Singapore University of Social Sciences

Early Childhood Research Methods

Early Childhood Research Methods (ECE306)

Applications Open: To be confirmed

Applications Close: To be confirmed

Next Available Intake: To be confirmed

Course Types: To be confirmed

Language: English

Duration: 6 months

Fees: To be confirmed

Area of Interest: Education

Schemes: To be confirmed

Funding: To be confirmed

School/Department: S R Nathan School of Human Development


Synopsis

ECE306 Early Childhood Research Methods introduce the most common qualitative and quantitative methods in the early childhood context that are suited to investigating research questions that go beyond informing practitioner decisions in the classroom. Emphasis is on generating different kinds of research questions that are related to more macro early childhood programme and policy-related issues, and also children’s voices. Students enhance their research reading skills while identifying the possibilities and limitations of different research methodologies. They read published research and examine the strengths and limitations of research designs and begin to develop a research proposal, focusing on the logic of the design.

Level: 3
Credit Units: 5
Presentation Pattern: Every January

Topics

  • Paradigms in educational research and theoretical frameworks
  • Trends in early childhood education research
  • Characteristics of high quality research
  • Survey designs
  • Ethnography designs
  • Case study designs
  • Observation and interview techniques
  • Questionnaire design
  • Documents and other visual texts
  • Creative methods for listening to children in research
  • Quantitative methods of data analysis and presentation
  • Qualitative methods of data analysis and presentation

Learning Outcome

  • Discuss the possibilities and limitations of various research methodologies (survey, ethnography and case study)
  • Differentiate between the different paradigms and principles of research
  • Examine characteristics of high quality research
  • Compare research methods used to investigate a selected early childhood issue
  • Use a data-gathering technique, analyse the data and interpret the results
  • Design a research proposal and assess its potential strengths and limitations
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