Research That Benefits Children and Families

If I could conduct research about any topic in the early childhood field, I would want to know more about the impact of the push down of curriculum on our youngest learners.  I would like to know what type of environment has the best outcomes for children; an environment that promotes academics, an environment that promotes play, or an environment that provides opportunities for both.  I would hope that my research would help teachers to know what type of an environment to provide for children and how to help children reach their full potential.  I would also hope that parents would understand the importance of play in the early childhood learning environment and how it promotes positive outcomes for children.  With this knowledge, I would also hope that families would not push for more academics, but push for more time for children to be creative and to make choices in the activities they choose.  This knowledge might also be handy for administrators and policy makers to understand the importance of play and to not push the academics quite so hard.  I think that young children are more capable than we may know, but I also believe that they need time to interact with their environment and to become creative thinkers and problem solvers. 

My Personal Research Journey

The general topic that I am interested in learning more about is the push down of curriculum.  I have chosen to focus on the social/emotional effects of this push down.  I understand that we want to prepare our young learners for the next steps in their education, but what about play?  We have been taught that we will need innovative thinkers in our ever changing world and strong problem solvers.  If we take play out of the classroom and limit their outdoor time, how will children learn to be creative and solve problems?  I also feel that if a child's social/emotional development isn't optimal, they probably are not going to be ready for the academics we are pushing.  I remember play being a big part of my kindergarten experience and that we had three recess's when I was in elementary school.  In most school's these days there is only one recess and it is during lunch time.  What happens to the last child in the lunch line?  Are they really getting any quality outside time?  I think I chose this topic because I believe strongly in play based learning and the positive effects of forming strong, trusting relationships with the children and families I serve. 

I think that this topic is very current in the early childhood field and so I am nervous about being able to find current research on this topic.  After looking at how to evaluate websites and articles on the internet, I am more confident that I will be able to decide if an article is of the standard to use in my research.  I am also confident that I will be able to use the information and skills from this class in my career as an early childhood professional.