I decided to take a look at the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) website: http://www.eecera.org/
This association works to promote multi-disciplinary research on topics regarding policy and practice in the field of early childhood education. It is first in international contributions to the development of research in the early childhood field. It has membership from around the world and its annual conference is the largest early childhood conference in Europe. The EECERA publishes a highly respected an cited research journal, The European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ).
As I explored the EECERJ link I noticed a great interest in outdoor play. Of the 20 Most Read Articles, eight of them dealt with research regarding children's learning and outdoor play. Outdoor play was the focus of one of their conferences several years ago, and apparently, continues to be a topic of strong interest. This year's conference focused on research involving the age group of Pre-Birth to Age Three.
Other topics sounded very familiar, as they too, are interested in curriculum, play, and policy. Several of the articles addressed the challenges of researching young children. One article in particular caught my attention because it focused on children's right to be heard and how to make that happen in the arena of research. Pascal & Bertram discussed England's attempt to give children a voice regarding their experiences in the early childhood setting (2009). The authors stressed the significance the act of voicing their opinions and insights can have on a children's self esteem. The process gives a different insight into skills the children possess. Their research revealed the importance of observing body language and facial expressions as well as closely listening to what the children are saying; as Pascal and Bertram described it "researchers need to listen with all their senses" (2009, p.260). They cautioned researchers against the impulse to reword or direct what the child is saying, and to be have the "courage to redistribute the power" so children can respond in a way that is powerful and meaningful for them. They also identified some techniques they found successful in stimulating dialogue: video-taping the children and then asking for their feedback as they watch the playback, drawings, photographs, dramas, and child guided tours of the preschool. The authors concluded that researching children takes a commitment of time and resources, but the resulting interactions provide a voice from the experts in the world of early childhood.
Pascal, C., & Bertram, T. (2009). Listening to young citizens: The struggle to make real a participatory paradigm in research with young children. European Early childhood Education Research Journal, 17(2), 249-262. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13502930902951486
Suzanne,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to find similarities among the research topics in the early childhood field. On the other hand, I consider that the current acts in each country, like the NCLB in USA, lead the research topics because there is where there interests might be.
Thanks!
Suzanne,
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that the European Early Childhood Education Research Association was the first international contributions to the development of research in the early childhood field. That is a major accomplishment. I, also thought it was very interesting how EECEPA provides so much research on learning and outdoor play. It seems to me that nowadays, young children spend more time indoors playing and not enough time playing outside.
Thanks for sharing,
Crystal