Definition of "Culture" and "Diversity"

Jesus:

Definition of culture would be the difference, is the way each group of people celebrate their customs. Each country has their own culture and defines their way of expressing themselves through customs and traditions.

Diversity would be the variety of a certain something. For example, a town can have a diverse population meaning that there are people from many races, religions and ethnicity.

Aurielle:

Culture is simply the belief system, morals, ethics, traditions, and living automaticity in the way a unit (such as an individual, family or group) functions. Culture can vary within large groups or be quantified among individuals.

Diversity is a range of differences in a contextual circumstance.  In essence, diversity functions as a way to identify personal uniqueness and unit differentiation.

Daniela:

Culture ... Way of living how you were raised sample religion, politics, manners, society your morals.

Diversity: different, variety

Asking different people what their thoughts about culture and diversity were was very interesting and enriching. Some answers I received that were similar to what I’ve studied in this course about culture were: culture as a system of behaviors, beliefs, traditions, morals, ethics,

I was surprised to see that most of them referred to culture as different units that form a whole, though some things were not included such as: identity, abilities, disabilities, gender, language, culture as heritable factor, among many others. To my criteria, the answers presented were very good and reflected a feeling of culture as a composition of influences, not limited to ethnicity.

The definition of the participants made me reflect on my own definition and inclusions related to culture and diversity.  I believe that culture is an identity, and a powerful lens we see the world through.  

My Three Items

If I had to choose 3 items that among my belongings, I would choose items that would help me remember my happy family and something that will give me the strength I needed to start a new life. The first thing that comes to my mind is my family photo album, the second item will be my cross necklace, and the third item will be my iphone.

Each item is important to me in different ways. The photo album is important because I can remember moments full of joy in days of no hope.  The necklace with the cross pendant reminds me that God is my strength and that he will always protect my family. I chose my iphone because it will serve as my communication device in the new country or I can sell it for food or something.

If I had to keep only one item I think it will be my iphone. I have photos of my family, and images and writings about God. Besides I could also type and get wifi to stay communicated in the new country. If things get rough I could sell it or trade it.

Thinking about this whole experience made me be afraid and appreciate where a live, what I have and don’t have.  The first thing that came to my mind was God. He was always in my head and I knew he would have given me hope. My culture has taught me to refuge in God and have hope, he puts the tools and it’s up to me to build a bridge.  

Research Learning

Taking this course has been without a doubt beneficial; I had no knowledge about the types of designs of research that were available to me, such as qualitative and quantitative design. Qualitative design is an approach that involves a collection of text-based data that seeks for an understanding rather than an explanation (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). On the other hand, quantitative is an approach is a more specific way of collecting data in order to draw conclusions based on the hypothesis (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).I’ve learned that there are different approaches in research, such as: developmentalist, feminist, behavioralist, just to mention a few. Such ontologies and epistemologies that the researcher adopts is the information that would be reflected in the study.  

Throughout this course I’ve gained knowledge about the different stages of the research process and what those stages demand. In planning you have to pose a question about a general topic begin with the “how”, “what”, and “why”; then reduce it to subtopics and analyze the nature of the question. In designing the researcher has to look for the key issues such as validity, which will be achieved through triangulation. Triangulation means using different methods of gathering data so that the researcher has a better understanding to compare and contrast (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).

There were also challenges about understanding research design that had me confused. For instance, creating a good research question that is not too broad and that could be researchable. Thanks to the recommendation from Dr. Kien, it is easier for me to create a researchable question. She shared some scripts according to the type of question you are looking for. According to Cresswell (2008):

Descriptive Questions: How frequently do (participants) (variable) at (research site)?
Relationship Questions: How does (independent variable) relate to (dependent variable) for (participants) at (research site)?
Comparison Questions: How does (group 1) differ from (group 2) in terms of (dependent variable) for (participants) at (research site)?

An early childhood professional has to be aware of the different types of research that there are and the bias that it may contain. It is important that as professionals we stay critical about the types of research and be judgemental. For example, look for research that involves mixed methods, heterogenous approaches, consolidation of powers,

Reference
Creswell, J. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

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Early Childhood Australia

Looking at the research index topics from Early Childhood Australia the most recent research were: quality in early childhood programs, pretend play and children with autism, home-school relationships, transition to school for young children with disabilities, supporting literacy through poetry in Greek primary schools, and much more. Not all of the research topics were available for free, only some, but they also had really good information in other free articles.

