Welcoming a Family

       The assignment for our blog this week asks me to think about ways that I would welcome a family from a country that I know nothing about into my child care program. The family that is coming into my program is from Swaziland, a small country in southern Africa. There are five things that I will do to help prepare myself to be culturally responsive to this family.

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                      First, I will learn what I can about the country. This is not so that I can make assumptions or generalizations about this family, but to educate myself on a place that I know nothing about. This will include talking to someone who is familiar with the Swazi language and customs so I am respectful of boundaries and beliefs and do not do anything to offend the family when they come to meet me.

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                    Second, I will find out if the family speaks English and if not I will invite an interpreter to the orientation. There are several dialects spoken in Swaziland so I will make sure to have someone who speaks the family’s language. Once they have started, I will ask the family give me a few key phrases and words in that language so the teachers can label things in their classroom and be able to speak to children in their native language during critical times (i.e.: when they are upset). I will invite the family to contact the interpreter as needed if they have issues to discuss, and I will schedule the interpreter to return when it is time for Parent/Teacher Conferences.

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           Third, I will find out what kind of food the family eats so that we can make sure and include food items on our meal and snack menu that the children are familiar with.

·         Fourth, I will make sure that there are photos, pictures, books, and materials in the center that represent this child and his family on their first day in the program, so they see themselves represented and valued in our space. Once they have started, I will invite the family to share music, stories, and other things from their culture in the classroom. I will incorporate items that are familiar to the child into the curriculum so all of the children have a chance to interact with them.

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                    Fifth, I will set aside time in my schedule to get to know the family well and create a relationship with them. I will find out what is important to them, and what they want for their child. I will listen to their ideas and feelings, and partner with them to make sure that my program is a safe, nurturing place for their child and them. I will ask them to share their culture with our program, and assure that the information that they share with me is evident in our program.

     These preparations will help the family and child feel welcome by letting them know that who they are as people, and their culture, is valuable to our child care community. It will give them the message that we want to honor who they are and where they have come from and not just expect that they will conform to the program as it was before they arrived. The child will recognize that he and his culture are important. It will benefit me by broadening my horizons and my anti-bias skills, and it will allow me to become a partner with a family whose culture is different than mine.    

A Prejudice That Affects Me

            A prejudice that affects me that I would like to focus on is what it means to be Wiccan. Witches and witchcraft are portrayed in the media as evil, ugly, and devious. Some people even think that witches worship the devil because of the way they are portrayed in movies and television. This is an inequity because nothing could be further from the truth. However, because of prejudice and lack of knowledge, people hear that I am a witch and immediately conjure up (no pun intended) a vision of me with a group of women, huddled around a caldron full of entrails, casting a spell to put a hex on someone.

            Although I completely understand how people use this stereotype to create a vision of what a witch is in their mind, it also frustrates me. For many years I felt as if I needed to hide my spiritual beliefs, especially from those in the early childhood community, because of this prejudice. I was certain that if they knew, they would not want me to work with their children. I have many great skills with children and I didn’t want this aspect of my identity to jeopardize my ability to do what I love. As time went on I felt more secure in educating others about my beliefs. Wicca is an earth based spirituality that is similar in many ways to Native American beliefs. We celebrate the changes of the seasons, and believe that all things in nature are sacred. We do rituals that use natural elements such as water, fire, earth, and air to focus energy and send only positive intents into the universe. This ability to be able to calmly stand in my truth has helped me not only educate others about my beliefs, but it has also helped me to be more accepting of theirs.

            I believe that knowledge is the best way to bring balance back into any situation. The very term “inequity” means not equal or out of balance. If people would recognize that prejudice is often based in the fear of what is different, and then take the time to learn the facts instead of basing their feelings upon stereotypes, they would be able to be more accepting and less judgmental.

Practicing the Awareness of Microaggressions

              I had the opportunity this week to go to a conference with people from twelve western states (including Hawaii and Alaska), as well as people from America Samoa, Guam, and the Mariana Islands. The purpose of the conference was to talk about what states were doing in their Early Childhood Professional Development Systems to support teachers to prepare children for school readiness. We were discussing the tools that are widely accepted as reliable for determining quality in classrooms and programs, when the representative from Alaska spoke up. She mentioned that native children are not talk to interact in the same way that Caucasian children are-they are talk to listen as their way of learning. One of the widely accepted tools to measure interactions between teachers and children does not take this cultural difference into consideration, and the scores of the native teachers and children in Alaska were low. Not because they had poor interactions, but because they had different interactions than those being measured. This nationally renowned tool was a microaggression to this leader and the native people in her state because it says that their way of interacting is not worthwhile. Although the tool is meant to be a support for teachers, and no malice was put into the design, it has unintentionally caused this community an indignity.

