Final Blog Assignment for 6162

Three consequences that have resulted from learning about the international early childhood field that have affected both my professional and personal development are …

1.  I found it very interesting to learn about the early childhood field internationally as it has provided me with an understanding of how the early childhood field is effected on an international level.  In the areas that I explored it appeared to be a great push for the early years, just as we are pushing for here in the United States. 

2.    At the beginning of the course I was excited to contact early childhood international contacts, as I have never done this in the past.  I looked forward to learning about the early childhood field on the international level from a person, however, that did not end up working out.  I was able to learn a great deal of information about early childhood on an international level by viewing podcast and a variety of International websites. 

3.   Through this course not only did I learn about the early childhood field internationally, but, I have also had the opportunity to learn about a variety of issues and trends in the field.  I feel that I have gained a great amount of knowledge about the field and the issues that affect it.   I believe what I have learned from this class will definitely play a huge role in helping me to be influential in the lives of many children

The goal that I have set for myself in regards to international awareness of issues and trends in the early childhood field is to eventually make contact with someone who works in the early childhood field internationally.  I believe that there is a great amount of learning and wealth of information, that I will gain if I am able to establish a contact or two with someone internationally. 

I would like to take the time to thank Dr. Pickens and my colleagues for sharing information each week through discussions and blogs that has indeed helped me to grow in my knowledge in the early childhood field.  I wish everyone the best of luck as you continue in your journey of education and I hope that we will be able to share with each other again in classes in the near future.  

                                                                         Randee

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

For this week’s blog assignment I visited UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/). I learned that in 2000 the Dakar Framework for Action reaffirmed the importance of early childhood, this framework established this 10 years after the Jomtien Declaration for Education for all which emphasized that learning begins at birth (NESCO, 2014a). The Dakar Framework for Action placed early childhood as its number one goal (NESCO, 2014a).  I found it interesting to learn that the strong focus on early childhood is found in other countries besides the United States. 

From reviewing the website, I learned that access and equity was one of this a main concern.  They were focused on making sure that resources were distributed equally, especially to those who live in the disadvantaged areas (NESCO, 2014b). Quality was another factor that was explored.  Although, they do not have set standards for quality programs what they believe to be characteristics of a quality program seem to be closely related to what quality programs here in the United States have.  Some of the characteristics that the article shared that should be a part of their quality programs were learning materials, staff training, and encouraging parental involvement (NESCO, 2014b). Also they felt that the learning materials should be quantitatively, culturally and developmentally adequate and focus on child-centered interactions (NESCO, 2014b). Securing the funds needed to invest in the early childhood programs tends to be an issue as government funding for early childhood is on the low side. 

What I learned from reviewing the NESCO website definitely coincides with my professional goals.  I want all children to have equal opportunities to participate in quality early childhood programs.  I also want to be able to educate parents on the importance of participating in their child's education. Further, it is my desire to become and advocate for the early childhood field to help ensure that the early childhood field receives what it needs in order to thrive.  

Overall, it is clear that countries outside the United States share in the realities and beliefs of the importance of the early childhood field.  We all want what is best for our children. Therefore, securing funds and ensuring all children have equal access to quality programs is what we need to continue to advocate for both in and outside of the United States as the early years matter!  

  

References

UNESCO. (2014a). Access and Equity. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/

            education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/access-and-equity/

UNESCO. (2014b). Quality. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/

strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/quality/

Sharing Web Resources

The website I chose at the beginning of class was Zero to Three.  Too be honest I did not realize that they had outside links available until this assignment encouraged me to find links I had not explored on their website.  As I browsed the website more I found at the bottom of the home page four links, three of which were to outside sources.  The one I chose to follow was Early Head Start, however the link was not working, therefore, I typed Early Head Start into the search engine and was able to pull the Head Start website up and then I clicked on the Early Head Start link, which brought me to the page I wanted to be on. 

It is clear that Early Head Start supports early care and education.  Under Early Head Start I clicked on the link Child development and Early Learning which provided me with eight topics to choose from.  The one that interested me the most was school readiness.  When I clicked on school readiness it brought me to a variety of articles and webcasts that allows the reader and viewer to learn about school readiness for infants and toddlers.   I particularly enjoyed reading the part 1 through part 3 News you can use Approaches Toward Learning—Foundations of School Readiness.  You can find these articles at the following links:

Part One http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc/Early%20Head%20Start/early-learning/curriculum/nycuschoolread01.htm

Part Two http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc/Early%20Head%20Start/early-learning/curriculum/nycuschoolread02.htm

Part Three http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc/Early%20Head%20Start/early-learning/curriculum/nycuschoolread03.htm

Further from the website I learned more about Strong Start for America’s Children Act and how I can become involved.  If you would like to read more about this, you can find it at the following link http://rally4babies.org/strong-start-americas-children-act-2013/

The insights that I gained about issues and trends in the early childhood field from the zero to three website this week is a stronger knowledge base on what I can do to provide children with the experiences they need from the beginning in order to be successful throughout their educational journey.  Also, I found an article on the Zero to Three website that is helpful because it gives you ways to help parents to become involved in advocating for their children.  The article can be read at the following link 
 http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/Parents_as_Advocates.pdf?docID=13761

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

Unfortunately, I am pretty sure that I will not hear back from any of the international contacts that I tried to contact. Therefore, I feel it is safe to assume that I will be participating in the alternative assignment for the rest of the course.  These alternative assignments have been interesting and I have been learning a lot from exploring websites that are about early childhood outside the United States.  I look forward to learning and reading about what is going on in the early childhood field outside of the United States. 

This week I visited Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website and learned some great information about the early childhood field globally.  The Global Children’s Initiative is focused on three main areas. 

            Early childhood development

Child mental health

Children in crisis and conflict situations (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2014).

From the website I learned, that leaders and policymakers from Brazil are very much concerned with early childhood development and they attended a workshop at Harvard on the topic of child development.

Participants came from more than 15 States in Brazil, more than 20 attendees were from the executive branches of government at the federal, state, and municipal levels; 12 deputies from the federal parliament, who are members of the parliamentary caucus on early childhood and who represent 8 different political parties; and 15 leaders from child-focused foundations and non-governmental organizations in Brazil. (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2014b).

A second program that I learned about is in Santiago, Chile and is working to improve early childhood education by offering teachers professional development through a collaborative program, Un Buen Comienzo (UBC), “A Good Start,”which has received some funding from Center on the Developing Child and began in 2007 (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2014C). This program also encourages families to get involved in their children’s education, works to keep attendance up, aids in critical health issues and assists with social emotional development (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2014C).  

A third program that represents the concern to focus on the early childhood internationally is Zambian Early Childhood Development Project. This project was the first in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010 assessments on children’s physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development was done before and throughout their schooling years (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2014d).  From the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project it is hopeful that they will learn more about child development and improve intervention for the developing world (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2014d).

It is quite clear that equity and excellence in early childhood is just as important outside the United States as it is inside the United States. 

References

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2014a). Global Children’s Initiative.

            Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2014b). Learning and Leading:

Brazilian Policymakers Chart a New Course with the Science of Child Development. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_

initiative/applying_the_science of_early_childhood_in_brazi/executive_leadership_

program/

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2014c). Un Buen Comienzo Retrieved

            From http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/ubc/

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2014d). Zambian Early Childhood

 Development Project. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/

global_ initiative/zambian_project/