Welcoming Families From Around the World

In order for me to prepare myself for working with a diverse group is to make sure that I have no hidden biases, that I respect and welcome all children and families and that I am competent area of being compassionate, nurturing and empathetic as well as having the resources and education to understand difference (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). My family’s country of origin is the United States. The five ways in which I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards a family that is emigrating from Asia, is to learn more about the families cultural background, their language, beliefs, values and family structure. Having the knowledge of a family’s background from another country is very important because you will be able to help the family adjust and feel comfortable, demonstrate respect, respond and be more attentive to their needs (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  

 

Reference

 Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. Wahsington, DC: NAEYC.

        

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I witnessed prejudice, intentional microggression and bias on the local news, when an openly gay guy was beat up in public because of his sexual orientation. The guy was coming out of a store and four guys jumped him. It was in the early afternoon and people were outside witnessing the violent attack (WSBTV.com, 2012). This incident diminished equity by separating and treating individuals or a group of people that have different sexual orientation unfairly. This incident was injustice and a demonstration of prejudice. This incident made me feel sad because no one should have to be a target of any form of prejudice or discrimination because they are not considered as normal in society. The first thing that came to my mind is that, the victim could have been my family member or child. The law in the state of Georgia is to protect people from this type of behavior; this type of behavior is considered as hate crime and a felony (Bagby, 2012). I believe that the state laws and more rights need to be implemented to help protect people of the LGBT community. Even with society views of what is normal, LGBT are human too and deserve the same respect and justice as anyone else.  

Bagby, D. (2012, May 30). LGBT inclusive hate crimes bill introduced on last day of Ga. legislative session. Retrieved from http://www.thegavoice.com/news/georgia-news/4392-lgbt-inclusive-gate-crimes-bill-introduced-on-last-day-of-ga-legislative-session 

WSBTV.com. (2012). Grand Jury indicts 4th man in videotaped beating of gay man. Retrieved from http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/grand-jury-indicts-4th-man-videotaped-beating-gay-/nLKN9/

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

A microaggression that I detected this week is when I had an appointment at the dr. office. The microaggression was racial. I went up to the window to sign in and one of the assistance mumbled “they are never on time.” I do not think that she knew I heard the statement. This was unintentional to me because the assistant did not directly say it to me, even though I knew she was speaking of me because I was running late for the third time. When I felt like the target, I was upset but since we were in a professional environment and she did not make the statement directly towards me, I let it go. It made me feel bad and a target of being stereotyped due to worldviews and personal views from other groups that are different. The assistant was white and never demonstrates any good customer service skills. The assistant never speaks when I speak to her; she spreads her nose up at me when I do speak. My observation experiences this week affected my perception of the effects of stereotypes on people, made me more aware of microaggressions through personal views. I do not believe that all groups of people are the same and not every individual stereotypes certain groups. The reason that I state this is because I work in a diverse atmosphere and groups of people such as white do not disrespect or make me feel any different.  In fact the groups of people that I work with that are different from me, actually make me feel better about myself than my own culture.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

  
The first person that I spoke to was my best friend who is African American. Her definition of culture is where a group of people come from and share the same characteristics, family history and food. Her definition of diversity is a mixed group of cultures. The second person that I spoke to was my neighbor who is of mixed races defines culture as what a group of people practice, race and value. Her definition of diversity was a group of people from different backgrounds that live among each other. The last person that I spoke with was a co-worker who is Caucasian defines culture as a connection with a group of people in which they share the same beliefs, values, and traditions. My coworker defines diversity as a group of different races, cultures, genders, religions interact together in some way.   

The aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in all of the answers from the three people that I made contact with. All of the responses given can be considered as a definition of culture. Examples of culture is when a group of people such as my own (African American) share some or all of the characteristics, behaviors, lifestyles, beliefs, values and religion. Another example is the culture of Hispanics. Hispanics share the same gender roles, values, music, religious, holidays, eating habits and family structure that make up their culture  (Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2012).  An example of diversity is that of my classes that I currently take at Walden University, my community and my workplace. Diversity is certain ideas, beliefs, social and economic class, race, genders, lifestyles,  and values that may be similar and different between groups of people (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008).  Other people’s definition of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics by showing me how each person from a different group view culture and diversity. My thinking was also influenced how the definition can be different or similar depending on personal views and experiences from another group.

