The European Early Childhood Education Research Association

I looked through the website for the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) and found a lot of similarities between research being conducted in Europe and the topics that I have found in recent research in the United States. I also noticed that topics from my undergraduate and graduate studies are ones that also seem to be in the spotlight in Europe. The last several EECERA annual conferences have had focuses on birth through three early experiences, diversity in classroom settings, and early relationships (EECERA, 2016). I think many of my colleagues agree that these are significant timely topics in our field here in the United States. I was surprised to note that these conferences, all serving one organization, take place in many different countries. I wonder how cohesive the early childhood education culture is across European nations and how the EECERA manages these nuances in their literature and professional development opportunities (EECERA, 2016). I think this simple fact suggests a universality of the basic principles of what is known of child development and quality early experiences; despite cultural differences across nations, underlying themes of how children learn can be applied in all or most contexts. Similar to the United States' association for the education of young children (NAEYC) and other organizations (the Division for Early Childhood, Association for Childhood Education International), the EECERA has a Code of Ethics that applies to those professionals working with young children (EECERA, 2015). The topics of their Code of Ethics, too, mimic those that we have discussed in class and those that we would hear from in Institutional Review boards. They include confidentiality, informed consent, participants as subjects versus objects, and more (EECERA, 2015). Again, the underlying theme is a universality of research principles and ethical guidelines for treating children. Perhaps this universality stems from international organizational influence such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Young Child which penetrates cultural boundaries in one unified document (Mac NAughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). 
References
 European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). (2015, May). EECERA ethical code for early childhood researchers. Retrieved from http://www.eecera.org/custom/uploads/2016/07/EECERA-Ethical-Code.pdf

European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). (2016). Previous conferences. Retrieved from http://www.eecera.org/conference/

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2^nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.