Perspective on Diversity and Culture

For this assignment I decided to ask my fellow preschool teachers for their help.  The preschool team at my school is diverse and represents a range of nationalities from Africa, Puerto Rico and The United States.

Each of my coworkers gave their perspective on what defines culture.  Each focused on their beliefs that were passed down through generations.  One person did include in their definition of  culture to include school, work or church. Another teacher stated, "culture is ones beliefs about religion, politics etc.  How one is raised with the those beliefs to function productively in society."  From an early childhood perspective my co workers did mention that culture for children is learned from the people that they come in contact with.

My co worker that is from Sierra Leone, started to describe the differences she has seen between her culture and here in the United States.  She describes the work ethic and different "principles" as she has seen. She also describe the role as a woman in her culture.

My co worker that is from Puerto Rico started to compare the similarities between the her culture in Puerto Rico and Sierra Leone.  In my opinion, they sound very similar to hear in the United States.

The teachers did realize that we were only teaching the surface of culture.  That we were not teaching  in depth  about the children's culture. I believe that this is something that we as educators must learn about too.  At that time we planned on discussing what can we do to give the children a deeper understanding of another person culture.  

One co worker's definition of diversity is " A group of people that come together for a specific/ common goal.  The people come from different ethnic groups, beliefs, religions, social and economic status."

From this assignment I learned that as an early childhood educator we must learn to examine the deep culture of individuals to gain a better aspect of the way they function in society.  Also, to remember that children learn first from their immediate environment. It is our job to nurture the children and respect their family differences and also for us as to learn more about too.

My Family Culture

Three small items that I would take with me to represent my culture would be a picture of my mother, my bible, and my grandmother's wedding ring.

I would take a picture of my mother because I would never want to forget what she looks like, mainly her smile, and the values that she instilled in me. 

I would want to take my bible because I know that I would need it for strength, guidance, and because I have important information written inside of it.  Such as, my family history, articles and special scriptures that I have outlined.

Also, I would want to take my grandmother's wedding ring.  My grandparents mean a lot to me and they were married for over 50 years.  Her ring is the representation of their love. Their love would remind me of the wonderful memories that we shared. 

If I only were able to keep one thing it would have to be the picture of my mom.  Even though she has passed away over 30 years ago, her picture still reminds me of the unconditional love she gave me and I believe that as long as her picture is with me we are still together.  

This assignment actually became emotional for me at the end because I would not want to lose my mom picture.  I realize that I would never forget how much she loved me and seeing her smile makes me feel strong.  

When I Think of Research

I have to admit but my knowledge of conducting research was limited and I was very intimidated of this course.  I did not know what to expect and my only knowledge of doing research stemmed from a Methods of Research class I had in undergrad school (that I hated).

From this course I learned that any topic that I have questions about, I can conduct my own research.  I now have the tools needs to develop and complete a research design of my own. 

My ideas about the nature of completing a research study changed because I learned the process step by step.  I learned that it is good to pick a topic that interests you.  A head of time select who the participants will be and what type of research you want to complete. Make sure you have consents from the participants, including children, explaining that they can change their mind at any time and the information collected would not be used.  Decide how you want to collect your data.  Make sure your information is reliable and then all will be valid.

The challenges I had with this course was developing my hypothesis and stating what behavior I wanted to change.  I had help from one of my colleagues and Dr. Myers. I knew what I wanted but could not express it correctly.

My perceptions of an early childhood professional have not changed.  I just learned that I was used to someone else completing the research for me.  This class has showed me that I have the knowledge and tools needed to complete my own research.   I understand now that without research curriculum's and other evaluation tools needed for the profession would not been developed.

