Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I spoke with my co-worker Sam who is Mexican, one Early Childhood home visitor Raquel who is Columbian, and my brother-in-law Roy who is European. When I asked Sam about what her definition of Culture was she said it is your surroundings, what has brought you to who you are, and your actions. I then asked her what diversity meant to her and she said that diversity is found within a culture, it is not just about race but is about the region.

I asked Raquel what her definition of culture was and she said it is family differences; some do not talk much, some do not share their feelings openly, it is about how they discipline, traditions, food, language, lifestyle, independence, interdependence, values, and immunizations. Her definition of diversity is how people are different, their color, language, and their teaching of values.

Roy said culture was a persons ethnicity and foods.
To him, diversity meant differences that are accepted of others; just a way of life.

The aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied which are included in the answers I received are foods, language, migration, values, and showing emotion.
The aspects that have been omitted in my answers are holidays, artifacts, costumes, family relationships, work, housing arrangements, community connections, intergenerational relationships, ideas about education, recreation, health care, role of children, religion, gender roles, and historic events.

Talking to others about their definition of culture and diversity has given me a broader view of the words as well as reiterated what the text has shown as definitions. It has made me think about areas of culture that I had not thought about like interdependence; when a family spoon feeds their children until they are around 5 years old or so.

Like Roy, I too had originally thought culture was just about ethnicity, food, holidays, and costumes. I now know that there are many more aspects that are involved in defining culture and diversity.

My Family Culture

If I were to be evacuated to another country and I could only take three items with me that would be tough. I really do not have too many "things" that would represent my culture that I would find important enough to take.

Most of the things that I hold dear are not physical things, but traditions, my beliefs, practices and my religion. They are with you no matter where you are. One of the most important things to me would be my family, and they would already be going with me. So, if I had to choose 3 things I would choose my Bible, extended/current family pictures, and a cross necklace that my husband got me. I really do not have anything from my mother or extended family that has been passed down.

My Bible would be important to me because it is apart of my heritage and it would be important for me to pass that on to my children. My Great Grandparents came to the United States as Russian/Mennonite immigrants looking for Religious/political freedom. My grandfather was a Mennonite but he married my grandma who was not apart of the society that he grew up in, so that generation is basically where the way of life started to die off. Most of the traditions got lost because my grandmother refused to learn the German language so my mother was only taught a few words from her father. We still have some of the traditional foods on the holidays but that is mostly as far as it goes.

The pictures speak for themselves because I would want to remember the faces and have memories of my family and the things we did together. The necklace would be important because it was a special gift and it represents two relationships that are important to me.

If I were told I could only keep one item It would make me feel like a part of my only heritage was being stripped away. It would be difficult to leave two of the items but I would definitely keep the Bible because it means the most to me.

Insights I have gained about myself include realizing that my family culture is less about "things" and more about what I stand for and believe about my heritage. These are the things that I pass on to my children and they can not be taken away. I also found out that my family culture is not that strong in passing down tangible items but the focus is more on tradition and spiritual aspects. I have also learned how difficult and scary it must be for families who are here as first generation immigrants. They should be able to hang on to their culture of origin.

When I think of research.....

I now consider that not all reseaerch is valid. I used to think that if an article said it had valid statements to back up its claim then it was valid research. I now know that this is not the case, research has many criteria that it must meet in order to be credible.

My ideas about the nature of research have changed since the beginning of class because I am more educated on what constitutes valid research. In conducting research I am not as anxious in some ways because I know there are many things to consider when doing research but I am more comfortable in the process.

Lessons that I have learned about planning, designing, and coducting research is that planning is important and equity and social justice should be considered from the start. Design is important as there are different styles to consider depending on the goal of your research. There are lessons to consider when conducting research because if equity issues are not addressed your research could become invalid.

Challenges that I encountered were mostly in the beginning. Once I was able to get my research question to work then it was smoother. I also had several extraneous variables to consider in regards to how my reseaech would avoid bias and social groupings to name a few. I rectified these issues by using self-reflexivity to minimize biases.

