Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

While browsing the internet, I came across a research study regarding children and play and their ability to identify facial emotions. The study focused on the fact that many children today are spending less time engaging in creative play but focusing most of their attention towards playing with electronics and watching television. Researcher tied children's inability to recognize facial emotions due to their lack of engagement in play and social engagement with other children. According to NRP (2014) "The study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, found that sixth-graders who went five days without exposure to technology were significantly better at reading human emotions than kids who had regular access to phones, televisions and computers" (para. 2). 

The study consisted of 2 groups, one that was sent to camp and the other group was exposed to life as most 6th graders know it, usual life (technology). The study was over a five day period in which both groups were shown 50 faces at the end of the 5 day study. The researchers of the study found that the group of students that went to camp scored higher when identifying emotional facial expressions. The best message that I learned from this study as a educational professor is the importance of social-emotional engagement and creative play, aside from emphasis on using technology to solve boredom and as a replacement to interact with our peers. Face to face interactions are more important and much more meaningful than texting, which is what most middle school aged children are getting more and more familiar with doing, as well as utilizing social media. I feel as though technological interactions should be limited and the importance of social face to face and personal interactions should be expressed and encouraged between children, educators and families. Play also promotes a child's self awareness and awareness of empathy amongst their peers. 


Please visit link below for more details and information:

Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/28/343735856/kids-and-screen-time-what-does-the-research-say  

My Personal Research Journey

I chose to discuss poverty for the simulation of this course because poverty currently affects many of the families within my community. I would like to further research the correlation between poverty and violence and behavioral issues among children. Are children from lower income families more likely to display acts of violence? From my experience with working in childcare, I have learned that most children from lower income families are less successful academically, this could possibly be due the socioeconomic statuses of their parents/caregivers. Most caregivers in lower income families do not possess educations pass high school level. 

I gained many helpful insights from constructing the chart this week. I realized how important the "collecting data" phase of research is. This is one of the most important steps in the research process after choosing a significant research topic. As a future educator/professional I must be aware of credible resources and what to look for in an article/resource to determine whether it is worth building a deeper understanding of a certain subject. As researcher we must make sure that we are not biased when collecting data and remain open minded and objective when collecting data. Data can be collected by observations, questionnaires, interviews etc. Can you guys offer me ay advice on this research topic and how to go about collecting data efficiently and effectively.