My Personal Research Journey

Saturday, November 10, 2012

My Personal Research Journey

Sleep and Self-Regulation

In searching for background research on my topic-the effects of sleep on self-regulation-I am asking myself: Am I doing all that I can as an early childhood practitioner to create an environment and schedule that meets the needs of individual children?

Trying to narrow down articles for the literature review was challenging. I wanted to read the most current research that related to my topic. I found a research project from 1998 that asked nearly the same question that I am asking and hypothesized a stong correlation between sleep in a 24 hour period and behavior problems. As I searched for more current research, I found projects that compared multiple indicators of regulation disorders, one contributing factor being sleep.

I am focused on hours of sleep, wanting to keep the research simple. Many of research projects I read were addressing diagnosed sleep disorders. The limitations discussed in the conclusions repeatedly expressed the unreliability of having to use parent reported data as a method of collecting sleep information and determining behavior problems (reduced self-regulation). I am wondering what methods I might use to improve the reliability of data.

What I see as original in my simulation is the participation of childcare practitioners in reporting self-regulation data. I will still be relying on parents to contribute hours of night time sleep achieved. An unknown factor I have not figured to control is the quality of that sleep.

Parents and children will benefit from the research if it is determined that behavior challenges that occur as a result of low self-regulation can be diminished by providing young children with adequate amounts of routine, uninterupted sleep.

Resource to Share: Washington State University Extension Service is offering a free webinar: (here is the email alert I received.) Multiculturalism: Dr. Marcelo Diversi
WSU Vancouver, Monday, December 3, 2012, 11 am – 12:30 pm Pacific Standard Time

We will examine acculturation from the intersection of nature and nurture. I will cover recent research from cognitive and evolutionary sciences relevant to identity formation, our universal tribal tendencies, and cultural clash. I will also present well-established research on acculturation processes from cross-cultural psychology that examines diversity within cultural groups and 4 different acculturation styles that tend to emerge from the early phases of migration. We will then apply the proposed acculturation model to scenarios introduced by participants and/or myself.

Marcelo Diversi is an Associate Professor of Human Development at Washington State University Vancouver. He received his PhD from the University of Illinois in 1998 and held faculty positions at the University of Missouri and Utah State University before moving to Washington in 2006. His scholarship has focused on youth growing up at dehumanizing margins of democratic societies, from children living in the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, to undocumented Latino youth in northern Utah to homeless and foster youth in Clark County. His current research is examining the effects of indigenous peoples’ forced removal from their native lands on community and family systems. He is the author of several journal articles, book chapters, and an award winning co-authored book on decolonization.

This seminar is free. Registration is required. Registration is limited to 100 people. The registration deadline is November 29, 2012 at noon, Pacific Time. You will be notified on November 30th with a confirmation and the URL for the webinar.
Please go to : www.surveymonkey.com/parentingedweb3 <http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/parentingedweb3> to register.

If you have questions, please contact the webinar coordinator Drew Betz at betz@wsu.edu.

Drew Lenore Betz, M.S., Certified Family Life Educator
Faculty and Director
WSU Whatcom County Extension
1000 No. Forest, Suite 201
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-676-6736http://whatcom.wsu.edu
betz@wsu.edu

2 comments:

AnonymousNovember 11, 2012 at 9:07 AM
Wow Wendy! You seem to be so on track and know exactly which direction you are going to be moving in. I envy your confidence and assuredness. I know what I want to look into, but the process as such is still quite murky in my mind. I still have some way to go before I think I will fully grasp the ins and outs of the research process.
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UnknownNovember 11, 2012 at 5:19 PM
Great post Wendy! I have a four-year old boy in my class and I have used observataion with him and I have determined with talking to his mother that when he doesn't get enough sleep at night his ability for self-regulation is very low. Once he has taken a nap his ability for self-regulation improves.
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Personal Childhood Web

Joanie Peterson, my mother, was very engaged in my life from birth. I was the oldest and the only child until I was five. I was loved,my mother spent time with me by including me in whatever activities needed to be done. I remember the old tile floor in the kitchen that had to be waxed regularly. When the wax dried, my mother would give me an old towel to stand on and she would put on music and we would dance the twist until the tiles were buffed. My mother was finishing her bachelor degree in psychology and English during my first three years. I had the opportunity to meet lots of people in a community of shared values. I had time to play uninterrupted and my play was very creative and complex, with hours outside. I was read to and the value of learning was instilled in me early, but not in a competitive way, to be recognized as the best, but in a very personal way. Was I giving the task or the skill my best effort? Her approach to parenting developed intrinsic motivation in me. I am a great team player, motivated and satisfied to make sure the team does well. The measure of achievement is the level to which I tried my best. I can take a risk to take on a new challenge, because I know my mother will always love me. I value personal responsibility.

Rev. Merton Peterson, my father, was finishing seminary and pastoring his first church when I was born. I remember sitting on his lap, watching him type, helping fold bulletins, turning the handle on the old mimeograph machine, and going on home visits with him, when he needed to visit families from the church. We did not have material wealth, but I never felt poor We had enough that we could share. My did believed in me, when there was something I needed to do or learn he always spoke as though I had already mastered the task. I believe he spoke with confidence, because he has prayed for me every day of my life. Being a pastor's child means you learn manners, expectations and hospitality very early. We had lots of company. I loved giving up my bedroom and sleeping in a sleeping bag so the missionaries could have my room when they visited. I would listen to stories of their experiences in different countries and how they would help build homes and schools and grow crops wile they shared that Jesus loved them. I share my family's faith in God and the value that people are more important than things.

My extended family did not live close to me as I was growing up. But my grandmothers and aunt were prolific letter writers. We visited family every holiday, making holidays feel very special. I would listen to the adults share stories about family and friends. I knew that family were there for each other. My great-great grandparents were homesteaders. There was a strong sense of work ethic practiced. There were ranchers and there were farmers. It takes commitment and self determination to make it work. The entire family has to help to get the cattle in or harvest the crops. I remember the first time I was allowed to go on a cattle drive. I was probably seven. The strong connection to aunts, uncles and cousins as we spent the day on horseback gathering the cattle that were scattered among the trees and meadows in the foothills was exhilarating—I belonged, I was given worthwhile work. The farming family was an even stronger influence on my work ethic. When we visited the farm there was always tasks I could participate in: picking fruits and vegetables to can or freeze for my families use and when I got older picking melons or driving a tractor. It was part of being a member of my family. My family values hard work and integrity.

The church community provided a foundation of belonging and strength in conviction. Looking back I can appreciate that those families made sacrifices to make I had what I needed. The children were my friends, we could discuss the roles we were in and decisions we faced from a shared set of values. I never felt alone. As a community we looked out for each other. The community demonstrated living the values they held.

School Environment, Most people cannot imagine going to a school that houses children from kindergarten through senior high in the same building. Still the school community had enough diversity of values that it was a great place to have my values challenged and for me to exercise the decisions to stand true to my values. With only thirteen in my graduate class, but still the roles and functions of any school, there was so much opportunity to try out many different tasks. There were sports, student council officers, music, drama and clubs. I tried it all, because in a school that small everyone needs to get involved to have enough participants. My work ethic and integrity rewarded me with responsibility and opportunities. The most unusual was a flight class to learn to be a pilot, which included flight hours in a small plane. In the state I was raised, schools were the hub of activity for rural communities. Everyone came to all the events. People valued being together.

Wendy Newby - Have I asked the right question?

Saturday, November 10, 2012