            This observation has helped me realize that many things that are designed to benefit “all” children in the U.S. have been designed by White, middle/upper class, educated people-and they are piloted on the same demographic. We, as Early Childhood leaders need to be willing to step out of our reality and realize that our world is changing. I will take the lesson learned from my colleague in Alaska and ask myself if what I am sending out to the providers in Utah, in regards to Professional Development, are truly taking many right ways of doing what is best for children.

What Culture and Diversity Mean to my Family and Friends

            I have been given the assignment to talk to at least three of my family members and friends about their definitions of culture and diversity. I actually talked to six people of diverse ages, genders, sexual orientations, religious backgrounds and ethnicities. All of these people had some aspect that differentiated their specific cultures from mine.

            My mother, who is 86 years old, used the words “elite” and “refined” when she heard the word culture. She thinks of culture in terms of “being cultured or well-bred”. My husband’s response to the word culture was “educated”, because those that are well educated understand the more sophisticated things in life. Other younger members of the group responded with terms such as: customs, trends, ideals, beliefs, traditions, and lifestyle. When it came to the responses for diversity, all of the people responded with ideas that centered on the idea that people are different. One member of the group specifically mentioned race, and several people talked about accepting others for whom and what they are. My husband’s response to this question was “a willingness to adapt” to different things and different people.

            Most of the answers that they gave were things that I have studied about during this course and in other work that I have done, with the exception of three answers. My mother was raised in a time when the word culture held a different meaning. My husband was raised in a different socio-economic culture than I was, and he equates culture to intelligence because those who are ignorant are not cultured. He is also unfamiliar with the term “culture” as it is used today. When we talked about diversity he explained that part of understanding diversity is the willingness to try and see things from another’s point of view. I think this answer may be a good example of something that we have studied because it address seeing things from another’s point of view, which is the key to making diversity successful.

 

            It was very interesting sitting with this group of my family and friends and realizing that, even among those people that I know very well, there is a variety of thoughts on these two topics. Although I understand my mother’s and husband’s different definitions of culture, I realize that the last time both one of them was in school this was the definition, and it has since expanded. I enjoyed the exercise but I think that I will stick to the thinking that is a little more up to date! J

My Culture

 

             I have been given the assignment to choose three things that I could take with me to a new culture if my current culture was destroyed. These three things need to be representative of the culture that I am leaving behind.

            The first thing that I would take is my photographs. Photos capture moments in time in my family story. These pictures and the stories that go along with them will preserve our family culture. The next thing that I would take is a rocking chair that my great great great grandmother brought with her across the plains as a pioneer to settle in the west. That rocking chair has rocked many children, and children have always been an important part of my family culture. The third thing would be family recipes that I loved as a child, and my children loved when they were small. Most of our family gatherings involve food in some way, and having those recipes would help carry on the tradition of large family meals, as well as the tastes that we have grown to love.

            If I had to give up two things it would be the rocking chair and the recipes, and although I would be sad about it, it would not be devastating. The photos are the thing that best tell the story of my culture, and they would be most valuable in helping to preserve it if everything was left behind. I would like to say that love is the greatest part of my culture, and if we had nothing tangible but still had each other our culture would be still be in tact!

            The insight that I had as part of this experience is that the most important part of culture can’t be touched, it must be felt. I will remember this exercise as I continue to support cultural competence with those that I work with and with myself.

 

 

When I Think of Research...

            I cannot believe how much I have learned about research over the past eight weeks! I have learned that research is much more complicated than I’d imagined, and that I am very grateful for those who do research because it is hard work! This is the first topic in my graduate studies that I knew very little about, and it has been a huge challenge for me to comprehend and articulate how to do a successful research study. Three things that have changed for me in regards to my ideas about research are:

• How much planning needs to go into a research study

• How much time needs to go into a research study  
• How careful the researcher needs to be when choosing his/her research design type

       I have always worked with researchers who do research on a regular basis, so the planning was always done behind the scenes. I have come to find out that planning a research study takes a lot of effort, and I will always think of an analogy of painting a house when I think about the prep that goes into planning research. In order to have a good finished product when you paint a house you need to take the time to wash and scrape the walls, put down drop clothes, tape everything off, and purchase the right tools. The painting is the easy part in comparison to the prep, and the same is true for research! I also thought that research could be conducted fairly quickly, depending on the research. I had never thought to factor in time for prep, establishing relationships with the subjects, organizing the data, and analyzing the findings. It is much more time consuming than I realized. Lastly, I learned a lot about the different methods of research and how different aspects can impact the outcome of the study, including my role and beliefs as the researcher.

