When I Think of Research...

The duration of this course has really been an enlightening journey. Although some of the areas were familiar to me I have learned so much new information. The simulation process was all new to me. The last research course I did was in 1994 approximately twenty years ago when I was pursuing a diploma in secondary education and even though I did a research project to complete my bachelor’s, I believe this is the first time I did research in such details. I must say I am grateful for the knowledge and I am also aware of the sacrifice and hard work researchers must endure in order to produce quality effective work. The research process is no walk over.

Some of the main lessons that I have learned over the past weeks are planning, understanding ethical issues, designing and conducting research. I must admit the process is very time consuming and many of my Sundays had me locked down in reading and exploring materials that relate to research. Sometimes I got it right and sometimes I was totally off but it is a learning process. The simulation exercises and the discussions helped me to understand the research process better. Persons who conduct research that leads to positive changes in early childhood must have a special love or deep passion for the subject area and I must commend them for their efforts. My greatest challenge was to refine my research topic as it relates to how technology has an impact on children’s development in middle childhood.

Every early childhood professional should be aware of how to do research in early childhood. This is a very important aspect of early childhood because the field is constantly changing and I believe research is one of the effective tools we have as professionals to keep up with these changes.

I must say a big thank you to my colleagues and instructor who guided and helped me for the past eight weeks. Your comments and support has surely helped me understand research in the early childhood field.