Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Definitions of Culture and Diversity

"for me culture is the tradition in which we grew up and the one that we passed to our children. Diversity is just being different"-Zolange Santana -my daughter

"for me culture is all the things that have an impact in our life that are natural from our country  of origin and  of our parents. Diversity for me is like a variety..."-Iris Ayala -my mom

 "For me culture is all the things that our parents are taught us. The values, morals, traditions, etc....Diversity is being different, there will be no same or alike."-Sandra Garcia Head Start Teacher  

Some of the terms of culture and diversity that I have learned so far in this course and that were share to me in my interviews  are  traditions,moral, values. Some of the aspect that were omitted were for example (language)

Listening to other s people definition of culture and diversity has made me understand  and realize how much I have grow in my understanding of these two important concepts. Being able to listen to others people definition it was an example of diversity. How all of them use different terms to refer to the same concepts and how their vision is similar  but not the same. And that what diversity is  different cultures , wit similarities but at the same all time all different....

My Family Culture

If I was evacuated to another country and needed to stayed there permanently...

I would bring a family picture with me since I will always be able to remembered them and keep their memory alive...

My flag and/ or a map  - to remembered always where I was born , where I come from and to share it with the rest of the people.

And my grandmas' recipe book :), because  food  is something that represents my country and  my culture and I loved my grandmas cooking abilities :) Even though I will have to altered the recipes because of not having all  the ingredients.

I would be really sad if  I ended up with only one item. If that were the case I will definitely keep my family picture.

I was surprised that I was able to choose my 3 things so quick . This exercise  confirmed  my reflection that even thought I am far from my  island I feel proud of being Puerto Rican:) and called myself  "BORICUA".

When I Think of Research...

 

          In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

•        My ideas of the nature of doing research has change a lot. I thought that because I took a research class before in another university it was going to be all the same, but I was wrong. I learned new concepts such as extraneous variables  and the importance of knowing every step on the planning process especially the ethical guidelines and the sampling process of the participants. 

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

•         I really enjoyed learning about the concepts of feasibility in research and how can this affect my research .I also learned the importance of designing your research and doing a "pilot" test to allow  for modifications to occurred.  I reinforced my knowledge of having a valid research question and I learned the new concept of mixing methods approach.

What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them? 

•              It was really challenging to me the assignment of the qualitative research. Even thought I know what is the essence of a qualitative research, it was really hard for me to apply the concepts into an actual research. I think this was by far the most difficult assignment that I encounter in this course.

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

•         I think I'm more aware of the importance of avoiding bias and cultural challenges in research. I'm aware of the necessity of my community  and I'm certain that with more research we can find  new ways to teach young children and for them to succeed .Every course that I take in this Early Childhood Journey makes me feel more passion about my profession.

Research Around the World

For this blog assignment I decided to explore EECERA (European Early Childhood Education Research Association)

While browsing  thru their page I found that in each yearly volume  they published a Special Issue or Monograph that focused on an aspect of early childhood studies such as :

•   the development of theoretical foundations of the theme and related topics;
•   the development of new research methodology;
• an up-to-date overview of current knowledge and developments in the field, including an evaluation of relevant empirical studies;
• a presentation of new developments, applications or policy implications

The purpose of this special publication is to promote high quality services for young children and families through the sharing of scientifically constructed knowledge.

In one of their latest publications the topics of discussion were all related to outdoor play some of the titles are :

The dynamics of early childhood spaces: opportunities for outdoor play? (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1350293X.2010.525917) click to go to access the full reading :)

The outdoor environment in Norwegian kindergartens as pedagogical space for toddlers' play, learning and development

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

For this week blog assignment I decided to look for a research that has help teacher to teach English-language learner. There are a great number of Spanish speaking students in my district and the population still growing. By researching the Walden Library for research in this particular subject I discover the following research that summarizes the importance of incorporating technology in to the curriculum and lessons and the benefits for not only the ELL’s but for all students.

“This study compared traditional and multimedia-enhanced read-aloud vocabulary instruction and investigated whether the effects differed for English-language learners (ELLs) and non-English-language learners (non-ELLs). Results indicate that although there was no added benefit of multimedia-enhanced instruction for non-ELLs, there was a positive effect for ELLs on a researcher-designed measure and on a measure of general vocabulary knowledge. Furthermore, for children in the multimedia-enhanced condition, the gap between non-ELLs and ELLs in knowledge of instructional words was closed, and the gap in general vocabulary knowledge was narrowed”( Silverman, R., & Hines, S. 2009,p.305).