            The biggest challenge I faced in this class was learning the new vocabulary and incorporating it into my working language base. The weekly charts have been very helpful in helping me use the new words in a way that makes sense to me, and then they have giving me a reference to use as I did my readings every week.

            My perception of Early Childhood has changed because I realize how much research has gone into learning about the practices that I teach about and use daily in my work as an Early Childhood Professional. I love to read the data that backs up ideas such as developmentally appropriate practices or the importance of play, but I never did more than just glance at the resources listed at the end of these articles and journals. I now have a huge appreciation for the work that goes into researching the best ways for us to work with young children, and I will be more aware of the source and identifying information of resources that I read. Each course in my graduate works causes me to reflect on my beliefs and practices, but Research Methods has given me the opportunity to gain very concrete skills that will really help me move my work in Early Childhood Education into the future! 

What is Happening in International Research

Learning about what is happening in Early Childhood Education (ECE) around the world has become an interesting topic for me. The website that I chose to look at to see what is happening in ECE research internationally is the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (http://www.eecera.org/journal). This website publishes a research journal that looks at many topics that affect early childhood education throughout Europe. The topics listed for the most recent issues are: technology, policy & practice, outdoor environments, parent partnerships, curriculum and play based instruction, attachment, and how the quality of the ECE environment affects children’s cortisol levels. These are topics that are also of interest here in the United States. I was curious to see what the trends and issues were surrounding early childhood research in Europe and I found four articles that gave me some good insight about this topic.

   1. The authors of the first article talked about the challenges of doing research with children, and what the best tools are to get children’s perspectives on things. They questioned whether or not participatory research methods work. They also talked about the importance of considering the research design and the ethics behind the research. (Waller & Bitou, 2011)

 

    2. The second article used several words that I was unfamiliar with, and I had to look up their meaning. The basis of the article was that researching ECE practices alone is not enough. There needs to be a reflection of the research, an awareness of the concerns of those in power-especially political power, and a more authentic participation model. Their recommendations also included looking at ECE visibility, status, and progress.   (Pascal & Bertram, 2012). 

   3. Article three was a lighter paper that looked at research conversations with children about their experiences. The premise for this article was to consider the understandings of childhood and adulthood through the eyes of a child (Harcourt, 2011).

  4. The fourth article, although it was a bit outdated, was an interesting research piece on the disconnect between those who are providing care and education in preschool settings, and those that want to make decisions and changes about what is best for children. I found this research interesting because it parallels the sentiments of ECE providers in the United States too (Brown, 2004).

My greatest insight is that the research shows that ECE in Europe and ECE in the United States are both experiencing similar trends in research. This is an excellent website and I will continue to use it as a resource as I do my studies.

Brown, S. (2004). Celebrating childhood: Research to inform   

  improvement in provision.European Early Childhood Education 

  Research Journal, 12(1), 5-14. doi:10.1080/13502930485209271. 

  Retrieved (July 29, 2013) from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/

  abs/10.1080/13502930485209271

Harcourt, D. (2011). An encounter with children: Seeking meaning

   and understanding about children. European Early Childhood 

   Education Research Journal, 19(3), 331-343. doi:

   10.1080/1350293X.2011.597965. Retrieved (July 29, 2013) from 

   http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1/1350293X.2011.597965

Pascal, C., & Bertram, T. (2012). Praxis, ethics and power:   

   Developing praxeology as a participatory paradigm for early 

   childhood research. European Early Childhood Education

   Research Journal, 20(4), 477-492. doi:10.1080/1350293X.2012.

   737236. Retrieved (July 29, 2013) from http://www.tandfonline.

   com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350293X.2012.737236

 

Waller, T., & Bitou, A. (2011). Research with children: Three 

   challenges for participatory research in early childhood.   

   European Early Childhood Education Research Journal,

   19(1), 5-20. doi: 10.1080/1350293X.2011.548964. Retrieved 

   (July 29, 2013) from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs

   /10.1080/1350293X.2011.548964