Journal Assigment

 
III. Journal Assignment
Over the course of the semester, you will be examining a variety of current issues in the field of early childhood and the ways in which they impact young children and families. For this assignment, you will choose an issue that is of interest to you, and examine the different perspectives involved, those of the various “stakeholders” (i.e., parents/caregivers, teachers, administrators, legislators, etc…). Some of these issues might include: standardized testing and the accountability movement in early childhood, cutting of the arts, the impact of media, changing family dynamics, oral and written language development, etc.
Once you have decided on an issue to focus on, search for materials that examine that particular issue (i.e., local newspaper article, news magazines such as Time, Newsweek, US News & World Report, scholarly journals such as Young Children or others as listed below).
o Child Care Quarterly
o Child Development
o Childhood Education (ACEI)
o Children Today
o Day Care and Early Education
o Journal of Research in Childhood Education (ACEI)

Guidelines
Your 3-page paper should include the following:

• Introduction: Provides an overview of the article’s purpose and main argument
• Summary: Briefly review the article’s key points, and discuss the viewpoints of the “stakeholders” involved.
• Analysis paragraphs:
• Analyze the article’s strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, remember to
discuss gaps in the article/study that the author does not address.
• Discuss whether you agree/disagree with the author’s conclusions and why.
• Discuss the larger implications for the field of Early Childhood – how does this issue impact those involved? What are your ideas for working toward a solution or consensus with regard to this issue?
• Conclusion

Your analysis should help the reader see that which s/he might have otherwise missed in their own review of the piece.