References:

Silverman, R., & Hines, S. (2009). The Effects of Multimedia-Enhanced Instruction on the Vocabulary of English-Language Learners and Non-English-Language Learners in Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 101(2), 305-314. DOI: 10.1037/a0014217  305-314

My Research Journey

When I decided to start my journey as a teacher I never imagine it will as an early childhood teacher. It was the perfect time since I was experiencing motherbood of a baby boy. My journey started as a Head Stard teacher aide and I realized teaching young children was my passion. One year after I debuted as a Hwad Start teacher (2009-2011). Now I am a Pre-Kindergarten teacher and when I compare both positions theres no much of a difference besides the pay and the training. Because of my experiences in both I decided to continue my research on the Importance of special education training to Head Start teachers to help children to excel. I will also will research deeper on behaviors and factors that triggers " bad behaviors" and how training can help teachers to manage these scenarios.
Now that Im more experienced I enjoyed learning more and more about ways in which I can improve to help children and their families...

Final Blog Assignment

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my  professional and personal development are :

ü  I'm aware of the necessities of not only children but as well as their families. I learn to be more empathic to my  surroundings and also grateful of all the things that I have in my personal life and on my school to teach my children.

ü  It makes me realize of different strategies that I can implement in my community.

ü  It make me aware of the importance of community work and go being an advocate for all children and their families.

My  goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations:

ü  Is to continue embracing diversity and continue sharing resources  by using my blog and my exploring all the resources that were provided to me during  this course.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Since  I haven't heard back from my contact :( I decided to do the alternative option of the blog assignment. By visiting the Unesco website I went to the education tab and I was thrilled by reading about  "Education for All ", a global movement committed to provide education for children, youth and adults. The movement  consist of 6 international goals that they want to be met by 2015, 15 years since its origin on 2000.

The six goals are :

Goal 1
Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children

Goal 2Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality.

Goal 3
Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes

Goal 4
Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.

Goal 5
Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.

Goal 6
Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.

The six goals  of the Education for All are aligned with my professional goals because they are targeted to provide quality education for children youth h and adults. For this they need to count with qualify and committed individuals. I love this project because besides providing education for children it will gives adults  the opportunity to competed their education , therefore they will be ableot get a job and provide to their families , diminishing the levels of poverty around the world.

References: UNESCO. (n.d.). http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-all/

More Web Resources !!!!

I will like to share with you the latest newsletter from Zero To Three. First I will like to share the link to the article Maximizing Partnerships With Parents and Pediatricians: The Role of Early Childhood Specialists, by Prachi E. Shah  . I think is a great article that describes how the early childhood provider, because of the consistent contact over time with infants, toddlers, and their families, is well positioned to: (a) observe the nuances of the early caregiving relationship; (b) monitor early child behavior and development; (c) identify deviances; and (d) offer support, guidance, and intervention when families struggle. This partnership with families is further enhanced when the observations about child behavior, development, and psychosocial functioning are communicated to the pediatric provider. The opportunity for this enhanced “developmental surveillance,” incorporating additional observations of child behavior and development in multiple settings, provides valuable information to the pediatrician and adds to the comprehensiveness of the pediatric care provided.Here's the link to the article: http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/MaximizingPartnershipsParentsPediatricians.pdf?docID=13061

Last but not least I was really excited to listen to a podcast about how the feeding relationship between parent and child nurtures a child’s physical and emotional development, and he suggests ways to get babies and toddlers off to a healthy start. I tried before and it works just click and you will be able to listed to the podcast. Enjoy :) http://main.zerotothree.org/site/R?i=Z7I4vFxsYwJRzWiiUQOhaA

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I found the alternative reading for this week blog assignment very interesting. From the  Early Childhood Development initiative   I loved the idea of  trained  a group of professionals  to share with them the latest research's in order to work together to continue developing strategies  for the early childhood community.

I also like the idea of child mental health intervention , this intervention basically consist of  a group of professionals  that will be working with an specific group of children in different parts of the world. The fact that the research is international give early childhood professionals an idea of the  common issues and trends in the field around the world.

Last but not least is the initiative to foster a collaboration  to manage and deal with natural and man made crises such as  earthquakes and malnutrition.

Sharing Web Resources

First I want to apologize by the late submission but I'm sick  since Thursday night  :( and I still feeling weak but I will go the doctor tomorrow since now I can stand the pressure on my chest and coughing :( But oh well life must go on :)

I  received my first newsletter from Zero to Three on January 19,2012. The newsletter featured some great links for early childhood professionals as wells as for parents. The newsletter highlighted the article The Influence of Media on Young Children’s Development by Ellen Wartella, Northwestern University, which I found interesting and is available for free. If you want to subscribe and received and/or have access to all previous articles the subscription for a year is only $78.00 :). Here is the link if you want to read it I promise you will love it as a professional and also if you are a parent like me :) http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/32-3_Wartella.pdf?docID=12981

The newsletter also suggested some books which by the title and description I find relevant to our profession  and is relevant to the current issues of the early childhood field the book is Finding Our Way: The Future of American Early Care and Education by Moncrieff Cochran,

This is a brief description of its content;"This book offers a comprehensive and far-reaching analysis of the principles and practices of early care and education in the United States and Europe and compares/contrasts those practices with other developed countries. The book informs policymakers and directors of child care centers about the vital role high-quality teachers play in a child's later educational achievements and future success. The author describes the very high costs of child care in the United States, most of which is paid for by parents, and shows how greater government support in other countries makes teachers' pay higher, the child care centers better, and the burden on the parents lighter."            

