Week 3: Children as Participants in Research: Yay or Nay?

I work with many children and families where the topic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is very controversial. In many situations, parents need education about the condition, how to observe and cope with their children’s challenging behaviors. This process is usually completed with first a children’s mental health evaluation.

A few years ago, a program my county took part in a research project about children diagnosed with ADHD in which participants would be reevaluated after a period of time to see if their diagnosis was still valid. While the study was not very invasive because the children involved were between 7-9  years of age and understood both their diagnosis as well as the point of the project. They were given a brief explanation as to how observations would take place, and their parents identified unique qualities which could pose issues. The results ended up having very positive implications for the children and families involved because they confirmed some parents’ thoughts that ADHD is very over-diagnosed. As well as that when it is diagnosed, with medication, therapy, and good parent education, the condition is very manageable allowing children to have happy, healthy development.  I agree with the article by File that many of the research I have observed with Head Start seemed also to have positive effects of the children who participated.

Research is a double-edged sword and thus a challenging issue. There are pros and cons of research when children are the participants. We as advocates have a responsibility to understand the research being done on the children we serve.

Reference:

File, N. (2008). When researchers come to your program. YC: Young Children, 63(5), 80–87. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.

Week 2: Personal professional research journey into the Child Protection Field

For my own personal research simulation in this class, I chose to learn more about some of the intricacies of my chosen profession as an advocate in the child welfare system of my community. While I believe that my experiences in the field have relatively just begun, I do fully believe that this area of the ECE field is my niche. I hope to gain more specific understanding about how we as professionals are trained, as well as the implications this training has on the services we provide to children and families. In my short time in the field, I have observed extreme rates of recidivism with some of the cases I have worked and part of my research simulation focuses on learning more about this concerning trend in my immediate community in Tampa Bay. Lastly, I am very interested in learning about current research into the burn out and turnover issues within the ECE field. I learned, as I am sure some of my colleagues and fellow classmates can agree, that it takes a very strong person to advocate, especially when it comes to services for children and families   (Feedback is welcomed on this point especially…). I would like to learn about what it takes to make my chosen profession sustainable, not only for those I serve, but also for myself and personal well-being.
Learning about the differences in high-quality vs. low-quality research has been a good first lesson to building my research competency. If we really think about it, I beleive all of us is constantly asking ourselves or others questions about so many things. As I ask myself and the ECE field some of these questions, I will also scrutinize my sources carefully.

"I speak for those children who cannot speak for themselves, children who have absolutely nothing but their courage and their smiles, their wits and their dreams.” -- Audrey Hepburn