Week 8

How has writing a literature review effected the way you might do research in the future?
Writing a literature review has effected the way I do research in the future in a few ways. The first way is that I will not only research information for my topic, but also information with a different view. Such as against my topic. I want to keep an open view so that I will have multiple aspects of research in regards to my topic. The only part of the literature review that I found to be difficult was contrasting the articles. They were all very similar so I felt I didn't really get a good argument.. The understanding and knowledge of the topic of my research has expanded because I have an insight of how the program as a whole is research and data is collected. I also have an better understanding of where Head Start might be going in the future. Most importantly, I am more familiar with the Head Start program which is very beneficial because I teach for them. I do not have any unanswered questions because I learned so much.

Week 7

What new sources did you include in your annotated bibliography and why?I located two new sources in my annotated bibliography, Helping Head Start Parents Promote Their Children's Kindergarten Development and Peer Effects On Head Start Children’S Preschool Competency. I located both of these articles via the Leatherby Libraries Advanced Search tool bar. Each of these sources were written by professionals with an array of expertise in early childhood education, specifically Head Start.  These articles address ways that the Head Start program assesses and measures goals. I think the most important aspect that can be learned from my research is that a child's future education depends on parent and teacher collaboration.

In what ways does the Head Start program asses and measure goals for children’s future education?

Bierman, Karen L., et al. "Helping Head Start Parents Promote Their Children's Kindergarten Adjustment: The Research‐Based Developmentally Informed Parent Program." Child Development 86.6 (2015): 1877-1891. PsycINFO. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

Parental involvement is important in a child’s education. The Head Start program is designed to prepare children for learning by providing concrete opportunities. These opportunities are strategically developed according to research based developmental domains. Children’s success is measured by observations and assessments according to goals set by teachers and parents. This article brought to my attention the way that parental encouragement extends the impacts of Head Start on children’s learning. The research data provides plans of analysis and children’s individual outcomes. Each of these apply to my research in the way that the data was collected and the children’s outcomes were measured.

Coley, R. L., Votruba-Drzal, E., Collins, M., & Cook, K. D. (2016). Comparing public, private, and informal preschool programs in a national sample of low-income children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 3691-105. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.11.002

This article discusses the impacts early education and care programs have on school readiness. The research reports on multiple programs such as private child care, Head Start and public centers.  Program goals for each center were evaluated to determine if they’re similar enough to compare and contrast the differences in human capital factors and the role it has in choosing a school. For example, the Head Start program offered children more opportunity to engage in literacy and math activities compared to private centers.

Several factors were also applied to the research such as, family characteristics, size and income. The research team also took into factor the families’ race and ethnicity, parental education and family structures. Each of these things play an important role in how the child learns and how they will develop in any of the three program types. This article will help me gain a better understanding of my topic because it focuses on child family and community characteristics which is important in my research.

DeLay, Dawn, et al. "Peer Effects On Head Start Children’S Preschool Competency." Developmental Psychology 52.1 (2016): 58-70. PsycARTICLES. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

This article shares data gathered by research that focuses on whether or not peer selection in preschool influence children in ways that the children become more similar over time. Eighteen Head Start programs were studied over a period of two years. Each classroom had a low ratio of 18-24 students, ages 3-5 years of age. Important individual differences were taken into consideration, such as age, gender, primary language and receptive vocabulary. Research has shown that positive and significant evidence that peers influence behavioral change over time. That influence increased the child’s level of preschool compentency. This article provides an understanding of how children form early peer relationships in preschool. It also discusses how these early peer relationships reflect a child’s level of school readiness, and how these early peer relationships may be used to promote long-term academic success on school entry. This is  important knowledge for my research.

Hallam, Rena A., Jennifer Grisham-Brown, Robyn A. Brookshire, and Xia Gao. "The Effects of Outcomes-Driven Authentic Assessment on Classroom Quality." Early Childhood Research & Practices 9.2 (1999). Www.doaj.org. Web. 20 Feb. 2016. <http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v9n2/hallam.html>.

This article discusses the challenges of program expected outcomes through appropriate assessments. The standards in early childhood education programs such as NAEYC recommend research practices in childhood assessments and accountability to determine the positive impact on development and lack of.  This research article helped me understand the challenges of assessing children and methods required to assess the data collected. The article enhanced my research in the way that I understand how information is gathered, via different assessments and observations and how they align with early childhood development to determine the outcomes of the Head Start program compared to other preschool programs. 