Reference

Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau. (2012). Hispanic and Latino Culture and Heritage. Retrieved from http://www.itsatrip.org/albuquerque/culture-heritage/hispanic-latino.aspx

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Diversity in Early Care and Education (5th ed., pp. 8–13). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill
     

My Family Culture

If there was a catastrophe and my family had to move to a permanent place outside in a country in which the culture was different from my own, the three things that I would take is the photo album, a blanket that has been in the family for decades and necklace that has been passed down to each female that was married. I would explain to other people that each item is part of my culture and they all will remind me of our family tradition and memorable moments. If I was told that I could only keep one item of the three once I arrive in another country, I would feel really sad and that my cultural values and traditions were being ignored. The insights that I gained with this exercise is that not every culture value the same thing. I gained the knowledge of knowing that every culture is different and has different beliefs and traditions that are different from my own. I also learned that my family culture means a great deal to me and I want to always remember how close we are and no matter where I go, I want to always honor my tradition, values and beliefs. I want to state that I believe that it is important to learn cultural differences and what is a value to each, so that each cultures beliefs, family structure, religion and values are respected.

When I Think of Research...

The insights that I have gained from this course is that research is a way to find out issues, where, with what group and a possible solution. I perceive research as relevant because it can help find cures, facts, and different options to help find the best results. Research should be conducted in a high quality, respectful, ethical and productive manner (Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). The children and families can benefit from research because it can help seek out a problem, bring it to the attention of policy makers and government officials to get the appropriate attention and care that is needed. The most important information to me throughout the course and the resources provided was the code of ethical conduct resources that gives and outline on appropriate behaviors for professionals, being responsible as a professional, resolving dilemmas, values, morality, respect, being trustworthy, honest and fair (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2012). There are certain ethical standards that the NAEYC has to guide all professionals especially researchers to follow step by step to ensure that all participants are protected, consent is given, ethical behavior is conducted and that each individual is treated fairly (NAEYC, 2011). I would like to include that research has it benefits and risk when children are involved because of the type of method used. I do not think that any research should be conducted if it can cause harm emotionally, mentally or physically to a child. I do understand that it is necessary to conduct research, but if it is not in the best interest and beneficial to more than one child, than the research should be re evaluated and approached at a different angle to provide better enhancement to the child’s abilities (Whiting, 2009).

The insight that I learned from this is that when evaluating sources in the research process that we will encounter all types of resources that may or may not relate to the knowledge, objectivity or accuracy. Sometimes we might read or view a source that we may think is biased, opinionated or conflicting about the topic. We should ask questions such as is the resource suitable, informative, who is the intended audience, when was it published, when was it last updated, and who is the source coming from and can we validate the source (Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). I have also learned that in order for a research project to be valid that it should have the sources of being on hand in a natural environment that involves data and methodological triangulation methods. The challenge that I encountered in research is giving my views on how the research is being conducted and how much of a benefit any research topic is. I met my challenges my reviewing, documenting, studying and doing more research on the different methods and techniques that is a option for the many different approaches to conducting research on children and families. The support that I can offer my colleagues when it comes to learning about research is to stay focused on the priority of the children, the goal and the long term benefits that research can offer.

My perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course by enlightning me on the better good and benefits of research for the children, families, the community and the early childhood education field. The lessons that I learned from planning, designing and conducting research in early childhood education is that, the professional should take into consideration the child's age, gender, behavior patterns, cultureal background, family values and beliefs and respect them all. I also learned that ethical guidelines and laws have to be followed to ensure that no harm will be placed upon a child or their family.
Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
National Association for the Education of Young Children (2011). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved on March 12, 2012 from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Ethics%20Position%20Statement2011.pdf

Whiting, L. (2009). Involving children in research. Paediatric Nursing, 21(5), 32–36

Research Around the World

The current international research topic is Research in Practice. This research is about providing the tools necessary for professionals in the educational field. The research in practice has hands on tools to guide educators through helping children and families. The research approach is to promote knowledge to educators in regards to obesity, bullying, and the framework of early childhood education, children’s resilience and more. The new insights that I gained is that there are a long list of research topics that can benefit all educators at any level. The topics focus on protecting the well being of the children as well as educating the professionals. The site contains ethical guidelines on the expectations of educators, members and staff. Australian code of ethics is overseen by the field and rather than it being opposed upon.

 Early childhood Australia is committed to aboriginal and torres strait islander for children and families which is considered a statement of regret. This regret and commitment acknowledges that aboriginal and strait islander people as original habitants of Australia that is well respected for their culture. I also learned that this is a knowledge broker, non-profit, not government organization that is here to assist children from birth to eight years of age and other individuals that is seeking more knowledge about international early childhood education. Early Childhood Australia works with all caregivers, educators, and the government and opposition parties. Social justice and equity is part of Early Childhood Australia’s focus. boriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families

Resources

Early Childhood Australia. (2000-2011). A voice for young children. Retrieved on April 1, 2012 from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/