My Honors Thesis

10 months ago, I was introduced to the world of research study, a place I never imagined I would find myself. Through this journey, I learned a lot about myself, the research process, and how my research on early childhood neglect is capable of effecting change within the field of early childhood education (ECE). 


Here I am at the end of my journey, creating a blog that will showcase my thesis. This blog has become a vessel that will be shared with other educators joining the BECE program at Brock University, and I hope my words will encourage them to take on the challenge of a thesis just like I did. I don't promise that it will be easy or fun, but it will be rewarding in the end. My thesis took 10 months to complete its like my baby, and I am extremely excited and proud to share it with the world.





Background


This blog was created for my Knowledge Mobilization Project as fulfillment of my Honors Thesis. My thesis is entitled Early Childhood Neglect: Its Power to Impact Children’s Emotional Development. The topic of neglect and emotional development has become near and dear to my heart. UNICEF’s Convention on the Rights of the Child ranked neglect 19 (UNICEF Canada, 2016). Neglect of young children is not just a problem we see in Canada; it is a global issue that the world faces. As early childhood educators, we are primed to help students who have been neglected through SEL programming. Studies show the important role we as ECEs play in the social-emotional development of our students. (Murray et al., 2025). 



 

Aim

My study aimed to examine the emotional development of kindergarten aged children (3-6 year olds) who have experienced neglect and the impacts it has had on their emotional development.




Research Question


The research question guiding my study was: In what ways has early childhood neglect affected 3-6 year old children’s emotional development? The answer to this question will be found in the research findings section. Keep in mind, if you jump ahead to the findings section, you will miss all the magic that is the research itself.







Methodology


The methodology used in my study was a qualitative rapid review approach. By using a qualitative method, my study was placed on a path for success as it focuses on the “how” and “why” something occurred (Murray et al., 2025). The rapid review portion is what helped me collect the data and analyze it during the research phase. I will explain more in the next section, so please stay tuned.








References

Murray, L., Levickis, P., McFarland, L., Eadie, P., Lee-Pang, L., Quach, J., & Page, J.
(2025). Supporting young children’s social–emotional wellbeing in early childhood education and care: Perspectives from the sector. Education Sciences, 15(5), 569.   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15050569

UNICEF Canada. (2016, November). Convention on the Rights of the Child [Poster]. https://www.unicef.ca/sites/default/files/2016-11/crc_poster_en.pdf