One insight I can say that I’ve gained from this course is that I don’t want to be a researcher for a career.  On a more serious note I’ve learned the importance of making sure the research focuses on the participant and their individual experiences. 

With the completion of this course I can say that I have more respect for those individuals who do research daily.  The course showed that there is a bigger picture than just reading articles, interviewing and reporting on data,  it’s looking for a result that can benefit others in the future (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, &Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). 

Research is a long process and not something that is completed over night.  The research in early childhood should be planned, designed and conducted to assist children in future programs. There should be a purpose behind the research. 

One challenge that I faced was developing a research question that was not bias to my influence and that could actually be researched.  The way I corrected this was to keep making changes as I learned more week by week.   

One of my perceptions regarding early childhood professionals has changed to a greater respect for the researchers who have explored numerous issues to assist educators in promoting a healthier environment for educating children.

References

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: international perspectives on theory & practice. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.