Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week's focus on microagressions truly made me look at how others interact in my workplace.  I have been the victim of microassaults and even microattacks throughout my life because of my race.  As a minority, I have been called names and I have been the recipient of racially biased remarks.  However, this week, I was shocked to have a microassault based on my age.  I was in the process of working with a colleague on a school project.  She asked if I could bake some cupcakes for the PTA meeting next week.  As I started to deny the request, my coworker stated that "she knows I can cook because women did all the cooking back in my day".  The coworker was very young and she implied that as an older woman, I had to spend my days cooking.  Even though I did cook for my family, I took this as an insult.  I perceived the message that younger women are more professional whereas older women are homemakers.  This shocked me because it was a harmless remark.  However, I was very insulted.  I denied the request to bake the cupcake and was quickly told by the coworker that she would just buy some.  Because of the course work, I realized why I was offended.  I was insulted, and I know that it was unintentional.  However, it was offensive and I did not like it.  Have any of you experienced similar situations?

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

This week, I asked friends and family how they defined and viewed diversity and culture.  One of the best definitions was provided by a male cousin who view culture as a shared set of beliefs and values among a group of people who support and create those values.  Culture is a part of our society and there are subcultures that form within the dominant culture.  As a result, people can have different views of culture.  My  cousin also stated that diversity is based on differences in society.  Diversity can include language, culture, race, and religion.  Therefore, I agree with the definition that diversity is based on the differences that exist in our society, and it is the basis of the American Melting Pot.

My Family Culture

My family culture is based on the values and the beliefs that we have established over time.
As a result I would take the following three items.

1. Bible:  The bible is essential to my culture and my religious beliefs.  This item would help to explain what I believe in and what has defined my life.

2.  African statue.  This item expresses the creativity of the African American culture.

3.  My grandmother's quilt.  These quilts would explain what the African American family means as as a unit.

If I could only keep one item, I would keep the bible. This is the most important item for me.

When I Think of Research...

When I think of research, I think about the goal of the research project.  Research is designed to provide solutions to problems and to provide answers to research questions.  Now that I look back at my research project, I have a clearer understanding of how to conduct research.  I find that it is necessary to choose the proper design to address the problem or question.  Since I chose to work with language development programs and the academic progress of Hispanic children, I decided to use a mixed method approach.  This approach is a "combination of the qualitative and quantitative methods of research" (MacNaughton, Rolfe, and Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).  This method allows researchers to present concrete and narrative data in the research project.

I have learned that there are many challenges in conducting a research project.  These challenges include ensuring validity, reducing bias, and being sensitive to participants.  As an early childhood education researcher, I have learned that it is important to address these issues directly and to carefully plan the research project to avoid these issues.  Furthermore, I have learned that action research is beneficial to early childhood education. 

When I think of Research...I think of solutions to issues and problems that affect early childhood education.

References

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.

Research Around the World

The European Early Childhood Education Research Association offers journals and research in the field of early childhood education.  This site provides information about research on learning, program improvement, and individual learning strategies.  The site allows people to search for various topics in its back catalog.  I chose to search for language programs for Hispanics because I am researching bilingual programs for Hispanic children.  The site returned a list of journals based on Hispanics in education.  Therefore, I plan to use this site in the future for research information.

 References’

European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). Retrieved from

http://www.eecera.org/

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Research benefits families because it provides strategies and solutions that empower families to create change.  I read a research study where the achievement gap was studied, and it was determined that the quality of teachers and attention to student needs could reduce the achievement gap.  In another research, poverty was addressed by creating programs that assist low-income parents in education.  These research projects made it possible for educators to improve the quality of education in schools.  Although further research is needed to combat poverty and the achievement gap, the current research has provided a foundation for the future.

Slaby, R., Loucks, S., & Stelwagon, P. (2005). Why is preschool essential in closing the achievement gap? Educational Leadership & Administration: Teaching & Program Development, 1747-57.

Teale, W. H., Paciga, K. A., & Hoffman, J. L. (2007). Beginning reading instruction in urban schools: The curriculum gap ensures a continuing achievement gap. Reading Teacher, 61(4), 344-348.

Personal Research Journey

Bilingual educatoin is a growing concern in public education.  Families are more diverse, and there is a growing Hispanic population in my own area.  As a result, teachers in the Head Start program are not equipped to work with bilingual children or children needing ESL programs.  Currently, there are only four teachers in the Head Start program that speak a second language.  Three of these teachers speak Spanish and are overloaded with Spanish speaking children.  Therefore, I would like to research the benefits of bilingual education in the early childhood learning environment.