Analytical and Personal Essay
It has always been my dream to pursue a doctorate degree in Early Childhood Education. Having had the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Early Childhood Education at the Pennsylvania State University has been beneficial in that the courses I took at Pennsylvania State University, has provided the foundation in the field of Early Childhood Education. Currently, as a doctoral student at the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, my area of specialization is Early Childhood Education and my second emphasis is in Special Education. Even though the courses I took at Pennsylvania State University are different from the courses that is being offered at George Mason University, it is my hope that after completing my program at George Mason University, I will be able to build upon the foundational early childhood educational courses that I have taken at Pennsylvania State University and broaden my perspectives on the current issues in early childhood education.
In terms of my research goals, I am interested in doing research that focuses on literacy with young children. I intend to conduct research that focuses on using the Response to Intervention Model to teach young children who are from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and whose first language is not English how to read. In recent times, there has been an rise in the number of children coming into the classrooms from diverse cultural backgrounds who are faced with language barriers. These young children do not speak English as their first language and therefore are faced with certain challenges in school. It is my hope that the response to intervention model will improve the academic performance of the students involved in this study. I hope to incorporate Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory in reviewing literature for my research. It is also important to note that not all students learn in the same way. Therefore my incorporating Howards Garner's Theory of Multiple Intelligence, it will provide a framework for differentiating instruction. My second emphasis is in special education. I am also interested in conducting research that focuses on young children with disabilities. It is my goal to conduct some research that focuses on the perceptions of teachers in teaching reading to young children who are English language learners and who are autistic before completing my program at George Mason University. Majority of the research that has been conducted focuses on either English language learners or students with autism. Not much research has been conducted on English language learners with disabilities. By conducting this research, I hope to find out what preschool teachers think as well as their perception on teaching preschool children who have language barriers and who have autism spectrum disorders because it is already challenging trying to teach students who are English language learners and trying to communicate as well as engage their families in the education of these young children. However, it can be assumed that when young children have autism in addition to have language problems then there is a need for an intensive intervention to support our preschoolers. I am also interested in doing research that focuses on multicultural education and on young children from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds who for some reason are faced with poverty. It is also important that I conduct some research that focuses on international education. I had the opportunity of volunteering at a Montessori school for preschool children in Ghana. Ever since volunteering in that particular Montessori School, I have always been interested in learning about other ways, approaches and models used to educate children. I think that my interest in international education lies in the fact that it would be interesting to observe how preschoolers are taught in different settings as well as in different locations all over the world and to compare these approaches in teaching young children to find out which approach is more effective for our preschoolers.
I would like to teach at an institution of higher education after completing my program at George Mason University. I hope to be a faculty member and will like to teach courses in early childhood education at the undergraduate and graduate level. It has always been my goal to not just teach at the college level but also to gain some experience as an administrator in a public school system. I believe that I have the skills and knowledge not just in elementary education and early childhood education based on my previous academic and working experiences but also in school administration and supervision and I will like to focus on these areas. Ultimately, it is my goal to set up a preschool or early childhood center in my home country. I hope to apply the skills and knowledge that I have acquired through my educational experience as well as my work experience in the United States of America in my country, Ghana. I also intend to train preschool teachers and early childhood educators and professionals in my country by providing them with professional development opportunities. I believe that there is the need to provide in-service training and workshops to preschool teachers and early childhood educators on a constant basis. It is also my goal to work with a non-governmental agency such as UNICEF that focuses on the issues concerning children and their development.
Prior to beginning my PhD program in Early Childhood Education, I got the impression that pursuing a doctorate degree was just another step I had to take in order to achieve my goal of obtaining a faculty position at the university level. After completing a semester at George Mason University, and especially after taking EDRS 810 Problems and Methods in Educational Research, I feel that I am on the right track to achieving my goal of obtaining a faculty position at the college level because I now understand what is involved in teaching at the college level. The fact that instructors need to be able to conduct research at that level alone is worth noting. In my previous graduate programs, I did take a course in research methodology but did not really fully grasp what was being taught in those research classes. I think that as I progress in the doctoral program at George Mason University and after taking other research classes I will be in a better position to incorporate the skills, techniques and knowledge acquired and apply these skills in the future. After taking a class in EDUC 800 Ways of Knowing, my perception on how individuals think and acquire knowledge has been influenced greatly. It is interesting to know that as individuals we acquire knowledge based on our experiences and that of others. It is my opinion that not all programs offer the same courses at various universities. Prior to beginning my doctoral program at George Mason University, I wondered what this class would be all about and why I had to take a class of this nature. But I am definitely glad that I took this course because it had broaden my perspectives on my thinking process and how I can apply some of the concepts learned in my ways of knowing class as I pursue my PhD program in Early Childhood Education. I did take a class on families when I was in Pennsylvania State University. After working in a public school system in Maryland as a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teacher, it became evident that in teaching these young children, I had to find a way of dealing with the families of the children that I taught. After taking a class in ECED 804 Family Research and Practice in Early Childhood Education, I gained a better understanding of the important role that families play in the education of their children and to actively involve and engage these families especially those children who are from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
It has always been my dream to pursue a doctorate degree in Early Childhood Education. Having had the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Early Childhood Education at the Pennsylvania State University has been beneficial in that the courses I took at Pennsylvania State University, has provided the foundation in the field of Early Childhood Education. Currently, as a doctoral student at the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, my area of specialization is Early Childhood Education and my second emphasis is in Special Education. Even though the courses I took at Pennsylvania State University are different from the courses that is being offered at George Mason University, it is my hope that after completing my program at George Mason University, I will be able to build upon the foundational early childhood educational courses that I have taken at Pennsylvania State University and broaden my perspectives on the current issues in early childhood education.
