Research that Benefits Children and Families- Uplifting Stories

                         The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development of Children

Growing up without a father can be more harmful than we think. With the growing numbers of single family households in America we can only wonder what types of effects this can have on the children raised under these conditions. “Fathers are far more than just second adults in the home, Involved fathers bring positive benefits to their children  that no other person is as likely to bring” (Popenoe, D, 1996) Being brought up in the house with an active father it increases the child’s cognitive ability, educational achievements, psychological well-being, and social behavior. These are all star quality traits that result in a highly achieved, responsible, successful adult.

Many resources are available to give further detail on the topic such as U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The National Fatherhood Initiative and the National Center for Fathering are a few good resources to give more detail on the impact active fathers have on the outcome of the child. Another very important influence the fathers can have on their children is the quality of the relationship they have with their mother. “A father who has a good relationship with the mother of their children is more likely to be involved and spend more time with their children and they have children that are psychologically and emotionally healthier” (Rosenberg, Wilcox, 2006)

 A father who is involved in the care giving of their infant and they display nurturing behaviors to their infants as well as being playful with them, it has been seen that theses infants have higher IQ scores than on average. “A 2001 U.S. Department of Education study found that highly involved biological fathers had children who were 43 percent more likely than other children to earn mostly A’s and 33 percent less likely than other children to repeat a grade. (Nord, C., & West, J. (2001) It is clear that a father being in the household has many positive effects on the children throughout life and helps them to become a better more responsible adult.

References:

Rosenberg, Jefferey; Wilcox, W. Bradford, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Children’s Bureau, (2006) “The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development of Children”

Your Personal Research Journey

I decided to choose a pretty sensitive topic for my simulation, and that is children with learning disabilities and how they are affected as well as the families that care for them. I decided to go with this topic based on the increasing numbers of children suffering with this problem in the last 20 years so it makes me question is this growing problem environmental, genetic or could it be something else? I am now beginning to gather resources and information to further understand this problem and I feel more confident going into this assignment then I did at the start of class. I am anxiously waiting to see what new details I will find out. I think that I had a fear of reading and understanding everything involved in a research article but now I understand that not everything that is included in the article is pertinent information and does not always have to be read or examined. I am learning new terms and increasing my vocabulary with the simulation and beginning stages of performing my research.  I am learning so much from this class already, from such insightful colleagues and I am so very grateful. If anyone has any information to add to my postings please feel free. I am looking for any suggestions that can be offered to help me along in this journey. If anyone has any resources to share I would be more than grateful.

Week 8 - Final Blog Assignment

I have learned so much from exploring International contacts while in this class and also I have learned so much from other educators on the other side of the world and have realized that many of them share many of the same concerns we do and we surly share the most obvious similarity and that is the well being of children around the world. We want to make sure they are safe and happy and being well cared for.

I think that by exploring other web sites of organizations nationally it gave some insight as to many of the changes that we will need to make in order to move forward in the field of early learning. We need to make sure that high quality programming is our first concern and  then following a standard is a top priority around the world. I’m fascinated in knowing that I share the same concerns with International professionals. We will be better educators as long as we work together to fix the problems that we share internationally.

I think we will be better educators if we continue to make sure that we are getting support from many entities especially the government. We must make it obvious to them how important it is to implement high quality early learning programs around the world, and continue to do so because starting early on influencing the life of a child will have an everlasting effect on them as an adult.

My goal for the field of early learning related to international awareness would be to stay involved and try to get more actively involved in international studies in the field of early learning. I will continue to grow my resources of international contacts this way I can be aware of what is going on around the world in my field. I want to continue to educate myself therefore I can be a better resource to those in my field around the world.

 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts- Part 3

I have learned so much from exploring international resources and attempting to find out how they are improving the culture of early learning around the world. UNESO help to improve on the health, nutrition, security and learning with a holistic approach to development.

