Research Around the World

The international web site I chose was the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA).  On this web site they provide access to all of their journals and saw some interesting research topics based on article  titles such as:

·         Education for sustainable development in early childhood education in Spain. Evolution, trends and proposals

·          Children’s meaning-making of nature in an outdoor-oriented and democratic Swedish preschool practice

• Stress and caregiver sensititivty among childcare staff in Santiago, Chile.

• Demographic factors, temperament and the quality of the preschool environment as predictors of daily cortisol changes among Finnish six-year-old children

What I gained from exploring this international early childhood website is that current topics are similar around the world, the only thing that differs is their specific location.  Researchers everyone are questioning, discovering and reporting what they have learned about early childhood.  This organization is trying to bring together researchers from around the globe to create an opportunity for collaboration and support on this topic.           

The principal aims of EECERA are:

·         to provide a relevant academic forum in Europe for the promotion, development and dissemination of high quality research into early childhood education;

·         to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between European researchers in this field and the wider early childhood community across the World;

·         to encourage the clear articulation and communication of the links between research, practice and policy;

·         to offer interaction, development and support to those interested in early childhood education;

·         to raise the visibility and status of European research in early childhood education throughout the World.

These aims are achieved through:

·         the staging of an Annual Conference and other forums and seminars for debate;

·         the publication of a refereed, academic research journal, at least four a year;

·         the establishment of a European network of researchers and the facilitation of collaboration and communication between them;

·         such other activities and publications that might facilitate the development of research, policy and practice in early childhood education (EECERA, 2014a).

Other noteworthy information would be:

• Memberships are offered that include a subscription to the journal, the opportunity to join special interest groups and participate in international research networking.
• The EECERA holds an annual research conference every year in Europe.  The last one was in Greece just last month.
• The huge amount of available journal articles, they have been publishing for over 22 years.

EECERA Ethical Principles

In their ethical code it states that early childhood researchers must have an ethic of respect for:

1. the child, family, community and society;

2. democratic values;

3. justice and equity;

4. knowing from multiple perspectives;

5. integrity, transparency and respectful interactions;

6. quality and rigour;

7. academic scholarship;

8. social contribution.

(EECERA, 2014b).

References

EECERA (2014). [web site]. Retrieved from http://www.eecera.org/

EECERA (2014). Ethical code for early childhood researchers. Retrieved from http://www.eecera.org/documents/pdf/organisation/EECERA-Ethical-Code.pdf