Practicing Awareness

I have been reminiscent this week in my interactions over the past few years and a couple of microaggressions have become apparent to me. Several months ago I and a colleague were discussing various languages. I was shocked to hear that she was born in Okinawa, Japan.  I was shocked because I had presumed she was born in the United States. She is African American and speaks English affluently. Although I didn’t verbalize this presumption, I had thought this microassault. 

This morning in a staff meeting we were being assigned child care programs who have contacted our agency for assistance in applying for Ohio’s quality rating system. When one program was mentioned, Me maw’s, a colleague said, “She must be from the south. You know people in the south use that term frequently.” I was astonished to quickly realize that these types of statements, or microassaults, have been said around our office in various contexts over time. 

My studies and reflections this week have rendered a new awareness in myself and others. I am saddened that these microaggressions are thrown around so freely and without intention. I am reminded of Dr. Sue’s mention of the psychological dilemmas regarding microaggressions, “Unintentional invisible nature of microaggressions” (Laureate, 2011). In a field as widespread and community-based as early childhood, we must work to stamp out the use of these microaggressions to break down barriers and cultivate relationships.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in every day life. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1340816_1%26url%3D

Perspectives

For this blog, I asked 3 individuals with varying backgrounds in education and life experiences.

40 year old Canadian born living and working in the US:

Culture – someone’s values and beliefs, the collection of what they believe, their actions and behaviors based on their upbringing, ethnicity, religion etc. 

Diversity – the different types of cultures and ethnicity, genders, religions, all the things that make us different from each other.  Diversity means there are different characteristics in a common group of people such as at work or school.

53 year old African American female:

Culture – the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people of experiences, beliefs, values, and attitudes.

Diversity – recognizing and appreciating the variety of characteristics that make individuals (people of different races or cultures) unique in an atmosphere that promotes and celebrates individual and collective achievement.

21 year old Caucasian college graduate:

Culture – the race, beliefs, and values of a group of people.

Diversity – seeing differences between the people of the same culture.

The responses from these individuals captured many of the terms that I have studied thus far in the course (race, beliefs, values, upbringing, differences, and individuality). Some definition that was insightful for me was “promotes and celebrates individual and collective achievement.”

This exercise gave me a chance to “see” others perspective on such broad terms. At the start of this blog I mentioned that these individuals have experienced diverse journeys and activities in their life; I believe their definitions demonstrate such. With each year we live and each experience, we build our knowledge on any topic. I am positive that my 40-year-old and 53-year-old friends define culture and diversity as they do as a product of their experiences.

My Family Culture

I enjoy packing for trips. A friend of mine jokes with me often because I can pack for a week's trip in about 15 minutes and I usually pack at the last minute. When I imagined packing for a trip in which I could take only three things with me, it took me a little bit longer to determine the three most precious items that represented me and my culture. To leave everything behind can be such a determent.

First, I chose a family picture. Of course, anyone would, I would guess. We have had many family pictures taken over the years; however, as we have all grown up and raised our own families, we have not taken time to take a family portrait lately. Holding this picture would offer me support and memories to guide me through such a catastrophe as to leave my homeland.

Secondly, I would pack my bible. With the grace of my Heavenly Father, I know that I am always protected and any occurrences that I encounter are meant to be on my life journey. The faith that I hold in God is what guides me through life experiences, whether they are positive or negative.

In closely reflecting on the last item to pack for this journey, I chose my Girl Scout sash. Most people are familiar with Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Troops of young girls and boys are created in which they participate in adventures and projects to learn life skills and strengthen their persistence. My Girl Scout sash, full of merit badges, would remind me of the camaraderie and relationships I had with the other girls in my troop over the years. The sash represents my determination and success in work and service projects.

If I were told that I could only take one item with me, I would be even more distraught. In this event I would certainly take my Bible, as it is the cornerstone of my existence and all I have ever known in faith and unconditional love.   

One insight this exercise provided is that we must hold true to our core being and not be so wrapped up in commercialism and having possessions. This is a revolving lesson for many people I know, including me.

Research Reflection

When this course began just 7 short weeks ago, I can say undoubtedly, that I was full of anxiety and uncertainty as to how I would manage the course. I was not a fan of research; however, I have become quite interested in the practical considerations as well as the various methods of research and data collection. Over the past few weeks, I have even utilized and applied what I have learned into my daily work. I am currently researching and conducting an E-learning pilot project with child care center-based staff. Our Cincinnati office staff conducted this project in their service delivery area with family child care providers a couple of months ago. When I suggested testing the study with program staff I stressed the importance of using the same course, same structure, and same time frame so that we were studying a consistent measure. I feel strongly that this study will provide us with a variation of feedback to assist us as we prepare to design and implement E-learning professional development opportunities for our combined region.

This being said, I certainly met some challenges throughout this course. Though I was very familiar with conducting a literature review, I struggled to find solid literature to support my research simulation topic. A positive challenge that occurred for me as well was learning some of the technical terms in which to keep me on the journey of refining my topic and research study questions. Things really seemed to gel for me in week 5. 

Thank you to all my colleagues and peers on this research journey. You have all provided me with great support and wonderful ideas to challenge my thinking over the past 8 weeks. I’m sure we will meet again in future courses.

Research Around the World

In exploring international topics researched by reputable organizations. I found the European Early Childhood Education Research Associations (EECERA) to be interesting.  This international early childhood organization publishes a well-respected journal at least two times a year. Some of the current topics being researched are factors around diversity, children using the natural environment in learning, and numerous angles on children’s play.

Some of the most cited pieces from this website include Listening to young citizens: the struggle to make real a participatory paradigm in research with young children (2009), Make-believe play versus academic skills: A Vygotskian approach to today’s dilemma of early childhood education (2008), and Let is disagree (2009), an article in the Special Issue: Children’s and Parents’ Perspectives on Diversity in Early Childhood Education. It appears as though this organization stays abreast of the hot topics and current trends in early childhood education and publishes special issue journals to address these themes. I have seen many organizations publish journals on a monthly basis, and yet somehow miss some of the current trends and topics. EECERA Special Issue journal themes include; Outdoor Play and Learning, Leadership and Management, and Children’s and Parents’ Perspectives on Early Childhood Education.

I found it interesting that the actual topic of research and children wasn’t addressed in many past journal issues. It wasn’t until 2009 that I found articles on research and young children. One piece posted in a March 2012 issue, Building a method for researching attribution of meaning by children aged 5 to 6 in school, reported on the first phase of a research project in which they looked for the voices of young children. The researchers of this project interviewed children to gain their perspective on the meaning of school.

References:

European Early Childhood Education Research Association. (2012). http://www.eecera.org/.

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.

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.