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.