Love, John M., Louisa Banks Tarullo, Helen Raikes and Rachel Chazan-Cohen. "Head Start: What Do We Know About Its Effectiveness? What Do We Need to Know?." Blackwell Handbook of Early Childhood Development. McCartney, Kathleen and Deborah Phillips (eds). Blackwell Publishing, 2005. Blackwell Reference Online. 24 January 2016 http://www.blackwellreference.com.libproxy.chapman.edu/subscriber/tocnode.html?id=g9781405120739_chunk_g978140512073929

This article has a lot of valuable information. It covers all areas of Head Start. The families it serves, funding, educational goals, research and analysis, previous results, staff goals and more. I researched a couple of the authors and was very surprised to learn how qualified they were. John Love is a leader in Early Childhood Research which studies Head Start programs. He serves on many advisory committees and is Board of Directors of ZERO TO THREE. A website devoted to the development of children ages zero to three. I use that website often in many of my other Early Childhood classes. Helen Raikes experience consist of many different advisory boards and teaching in the classroom. One being the, Society for Research in Child Development Visiting Scholar and Special Research Consultant, Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. In 2005 she received the Distinguished Service to Children Award, Nebraska Association for the Education of Young Children.

While evaluating for signs of scholarship I saw many. A lot of the topics covered has thorough information and links that were government pages. The article also had many references that were informative. There were too many for me to go through today, but I did visit a few.

O'Sullivan, J. M. (2013). Head Start and Child Outcomes : Select Analyses of FACES 2009. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

This book is a collection of results from a FACES 2009 collection. FACES is Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey. The book discusses family and program outcomes, who they program serves and what they teach. It collects various data reports from kindergarten readiness to children’s social emotional development, family success from the program. It also discusses staff and staff development. The book holds valuable and accurate information gathered through many assessments and collections of data from the FACES research. Each contributing author is educated in Early Childhood Education and hold various degrees and positions studying and researching programs. This book will help me gain a better understanding of my topic due to the depth of information and research it shares. The outcomes of FACES provide key information to the developmental benefits of the Head Start program. The book will enhance my research in all areas, specifically in the outcomes of the program. I would like to know more about children’s cognitive outcomes, ECERS teaching and instruction and CLASS instructional methods.

Week 6

This week I learned about the importance of not only evaluating and understanding new information found through my own research, but also the importance of understanding academic integrity. One of the most important research practices is to conduct research ethically.  Passing of one person’s ideas and information as your own is not professional. It takes time and effort to conduct ethical research and take what you have learned and put it into your own words. Each aspect of the information we read this week pertains to developing your own ideas and sharing what you have learned. Academic integrity reflects your character. I want my work to reflect that.  So this means, citing sources as needed, understanding what plagiarism looks like and taking new information and making it my own.

Week 5

This week I was introduced to several key ideas. One specifically is that not only do children benefit from the Head Start program, but also do their families. One in particular I learned about this week was that Head Start offers support for families in ways that directly affect their health and safety. I am not sure if I am reconsidering the focus of my research question because I feel that the information I learned through this assignment still impacts the children directly and their educational outcomes. I am however going to to research several of the references and studies mentioned in this research article, such as the Early Head Start outcomes and FACES statistics.  I feel that my research skills are improving tremendously as I am able to direct my searches to specific results and identify quality information.

Week 4

This week I learned how to skim pages, looking for important information and how to determine if information is valuable to me. I usually never read the title pages or the table of contents. But this week I learned that they can give insight to why the book was written or what the intentions are. I've used the Discovery tool many times before. The most useful tool for me is selecting the year of publications. When researching Head Start and preschool, it is beneficial that I have current up to date data to refer to. This is especially important when I am researching program outcomes. The most frustrating thing for me was getting to the login page! I'm not sure what I did to get to the login page today, but it took awhile. One page kept asking me to enter my library barcode. Once I clicked on the Discovery tool it took me to my normal login page. Anyways, as I continue my research, I hope to learn the outcomes of children who have previously been enrolled in Head Start compared to children who were in private preschool.

Week 3

This week I located several books that pertained valuable information about my topic, The Developmental Benefits of Head Start. I learned that there are several tools used to collect data to measure and assess children, families and the outcomes of the program. The search strategies that were particularly helpful for locating books is the advanced option, keyword tool. I was able to search specifically for Head Start outcomes. I found the “add to folder” to be helpful when locating books so I could refer back at a later time. I experienced difficulty locating books that were current. I prefer up to date data but know that is not always an option so I try to stay with the most recent books I could find. I hope to learn more about the process of surveys and assessments of the Head Start Program. 

Week 2

The knowledge I have gained about my topic as a result of the research I’ve done is that Head Start is an early education program that benefits the family as a whole. The resources the program provides extends beyond the child’s individual needs. The Head Start program focuses on bringing families and community together in order to provide the best care for children.

The new search strategies I used was the Leatherby Libraries E-books tab. I had never known about that tool before. I used the Blackwell Reference Online references to locate my first source. The source was very informative and scholarly written. The authors were well educated in early childhood education and had great knowledge of Head Start. My second resource was the Head Start website. The website was very informative as it shared information directly from the source. A specific aspect of my topic that I would like to research further is how do children in Head Start compare to those not in Head Start academically in their primary grades.