Research Around The World

I visited the Early Childhood Australia website http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/. I was very impressed with this website. It contained a wealth of information that covered many topics. In the section titled, Research in Practice Series, you have access to purchase journals.  The topics that caught my attention were: 

Learning and teaching through play

Engaging families: Building strong communication

Storytelling with young children

Understanding children's feelings: Emotional literacy in early childhood

Overlooked curriculum: Seeing everyday possibilities

Aggression and young children

Revisiting celebrations with young children From exploring this website it reintegrated that children are the same all over the  world.  Early childhood education is important and countries world wide are  implementing programs that are giving the children a head start in life.  I did find it interesting that they have a program that rates the quality of programs for family day care, after school hours programs and long day care.  I assume these  programs are equivalent to our after school programs, and day care centers that offer extended day services. The purpose of these programs are to ensure that children in care have stimulating, positive experiences and interactions (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au).  The rating system is as follows: •  Significant Improvement Required • Working Towards National Quality Standard  • Meeting National Quality Standard  • Exceeding National Quality Standard  • Excellent (http://acecqa.gov.au) As we continue our research into international early childhood programs I wonder do other nations have the same issues that we face in the United States? Do they have Head Start programs?  Are their programs free or based on income? Do they have preschool programs in their public schools?

Research That Benefit Children and Their Families

If I was able to conduct research that would benefit children and their families I would focus on poverty and health issues.  I would love to end poverty by providing education and needed job training to increase the financial stability in the children homes.  I know that money does not buy happiness but I know that having a stable income will provide the necessities that families need to survive.

I would also like to find a cure for childhood cancer.  At this moment I have a coworker whose daughter have cancer. The little girl is only three years old and has been through different types of chemotherapy and treatments for the last year or more.  I have seen the family put on a brave smile to be strong for their daughter knowing that the chances of  her being cured is slim to none.   If I was able I would conduct a research project that would provide a cure for their little girl and other children that are also suffering from this illness.

Research Simulation

Research Simulation

At this time I am still deciding what topic truly interest me. I am always concerned about the topic of poverty. Since I work in the city of Camden and have been a long time resident in the city, I have seen the affects that poverty can have on children and their families.  At the same time, I am interested in the study of children and grief. This topic interests me because my students seem desensitized about grief.  Maybe it is away to examine grief as it relates to poverty?

So far I have found a historian that has studied the city of Camden.  He has a website that he has dedicated his retired life to, which examines the history of Camden including the economical rise and fall of the city. I believe that his information will give me a start to describe what happened economically to this once highly industrialized city. 

If anyone have any insights or suggestions about either poverty of grief I would gladly appreciate the help. 

International Consequences

As I have researched several topics throughout this semester my attention was always brought to the plight of poverty that is so widespread throughout this nation.  The effects of poverty are detrimental to the family as a unit however, as a child that has grown up in that situation the effects are long lasting.

The consequences that I have learned are:

Awareness:  I needed to learn what was going on in other nations around the world.  Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to get out of your comfort zone and realize what issues are going on around you.  Not just in your own backyard. Learning about poverty in other nations make me realize that there are lots of resources that we have here in the United States that other countries may not have.  I also realized that giving a little can mean so much to somebody in need.  Because of my new found insight I have donated clothing and necessities to Sierra Leone.  My co worker is from Sierra Leone and monthly she sends necessities to her family in Africa.  She stated that where they are from it is very poor and they do not have a lot. So I decided to help her.  We filled up two drums and sent them to Africa.

Another consequence is academic achievement:  Research has shown that children that come from  poverty may have lower academic achievement throughout their years in school but especially in early childhood. Children in poverty have the right to receive quality education.  The importance of education should be stressed and reinforced by parents and the community at large. The schools should provide linkage between themselves and social services.  This may help reduce the achievement gap and cause a higher graduation rate among high school seniors.  I can help close this gap by being the best teacher I can and help my preschoolers learn about the world through play.  The exposure that I give them will enable them to develop the skills that are needed to succeed in higher grade levels.

Finally the last consequence that I learned about was public policies.  Programs should be made available to help assist families that are experiencing poverty.  Policies that would allow the parents to bring home more in their paychecks by tax breaks.  Public information about services that can help assist with nutrition, health care preventive and maintenance, housing subsidies and other programs that help the families.


One goal that I have is to continue to donate to local and national organizations that support children and their families in poverty.