Many participating countries decided to support the importance of early learning programs and wanted to expand and improve early childcare and education. The government was encouraged to support equitable access to quality early learning programs for the most disadvantaged children.  The central government are encouraged to promote alternative services to disadvantaged children when the resources are not available for the mainstream early childhood services.

Cross-sectoral coordination is not easy at the national level. This is a huge challenge that the government faces in developing and developed countries and the idea is to promote the holistic approach. Many countries are in attempt to remove the problem by integrating sectoral responsibilities. For some countries the responsibility of early learning is divided by policy administration and they become more effective when they focus on a particular early childhood program.

Sharing Web Resources

              I decided to reflect a little further on the website National Institute for Early Education Alliance. This website expands on topics such as Assessments, Economics and Fianance, English Language Learners, Government and Accountability, Quality and Curriculum, Special Education, State Pre K Evaluations, and much, much more. Within this site I decided to go a little further and access their section on Assessment and Preschool Assessments and how they are professionally performed. Professor Shannon Riley-Ayers from San Antonio Association for the Education of Young children (SAAEYC) talks about formative assessments and the Early Learning Scale. Many of the studies preformed are to evaluate a preschool child’s readiness to enter into kindergarten. While searching this website I did learn how important these issues of quality and excellence is too the field of early learning. Assessments is an effective way to find out where changes need to be made and what kind of changes should be made to certain materials used in the early learning classroom. While searching further I noticed some more information  that discussed the importance of inclusion in the early learning setting noticed an and when this is a part of the environment it makes for a more effective learning environment.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

I decided to look deeper into “Science of Adversity and Resilience” (SAR) this area of study shows us how genes, experiences, and environmental influences can effect children during stages from prenatal stages until adolescent development. This can have long term effects on a child’s behavior and their learning habits. This area gives information on Toxic Stress and the lifelong health effects it can have. It also gives information on resilience in people and communities. While also displaying some strategies of intervention which can help to improve the outcome of disadvantaged children . Also while viewing the Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” I also learned about the science of neglect in children and it’s effects on the child’s development. We would call this unresponsive care and we will learn about Occasional inattention, chronic stimulation, severe neglect in a family context, severe neglect in an institutional setting.  I learned about the three core concepts in early childhood and what they have to offer. What a child experience helps to stimulate the brain and their development, also there is something that helps to shape the brain waves and the brain circuitry, and finally we this areas shows how toxic stress can derail healthy deployment.  I was also able to learn about the “ Frontiers of Innovation” (FOI)  this area of study gathers it’s information to assist children and families who are in true need because their children needs are not being meant. This website shows us how and why a child may development at a particular speed and rate. This area also teaches us how to improve the outcome of the students. I learned so much from this website about resources.

Sharing Web Resources

I decided to explore The National Black Child Development Institute and this organization has been steadfast in their mission of improving and protecting the quality of life of children, youth and families in the Greater Greensboro community. I read a poem on this site that really spoke to the mission of helping impoverished children of all races. This poem made me think of how important it is to improve the system of early childhood. When I read this poem I see the black child as the system of early childhood and all that it will offer.

I am the Black Child
All the world waits my coming
All the world watches with interest
to see what I shall become

Civilization hangs in the balance
What I am, the world of tomorrow will be

I am the Black Child
You have brought me into this world
about which I know nothing
You hold in my hand your destiny
You determine whether I shall succeed or fail

Give me a world where I can walk tall and proud
Train me to love myself and my people
to build and maintain a great nation.

            This site made me think of the economist theory of the “early payback” in terms of giving more through the events such as “Back 2 School, College Zone and Freedom School. They offer in a way that says the more you give or put into our efforts early on will have positive effects in the future of what we can offer to this society as long as you feed the seed now.

            This website also made me think about issues and trends of  the challenges that some children face every day in their community and one of the issues that they addressed was gun control and many children spoke of the changes they would make in their community if they could. This was very insightful speaking from the minds of the children.