My perceptions about the early childhood profession have been modified in the fact that I have learned how ever changing this profession is, and that it is more complex than I previously thought. I had no idea that research was a cultural invention of the white Western male upper middle-class society. Learning all of this has made me more leery of the validity of research that I read so I have learned to test and check all research before believing.

Research Around the World

I chose the website Early Childhood Australia at www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Play based learning as opposed to teacher directed learning seems to be a hot topic as well as the affects of bush fires on children. The article on play based learning talked about how children learn best by practicing new skills that build on what they already know, and puts the focus on content instead of how the lesson is delivered. This is exactly what we have learned about children.

I learned information about studies on cortisol in children who attend quality programs vs those who do not. Studies actually show that the cortisol level of children in low quality programs is higher than those who attend higher quality programs. In some instances children in low quality programs may thrive because the program is actually better that their home environment.

I also learned that some countries such as Sweden and Britain are giving paid parental leave because through studies they have found that this is the most equitable and best value economically for all. It all came about because of a study in Canada where money was dumped into building more centers and only charging families $5.00 a day to try and help out dual income families afford to continue to work. What they found is that children were more hyperactive, inattentive, and aggressive, as well as had loss of gross motor skills, social skills and higher illness. The study found that children were worse off than their peers who stayed at home. Furthermore, the families suffered too as parent-child relationships deteriorated and there was an increase in depression rates among mothers. Canada was so horrified by the corporate chain profit model of child care that dominates in Australia that there is legislation proceeding to ban public money being given to these companies.

The results of this study led others like Britain to follow the Swedish model and offer paid parental leave also which was found to be the most equitable way and the best value for money. The article ends with saying that it is what is best for babies. "Love, after all, can't be bought".

Research that Benefits Children and Families

There is no doubt that we all benefit from research. Research has given us better insight as to what children should be learning so that they can have the best education and benefits possible; Research has made driving and being a passenger much safer; research has made playgrounds safer and food safer, not to leave out the medical research that is saving and extending lives.

I have a friend who's son was diagnosed with cancer at the age of one. Research made it possible for him to get advanced treatment that ended up curing him of the disease as he is now 25 years old. There are so many stories where medical research has helped children and families that I could go on and on. Although I understand Uri Bronfenbrenners' statement about refraining from social research, I would have to disagree because we have learned so much about children by our research. One just has to make sure that the proper guidelines are followed.

My Personal Research Journey/simulation process

I have been struggling to find a topic that is feasible. I started out wanting to research more about parents perspectives and "Quality" of care. I had a hard time finding articles on that topic so I thought I would do my research on either attachment or social/emotional issues. After finding articles on those I realized that I may have a hard time researching and testing a hypothesis so I switched my focus to the affects of maternal employment on childrens development. During that research I finally came across some articles on problems and perspectives on child care.

Here are the questions that I would like to find answers to:

1. What do parents value in a child care setting and why?
2. Where do most parents feel they will find the best quality of care; home or center?
3. How do Early Childhood professionals go about educating parents about what is Developmentally Appropriate for children?

Identifying and defining research terms on the research chart has helped me to learn more about the process by understanding and knowing the meaning of the terms. You cannot follow a map if you do not know what the symbals stand for.

If anyone has any advice for me I would appreciate it. I have only written one research paper before and I had some of the same struggles. Once I come up with a good topic I know it will be easier. I just hope I can find enough articles on this topic to make it work. I really feel as though this topic fits into my current job because these are some of the questions I wonder about on a daily basis and would like to have answered.

Final Blog Assignment

Professionally, three consequences that I learned from the international early childhood field is that colleges in the field care about children's issues no matter where they are from; we share some of the same issues, and we can learn from each other.

Personally, I have learned that international professionals are not that different, we have similar issues and trends that connect us. We need to be open to other views and learn what others can teach us. Ultimately, we all have the same goal which is to do what is best for the children.

One goal in regards to international awareness of issues and trends as well as collegial relations is that I want to get more involved with organizations and professionals from around the world and continue to discuss and advocate for all children.