphanage in Zambia (http:www.ecdvu.org); Building Community Leadership for Quality Sustainability in Madrasa Preschools: The Case of Madrasa Preschools Post Graduation Support;  Assessment of the Caring Practices in Two Motherless Babies’ Homes in Abia State, Nigeria and the Development and Delivery of a Nutrition Training Program to the Staff of These Homes to Improve Nutrition of Children in Their Care; The Status of Coordination and Supervision of Early Childhood Education in Ghana; A Community-driven Rural Early Childhood Development (ECD) Project, with Emphasis on Culturally and Developmentally Appropriate Exploratory Learning Concepts; Utilizing Indigenous Stories in the Promotion of Early Childhood Development Programs in Uganda; Integrating Indigenous Knowledge in ECD Training and Services; Involving Fathers in Early Childhood Care and Development; Assessing the Influence of Different Early Childhood Development Models on Pre-School Children’s School Readiness in Kenya; Strengthening the Capacity of Grandparents in Providing Care to Children Less than 8 Years Old Affected by HIV/AIDS.

Many of the topics were similar in nature to topics that we see in the United States, such as quality of child services, school readiness, involving fathers, single parent homes, and cultural diversity.  However, there were several topics that were somewhat different.  These topics consisted of a study about grandparents providing care for young children affected by HIV/AIDS and studies about indigenous populations.   

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

I was interested to learn about Diversity research being conducted.  Some of our close family friends just returned from a mission trip in Africa.  They stated that they worked with children in an orphanage whose parents had died of HIV/AIDS.  The volunteers took supplies and educational supplies over to the children.  Some of these supplies included books and other resources that had been donated by various organizations.  While this is wonderful, I am sure that few (if any) of the supplies were translated or readable for the children. 

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

This website was about improving the quality of life for children and their families in Africa.  The program seeks to accomplish this through working, on a sustained basis, with ECD leaders from across the continent. The Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) is an internationally recognized program operating within the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria. It was interesting that this program is virtual in nature and research is done by people around the world.  This research impacts the lives of many children and families living in Africa. 

References

http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php
http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php

Week 3 Ethics

My background is in Special Education. I love working with children. I found teaching children with special needs to be very rewarding. I also have children of my own. My youngest son has special needs.



This is one of the reasons why I am very passionate about inclusion or mainstreaming.  Inclusion describes the process of integrating or including students with disabilities into general education classes.  These students would be included in their least restrictive environment (LRE) mandated by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-142; now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). 



What are the perceptions of general education teachers toward teaching students with disabilities in their classes? Much of the available relevant information is found in teacher surveys (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 2006).  These surveys studied teacher’s beliefs, opinions, and acceptance of the inclusion of children with special needs in general education. 



Although personal feelings and beliefs toward inclusion is based on personal values, I am so thankful that this research was conducted to try to increase acceptance and knowledge about inclusion.  The key is education and knowledge about differences. 

My son, Owen, has special needs.  I am thankful that students with special needs are included to thier LRE.  My nephew, Masen, also has some special needs.  Masen was born at 28 weeks and has ADHD and other processing issues.  He is in 2nd grade and is fully included in his classroom.   



References

Scruggs, T.E. & Mastropieri, M.A. (1996).  Mainstreaming in Education.  Exceptional Children, Vol. 63(1). 

PHOTO:  My little babies...Ella, Masen (one of my nephews), Noah, and Owen...they love playing dress-up. 

Research Simulation

OWEN...my early intervention star!!!
Ella and Noah...hugs!!!
Noah, Owen, & Ella...sibling love!!!

My background is in special education.  My goal is to become a developmental therapist.  However, it is my role as a mother of a child with special needs helped me formulate my research simulation.  My topic is parent knowledge of available services as a factor in children's effective transition from early intervention to preschool. 

My son just turned 3 and aged-out of First Steps.  If I did not have a background in special education, I would not have been prepared for transitioning my son from early intervention services.  As a developmental therapist, I hope that I will be informed in guilding parents in the right direction and help ease the transition into preschool. 

I found some good articles about my topic, but I am not exactly sure how to run the study.  I am thinking that I will survey parents of children who are about to or have just aged-out of early intervention services. 

EDUC 6163 Week 1

Hello! 
Excited to start a new class after the glorious break.  Our family enjoyed it! 

Noah is five and loves super heros and pirates.  He got a real treasure chest. 
Owen loves tractors, trucks, and Cars.  He got a nice truck and a workbench.
Ella loves princesses and babies.  She got a baby and a set of bunk beds for her babies. 

Excited for the input! 

Week 8 EDUC 6162

WEEK 8

Learning about the international early childhood field can lead people to be more sensitive to issues, become an advocate, or realize that the issues in thier area might not be that dire.  All children deserve the right to high-quality education and access to health care.  Dr. Grace stated that it is not fair to compare programs that are not on "even playing field".  However, I think that it will be very difficult to have all early childhood programs be on the same level since some countries have issues such as AIDS/HIV.  In these countries, their main goal is helping them survive to become a young child. 

My professional goal is to become a developmental therapist.  I will be working with children from birth to age three who exhibit developmental delay.  I will try to help them gain skills in order to be better prepared for school.  All children learn differently and have differing abilities.  It is important that I learn from other global situations, advocate for young children, and help families understand the laws and the services that their child is eligible for. 

International Contacts WEEK 7

I have been blessed to hear about certain early childhood programs in Canada and Hungary.  This week one contact in Canada provided me with her opinions on hopes, dreams, and current challenges in Canada. 

Here is an overview of my contact's opinions who works in Ottowa, Canada at Algonquin College. 

     "You have asked what I feel are the issues/trends in the E.C.E. field in
Canada.  Of course my response will be my opinion and I am sure if you asked
any of my colleagues they might have a different opinion entirely.
     Recently, Ontario, my province, has adopted a full day Kindergarten
program.  This means that a Kindergarten teacher works along with an E.C.E. in
a Kindergarten classroom. This is the second year of the program and some of
my friends are employed in this type of setting.  It is a very new program and
everyone is watching to see if it will be deemed a success.  As I understand
it, the focus of the full day program is "play-based" learning.  This is very
much in tune with the formal training we get as E.C.E.'s.
     The Early Learning Centre where I work has a very long waiting list.
Obviously this means we are not meeting the demand.  Consequentially, some
families look elsewhere, perhaps settling for care in an unlicensed setting.
     Some of the spaces in our centre are subsidized.  Others are not.  This
is the case in most non-profit centers in our country.  There is a debate in
Canada about whether child care should receive universal government funding.
Presently parents of young children receive a child care tax credit of about
$100.00 per month.  Some parents pay several thousand dollars per month so
this is a proverbial "drop in the bucket."
     Another hot topic is wages for Early Childhood Educators.  I am very
lucky to be working in a high-quality, licensed centre associated with a
community college and am paid better than most.  Much of the work force
consists of women, many of whom do not return to the field after having
children because all of their wages would be spent on child care.  Others
simply do not enter the field because wages are not adequate.  As I mentioned
earlier, we are very proud of our professional association so we are gaining
more recognition and hopefully respect which one hopes will lead to better
pay."
I find it interesting that many of the issues in Canada are not very different from here.  Full-day kindergarten is a hot topic here in Indianapolis as well.  Many families want this because of child care arrangements.  I had to search for a half-day program that met my requirements for my oldest son, Noah.  Also, funding is a major issue.  Many families have a difficult time affording high-quality programs. 

Here some photos of my kiddos:  Miss Diva ELLA!; Mr. Happy OWEN; Mr. Cool NOAH; the gang!