In terms of my research goals, I am interested in doing research that focuses on literacy with young children. I intend to conduct research that focuses on using the Response to Intervention Model to teach young children who are from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and whose first language is not English how to read. In recent times, there has been an rise in the number of children coming into the classrooms from diverse cultural backgrounds who are faced with language barriers. These young children do not speak English as their first language and therefore are faced with certain challenges in school. It is my hope that the response to intervention model will improve the academic performance of the students involved in this study. I hope to incorporate Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory in reviewing literature for my research. It is also important to note that not all students learn in the same way. Therefore my incorporating Howards Garner's Theory of Multiple Intelligence, it will provide a framework for differentiating instruction. My second emphasis is in special education. I am also interested in conducting research that focuses on young children with disabilities. It is my goal to conduct some research that focuses on the perceptions of teachers in teaching reading to young children who are English language learners and who are autistic before completing my program at George Mason University. Majority of the research that has been conducted focuses on either English language learners or students with autism. Not much research has been conducted on English language learners with disabilities. By conducting this research, I hope to find out what preschool teachers think as well as their perception on teaching preschool children who have language barriers and who have autism spectrum disorders because it is already challenging trying to teach students who are English language learners and trying to communicate as well as engage their families in the education of these young children. However, it can be assumed that when young children have autism in addition to have language problems then there is a need for an intensive intervention to support our preschoolers. I am also interested in doing research that focuses on multicultural education and on young children from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds who for some reason are faced with poverty. It is also important that I conduct some research that focuses on international education. I had the opportunity of volunteering at a Montessori school for preschool children in Ghana. Ever since volunteering in that particular Montessori School, I have always been interested in learning about other ways, approaches and models used to educate children. I think that my interest in international education lies in the fact that it would be interesting to observe how preschoolers are taught in different settings as well as in different locations all over the world and to compare these approaches in teaching young children to find out which approach is more effective for our preschoolers.
I would like to teach at an institution of higher education after completing my program at George Mason University. I hope to be a faculty member and will like to teach courses in early childhood education at the undergraduate and graduate level. It has always been my goal to not just teach at the college level but also to gain some experience as an administrator in a public school system. I believe that I have the skills and knowledge not just in elementary education and early childhood education based on my previous academic and working experiences but also in school administration and supervision and I will like to focus on these areas. Ultimately, it is my goal to set up a preschool or early childhood center in my home country. I hope to apply the skills and knowledge that I have acquired through my educational experience as well as my work experience in the United States of America in my country, Ghana. I also intend to train preschool teachers and early childhood educators and professionals in my country by providing them with professional development opportunities. I believe that there is the need to provide in-service training and workshops to preschool teachers and early childhood educators on a constant basis. It is also my goal to work with a non-governmental agency such as UNICEF that focuses on the issues concerning children and their development.
Prior to beginning my PhD program in Early Childhood Education, I got the impression that pursuing a doctorate degree was just another step I had to take in order to achieve my goal of obtaining a faculty position at the university level. After completing a semester at George Mason University, and especially after taking EDRS 810 Problems and Methods in Educational Research, I feel that I am on the right track to achieving my goal of obtaining a faculty position at the college level because I now understand what is involved in teaching at the college level. The fact that instructors need to be able to conduct research at that level alone is worth noting. In my previous graduate programs, I did take a course in research methodology but did not really fully grasp what was being taught in those research classes. I think that as I progress in the doctoral program at George Mason University and after taking other research classes I will be in a better position to incorporate the skills, techniques and knowledge acquired and apply these skills in the future. After taking a class in EDUC 800 Ways of Knowing, my perception on how individuals think and acquire knowledge has been influenced greatly. It is interesting to know that as individuals we acquire knowledge based on our experiences and that of others. It is my opinion that not all programs offer the same courses at various universities. Prior to beginning my doctoral program at George Mason University, I wondered what this class would be all about and why I had to take a class of this nature. But I am definitely glad that I took this course because it had broaden my perspectives on my thinking process and how I can apply some of the concepts learned in my ways of knowing class as I pursue my PhD program in Early Childhood Education. I did take a class on families when I was in Pennsylvania State University. After working in a public school system in Maryland as a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teacher, it became evident that in teaching these young children, I had to find a way of dealing with the families of the children that I taught. After taking a class in ECED 804 Family Research and Practice in Early Childhood Education, I gained a better understanding of the important role that families play in the education of their children and to actively involve and engage these families especially those children who are from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds.