Week 2 of our Building Research Competency Course calls for us to discuss our chosen topic in our blogs, as well as questions, concerns, or whatever comes to mind in relation to this topic. For our research study, I chose to focus on social-emotional development in children within the Early Childhood field. This topic always interested me and I have worked with various students in my 4th grade classroom who have struggled with issues within this area. Due to this, I have become curious to learn more about this developmental instance to better understand the depth of this development, as well as various factors that can positively and negatively impact this stage or instance of development.
Within this topic, I listed several subtopics to possibly study and focus on for my project. Of all the possibilities, I decided to focus on the ways in which various relationships can
impact social-emotional development of a child in Early Childhood, including
family relationships, teacher-child and teacher-family relationships, and peer
relationships. I think this is a topic that could be easy to study and get results and information on, as well as it is something that piques my interest. I would like to do triangulation research, in which I compare various relationships to see which has the biggest impacts and what impacts each has in comparison to one another, as well as if they work together to promote healthy development or can work together to hinder healthy development.
At this point, I have many reservations about completing my own research. The overall idea is very daunting and overwhelming, albeit even a bit frightening to me! I feel very unsure of my own knowledge about the field yet as I am still learning, coming from and Elementary and Special Education background and working in 4th grade currently. In addition, I tend to have moments of doubt in my own abilities so would feel more confident and trusting if I had someone to work with or consult with in this process. I worry I will create a question that is too broad or too specific and will not realize this until too far into the process. I worry I will not properly draw conclusions from the information and data I have gathered and analyzed. At this point, I am a total worry wort in terms of research! ;) Is anyone else feeling this way or am I the only one!??!?! I am looking forward to embracing this journey with the support of my classmates along the way, learning together. I know this will be a challenge but I am hoping to be successful and learn along the way.
Until next week...
Hi Ashley, your topic is interesting in that it kinda spills over into some of the issues I am concerned about. I did some reading about building relationships and the effect is can have concerning children. In respect of your worries you are not alone, I feel just as you do, I do not want to open something that I cannot contain so, I am intimidated a bit about research. But it is good to know that we have some fellow colleagues that have had experience in research that can possibly help us out. Thanks Ashley.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It is a topic I am very curious to learn more about, especially so I can better understand how it can impact a child come 4th grade (9-10 years old) which is what I currently teach. I am glad to know I am not alone in my reservations. I think you are right and I am looking forward to working together throughout this course!
DeleteAshley
Ashley, I doubt myself in the subject area of research. Research is new to me also, and I am fearful of not doing well in this class. This is going to be a challenge for me also. Like you, I taught special education 20 plus years ago. It takes a person with a very big heart to work on the challenge to prepare these children in the real world. My hat is off to you.
ReplyDeleteRichard,
DeleteThank you! Special Education is a special area and it is near and dear to my heart. My hat is off to you who have experienced this, as well! I am glad to know I am not alone in my concerns. It makes me feel better to know many of us are nervous because I know we can work together and lean on one another to get through it. Thank you!
Ashley
I have to say I am glad to encounter other classmates who are just as concerned with the subject of research. I would be happy to collaborate and share with you during this process. Helping each other is a positive way to begin actively engage our thought process. I cannot wait to work with you.
ReplyDeleteSamantha,
DeleteI AM SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT FROM YOU! It is such a relief to come on and see all of your postings. Thank you everyone! I would love to work with you and learn and get through this together! :) Feel free to e-mail at any time throughout the course or write on here. You know where to find me! :)
Ashley
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteGreat topic to choose for your research. I bet you can find a lot of helpful information out there. Teachers should be knowledgeable on this subject, in my opinion there are ore and more students having issues with this. I am also having reservations about the research process. I am glad I am not alone in my feelings. This is all new to me and hope we can all work together in our research journey.
Kristen,
DeleteThank you. I am really interested in this topic. I have some children come 4th grade who struggle in this area and I would like to see what could have possibly been an influence along the way to learn more. It seems as though many of us are in the same boat with the same reservations. Thank you for sharing. It makes me feel a little more at ease to know we are all in this together! :)
Ashley
Ashley, I enjoyed reading your blog. I believe the topic you have chosen is going to make a great research paper. I feel a bit unease as well. This class is more in depth than I anticipated, but I know the information we are learning is going to be of great resource. Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDelete