Research that Benefits Children and Families

Although I am against in using children for research especially when using them in finding treatments to treat diseases, I do see that there are benefits of research for children that have behavior problems.  I have been working in education for many years and it really sadness me to see many children with ADHD/ADD or even children that have behavior issues and not knowing sometimes as educators how to help these student’s is hard.  This is when research comes in handy for us educators to learn how to assist children with behavior issues, so they can be successful at school.  My interest has really grown in this area. 

I went to Walden Library to seek research material that could help me find answers in this area. I am really interested in knowing what research has found about children’s behavioral disorders.  I believe that it is imperative for me to educate myself further, so I can help support those families that have children with behavioral issues, as well as I can share what I have learned with other early childhood professionals.

After reading several articles, I would like to share one that really sparked my interest Preliminary Investigation of an Early Mental Health Intervention for Head Start Programs: Effects of Child Teacher Relationship Training on Children’s Behavior Problems.  The article talked about the urgent need in identify effective interventions for young children.  The report stated that fifth of US children are diagnosed with a disorder but fewer than that half receive any type of treatment.  So, Head Start has one of the largest early intervention and prevention programs.  The purpose of the study was to investigate several interventions to help tain teachers so they can identify children with behavioral problems as well as for teachers to use some of these interventions with children with behavior disorders  the following methods were used:

   

•    Play-based early mental health intervent
•   Caregiver involvement 
• Child parent relationship therapy
• CPRT/Filial therapy with teachers

I believe in the importance of supporting positive behaviors and provide children with a positive environment as well as involve parents, so they can support their children.  Research has shown time and time again that parent/teacher involvement and collaboration will support children in a positive way. 

References

Morrison, M. O., & Bratton, S. C. (2010). Preliminary investigation of an early mental health intervention for Head Start programs: effects of child teacher relationship training on children's behavior problems. Psychology In The Schools, 47(10), 1003-1017. doi:10.1002/pits.20520

My Personal Research Journal

I remember as growing up I loved to play outside to me the sky was the limit on how I really enjoyed playing outdoors.  My friends and I would spend hours discovering anything we could find from a tree, to a branch, or anything we could find we would use our imagination and created a world of imagination and exploration.  I know that playing outside played a significant role in my life in learning while being creative.  Now a day many schools are gearing towards having kids learning through reading and math however nothing should take away a kid’s childhood with continuing to explore, and discover by playing and learning.

                For this reason, my chosen topic to research will be on play and learning.  I find it very interesting to find out through research how play and learning is playing a role in childhood today.