Uplifting Stories

In the scheme of things the example I am about to share may seem like it was a negative experience; however, I am positive that the research outcomes have advanced the medical field in a manner that support families in a way it couldn’t two decades ago. 

In 1993 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation it returned with a vengeance in 1995. My mother’s oncologist informed her of a high-dose chemotherapy research study that was taking place at Cincinnati’s (Ohio) Jewish Hospital. This study involved her admittance to the hospital for approximately 30 days. A percentage of her blood and bone marrow would be harvested followed by rounds of chemotherapy treatments. After a couple of days her blood and bone marrow would be re-introduced to her system. The hope was participating in this program would give her a 98% chance of never getting cancer again. She agreed. I remember the day she went to the hospital, the visits three times a week, and the day she returned home – one day short of 30 days. She did meet many challenges during this time; adverse reactions to the harvesting and restoring of her fluids, listening to other patients suffer through their own challenges, and missing her children who were at home “holding down the fort.” 

Because my mother is a statistic in research, her chance at life and risk to live longer with her family, I am sure others have benefited. While Bronfenbrenner brings up a great point, “the only safe way to avoid violating principles of professional ethics is to refrain from doing social research altogether,” (Mac Naughton & Rolfe, p. 73) without such research studies as I have described, the public is not able to take advantage of advances in the medical field, etc.

I regrettably have to add that the cancer did return and took my mother’s life in 1997. Again, this became part of the research to make an impact in future cases. Without my mother’s determination to live and willingness to try new things, our family would not have had the extra time we were given. Whether they are negative or positive outcomes, families are affected by research.

References:

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S. A. & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2009). Doing Early Childhood Research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2^nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw- Hill.

A Beginning to Research

The beginning of my research simulation has been just that, a beginning. I chose to research what provokes early childhood educators to choose certain training and professional development topics within the field. Since each state mandates a certain number of hours of training, and many state quality rating and improvement systems specify the type or topic of training, this research may be quite skewed. My interest in this topic arises for me in my position as the Professional Development Coordinator at the local Child Care Resource and Referral. Over the past few years the majority of professionals have been focused on attending only the training that meets Step Up To Quality, Ohio’s quality rating system. With the newly granted Race-to-the-Top dollars, Ohio is going through a transition period within professional development departments. Now more than ever, it is vital to learn what motivates educators to learn more about how children develop and grow, and how educators can facilitate children’s learning in the most optimum ways. 

I wonder if you, my colleagues, have any ideas and/or suggestions on the best way to discover this information. Do you know of any research that has already been conducted on this topic and where I might locate the results? I am curious to learn anything you might be able to share with me to shed new insights on the best way to continue my research. As I continue my research I am working on refining my subject to gain the best information and get to the heart of what educators really look for in professional development.