I read one of the free articles that they had available about defiant behavior in children. The article talked about Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) meaning children who are constantly disobedient and present a defiant behavior.  The study demonstrated that in classrooms where teacher acknowledges good behavior in children, rather focusing in defiant behavior, have a more positive environment for all children specifically ODD children. It was also wisely said that the teacher should model the behavior that she wants to see and find ways to reinforce it. The study also demonstrated that the earlier the intervention the better long term results, “after age eight years, significant changes in oppositional and defiant behavior are difficult to achieve”.

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/australian_journal_of_early_childhood/ajec_index_abstracts/getting-the-balance-rightthe-challenge-of-balancing-praise-and-correction-for-early-school-years-children-who-exhibit-oppositional-and-defiant-behaviour-free-full-text-available.html

I really liked this website because it provided information in raising confident children, early childhood perspectives, international views, advocacy, and much more. The articles are helpful for teachers in guiding children, as well as in guiding parents. They have what they called a “supporting best practice” tab and “ research in practice” tab, I believe these are great because you are given strategies based on research that have demonstrated to be effective, making your practice a competent one. 

Beneficial Research

In college I had the opportunity to participate in a Harvard research project. The research was about the way bilingual students transition from one language to another in a daily basis. They asked me questions about how I managed to use both languages in school and in my social experiences. I had a good time talking to the researcher and shared my learning experiences in school and my social.  To be honest I don’t know how the research concluded. But I’m sure it offered much to consider about the bigger minority group.  I believe that research is a very beneficial work because with every piece of research a new piece of the puzzle is found and offers a clearer view about what’s need to be done and take into consideration. It is true that research is not always constructive, but what is? Everything that is worth trying has a risk. I believe that the researcher should always have in mind that children are the primary beneficiaries.

Research Simulation Process: Beginning

For the research simulation topic I chose to focus on the power of parents in building a healthy social-emotional development for their child. This is interesting to me because as a direct source of information of the child; parents sometimes aren’t aware of the extent that their behavior and attitudes helps or hinders their child’s development. Researching more about this topic will give me the tools to better work with parents, as well as working with the child in the classroom.  

I must say that things that are challenging are the ones that stick to your head. I had to read the article “Shyness and emotion-processing skills in preschoolers” several times to understand it. Did any of you have trouble understanding the outcome of the research? I understood the method, but not so sure if I hit the conclusion part.

Revisiting the article this week made me aware of some details that I missed last week. So my overall experience has been beneficial, though, it took me some time to get used to it. Constructing my research chart has helped me greatly because I use it as a reference and helps me to navigate more confidently into the research world.

As always I offer the best of my capabilities to help you all, and I’m sure you’ll do the same for me.

Elisa

International Collegiality Learning Experience

Throughout this course I’ve learned about the importance of learning from exterior resources. Exploring new ways of doing things provides a better idea on how to approach a certain situation where one is having trouble with or simply add strategies to your teaching. Thanks to my fellow classmates and their research; I’ve learned about organizations, what they do and how they work, as well as different websites. There are 3 consequences of learning that I want to highlight about this experience:

First, I learned that the Zero to Three organization is a wealth of information in child development and advocacy. This organization showed me about the importance for supporting child trauma and the traumatic effects in a child’s life.

Second, searching in the international early childhood field made me aware of some initiatives around the world. Such is the case of Chile, the program Un Buen Comienzo strives to improve the early educational experiences of Chilean children (4-6 years old) through professional development for teachers for two years at municipal schools.

Third, I’ve learned that having collegiality it’s important to grow and learn in this field. In my case, I couldn’t establish contact with an international colleague, but reading some of my lucky classmate’s posts made me realize about the pleasurable experience it is to exchange ideas and learn from each other.

The one goal that I have was based on my third learning. Because collegiality is a very important step in professionalism, I compromise to help others in the best way I can when contacted and answer as soon as possible.