When I think of research...

Over the last several years there has been a growing understanding for the need quality research to benefit the field of early childhood education. There has been much political discussion on the importance of the high quality early childhood education, not only to support school readiness but also to support the future of our society. As I embarked on research I felt that only those advancing the field and work research universities in the field. As I read literature on my issue, I saw the importance of including professionals at every level in the process. Classroom teachers need to understand their role in classroom research, and that they are researchers investigating and discovering what the children in their care are showing them and each day. 

In planning research it is important to look at all of the factors and implications of the research topic. I learned that all research has intended and unintended consequences, and all of these need to be considered. As I looked at the why and how of working with children that have challenging behaviors I needed to look at several factors and take several things into consideration. This caused some challenges and I needed to continually examine my own beliefs and value systems to avoid bias in the process of design my study.

This has been a great process and has allowed me to grow in my own competency level in the field. I learned that every person in the field needs to be an active participant in advancing quality through research.