As an advocate for continued and increased funding for Early Learning I was thrilled to find the results of a research study that proves the return on the investment is alive and active more than a dozen years after the child transitions from a quality child care setting to elementary school.  The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) carried out this study with 1,300 children with diverse backgrounds; low-income, middle-income, single parent and two-parent homes.  “The researchers sought to determine if early child care quality, quantity, and type predict children’s achievement and behavior problems at age 15” (Vandell,  Belsky,  Burchinal, Steinbert, & Vandergrift,  2010).

The results of the study include evidence that teens scored higher on tests and academic achievement when they attended high quality pre-school settings.  Due to attendance of high-quality child care settings during their toddler and pre-school years, the study participants showed “fewer behavior problems-including rule-breaking, arguing, and hanging out with peers who get in trouble – than teens who had attended poor-quality child care” (Vandell et al., 2010).

I have filed this research study in my resource bank for future references when I am working with my colleagues in writing letters to legislators pleading for continued early learning funding.  No matter the state of the current economy, it has been my experience that we need to continue educating legislators and the general public on the benefits of not only investing in early learning but also investing in oversight to ensure quality services for all children and families. This research study will support our efforts.

Reference:

Vandell, D.L., Belsky, J., Burchinal, M., Steinberg, L., Vandergrift, N. (2010, May 14). Child Development, Vol. 81, Issue 3, Do Effects of Early Child Care Extend to Age 15 Years?  Retrieved November 17, 2011 from www.srdc.org. 

MY PERSONAL RESEARCH JOURNEY

The chosen topic for my research simulation is: ways to foster resiliency for children in early childhood programs in overcoming toxic stressors in their life. 

As a Training/Technical Assistance Provider, my work with staff who support at risk families I have found that staff need additional knowledge and resources so they can strengthen the resiliency levels of the children who are exposed to toxic levels of stress.  In a majority of the trainings I facilitate the main concern from Head Start staff is how to work with children who are exposed to the multitude of stressors that accompany living in poverty.

In searching research documents on toxic stress I have found that researchers have used two different definitions for toxic stress in their work.  I must make a decision on which definition I would like to use in my continued work on this topic. 

“Toxic stress occurs when children lack frequent protective adult support for prolonged periods” and “can be triggered by extreme poverty, recurrent abuse, chronic neglect, or a parent with a drug or drinking problem” (http://my.brandeis.edu).

Or

“The terms positive, tolerable, and toxic stress refer to the stress response systems’ effects on the body, not to the stressful event itself. Because of the complexity of stress response systems, the three levels are not clinically quantifiable—they are simply a way of categorizing the relative severity of responses to stressful conditions.” (http://developingchild.harvard.edu)

Both of these resources and documents found in the Walden University library will support my research journey in finding additional knowledge to support early learning programs in providing nurturing environments that will support strong resiliency foundations for our at risk children.

References:

Brandeis University (2005, May 23).  Reversing ‘toxic stress’ on children.  Retrieved November 12, 2011 from http://my.brandeis.edu/news/item?news_item_id=103832&show_release_date=1

Center on the Developing Child Harvard University (2011).  Toxic Stress Response:  The Facts.  Retrieved November 11, 2011 from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/topics/science_of_early_childhood/toxic_stress_response/