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

Even thought I was able to establish a contact with a member of the NAEYC I was unable to communicate with her this past week :(  ,therefore I choose  the country of Kyrgyzstan  the main reason was because I didn't know where that was :)Until 1991 Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union and was one of the  poorest  republic with 32.9 % of the population living below the Soviet poverty  line. 60% of the population live form agriculture. Because of the crisis children needs to work and  recent research estimates that 24% of children are either part time of full time workers.

 The government has established a Comprehensive Development Framework which is a 15 year vision for development in Kyrgyzstan and also with the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NSPR), Kyrgyzstan's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. This is intended to be the first three-year plan for implementing the national development vision.

Sharing Web Resources

The website that I choose is Zero to Three."Zero to Three is a national, nonprofit organization that informs, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers, and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers". Their mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers.

I subscribe to their newsletters but I need to wait for two weeks before I received the first one :( ,but I really enjoyed their article about building positive relationships with parents. I really like the "care giver-parent communication tool" which is like a questionnaire that is fill out by both the caregiver and the parent around every two to three months in which parents and caregivers share what they like  the most about the child and also they share their goals for the child.  I believe this topic is related to this week since as educators it is important to build positive relationships with parents regardless of their country of origin or the language that they speak. As professionals we need to use all resources and I think this is an excellent tool that we can use  :) To access this article go to their website http://www.zerotothree.org and select  the " Care & Education " tab and then click Family ,Friend and Neighbor Care :)

My international organization I changed since I was able to create a contact with Maria de Lourdes “Luly” López Cintrón she works at APENET which means Asociacion Puertorriqueña Para la Educacion de la Ninez de  Edad Temprana Their organization is part of the NAEYC  and I was unaware that we had an organization in Puerto Rico which is my country of origin affiliated to the NAEYC. I was lucky to establish a contact with her and she also gave me her phone number . I hope that over this course we can share ideas and also opinions about different trends in the early childhood field. Their website is  http://www.apenetpr.org/index.html.  I will keep you posted since I need to call her Tuesday to discuss about diversity in Puerto Rico  :)

Establishing Professional Contacts & Expanding Resources

Establishing Professional Contacts

I sent a request to Delfena Mitchell who is the Director of the Liberty Children's Home on the outskirts of Belize city. The website for their organization is http://www.libertyfoundation.org.uk/.

 I was thrilled by the story that she shared about a little boy named Joseph and his siblings and  the process of healing after years of physical abuse. The website provides with statistics about the country located in  Central America and how is the country of more incidents of child abuse physical and sexually. I hope to received a response since I will like to learn more about  Joseph  and how they help him as well as the other children in their center and to be able to share it wit you in the remaining weeks of this course.

 I also sent a request  to Barbara Jones  "BJ" founder of the  Pine Grove School in Falmouth, Maine in 1985.As Delfena Mitchell I listed to her podcast at World Forum Radio  She went to California looking for an alternative experience and looking for a job she was interested in an ad looking for a Montessori teacher and she shared the story  of  how she was hire. Because of her experience she decided to be certified   as a Montessori Teacher   and she went to England to complete the course and requirements for her certification. Years after she open Pine Grove school in 1985 till today.

I really hope that she respond to my request since I am a mother of a 5 year old and I am really interested in learning about the Montessori approach and how it help children.

Her website is:  http://www.pinegrovecenter.com/

Expanding Resources 

 The resource that I choose is  Zero to Three National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to “promote the health and development of infants and toddlers”. Their website, http://www.zerotothree.org/,

The main tabs of the website are: home, behavior and development, maltreatment, care and education, public policy and about us. The home page includes a link in the upper right corner to “Get Connected”, a great highlight that provides visitors the opportunity to register to enjoy privilege benefits such as access to premium content, and emails related to relevant and updated early childhood topics. Another highlight located in the home tab as well is the “Donate Now” link, that goes beyond a simple donation, because by clicking the tab you will be redirected to a new page where you can search the different projects that Zero to Three is working on and on the bottom of the page there are  links that will take you to the supported projects that are also excellent resources.