REFLECTING ON ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS

For the past eight weeks we have discussed so many consequences that affects early childhood and that will impact our early childhood professional lives. Unfortunately my international contact in Africa did not respond to much of my request but based on many of the websites I explored such as Zero to Three provided me with valuable information on the issues that affect early childhood. I also had the privilege to share my experiences with Jennifer from the USA. I realize how much of the issues internationally that we have in common whether we are classified as developing or developed country. I surely have learned that in order to make some positive impact in the field of early childhood we need to be knowledgeable. Developing international relationships is definitely a plus for me because I know that I can research topics relating to early childhood from these various contacts and be provided with vital information. Based on my learning experiences, information in the field of early childhood is constantly changing and therefore as professionals we have a responsibility to stay informed. One aspect of the course that resonated with me is not to be judgmental or to make assumptions but we must get our facts right. This came across in the topics for me when dealing with culture and diversity; quality and equity in early childhood care and of course poverty. After exploring the many issues that the early childhood field is faced with I have also come to recognize the importance of policies. It is good to advocate but it is also very important on how policies can help to make positive changes for the early childhood field. I believe the early childhood profession is still very young and under recognized especially in developing countries. Not much has been done to ensure to raise the standards of the early childhood field. To me early childhood has been given a raw deal because initially not much emphasis was placed on early childhood development and now we are trying to make things right. Nothing is wrong with this; however, I believe much more support is needed from persons who can help to make the change happen quicker. Again I must emphasize that there is really no place for ignorance or it should be not treated as a trial error game. Scientists, physicians and economists may recognize the importance of investing in early childhood but it is far more important for the early childhood teacher, caregiver and other early childhood professionals to be informed at the highest level so that we all can make informed decisions that will be profitably for the present and also for the future. Early childhood professionals should be the ones to guide and help with implementation of policies; therefore professional goals are too advocated for the field of early childhood so that this field will get the recognition it deserves and not lip service. I must again thank all my colleagues who shared with me during the eight weeks. Your contributions influenced my drive to become a better ambassador for early childhood education. I wish all my colleagues the best in their future endeavours.

Judy

Getting to Know Your International Contacts -Part 3

For this week’s assignment I selected to review the UNESCO’s website on early childhood. UNESCO has provided a wide variety of information on early childhood. UNESCO advocates on Early Childhood Care and Education by focusing on health, nutrition, security and learning. My professional initial goals from the course “Early Childhood Foundations” was (1) to advocate on behalf of early childhood education; (2) to make positive impact on the lives of practitioners and caregivers and; (3) to help form support groups for parents and guardians. At the end of the course my redefined goals were (1) To advocate for funding to support medicals and nutritious meals for early childhood children within early childhood institutions;(2) To support groups within the early childhood institutions such as the Parent Teacher’s Association by providing with information on health care and developmental stages of children and (3) To create and information booth at a designated area or through the use of the internet to collect information on early childhood. The information on early childhood from UNESCO ECCE is overwhelming, so much to learn, so much to digest and so much to execute or to put into action. UNESCO ECCE discusses topics such as access and equity and quality. As you know quality, access and equity are all early childhood issues that affect us internationally and UNESCO ECCE discusses the initiative they have taken to promote deal with all these issues in early childhood education internationally. ECCE examines factors such as pedagogy materials, personnel training, service setting, parental education and involvement. I believe these factors relate to all of my three goals. One insight I have surely garnered from reading this web site is the sharing of information on quality early childhood education. My goals 2 and 3 relates to information sharing. For the past three and half years I have realize enough is not being done on the local level in my country to promote information about early childhood. I believe UNESCO ECCE has vital information that various stakeholders could use to invest more in early childhood and contribute to policies that will eventually lead to long term positive benefits for early childhood education. I might not have a lot of resources but I can start in my small circle by promoting my goals; making my voice be heard in church groups, PTA's, council meetings etc. about the importance of our children gaining access to quality early childhood education and that early childhood gets the attention it deserves.

Reference

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/quality/

SHARING EARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCES- WEEK 6

This week’s assignment took me on a journey all the way in Australia. Australia has a number of websites on early childhood but the website I choose to explore is National Quality Standard Professional Learning  Program Newsletter (NQSPLPN). This website has many newsletters that cover a wide array of topics on early childhood. However, after much deliberation and searching I decided to review the newsletter on “Staffing for Quality.” I was particular drawn to this newsletter because of this week’s discussion on “Overcoming Barriers-Awareness, Accessibility and Responsiveness.”  This website also definitely adds to equity and excellence in early care and education.

The quality of early childhood programs are affected by the quality of the programs offered to our children.  According to NQSPLPN “there is now a wide body of evidence showing that early childhood education and care affects a child’s health, wellbeing and competence throughout their lives.”

One of the biggest barrier to quality early childhood care and education is how our early childhood staff responds to our children.  NQSPLPN discusses the evidence that lower child-adult ratios are associated with higher process quality and larger groups are associated with lower process quality. The website also explores the quality of leadership and what quality really should look like. One of the research findings speaks to responsive learning relationships are strengthened as educators and children learn together. Educators are more likely to be responsive, purposeful and thoughtful when staffing arrangements at their service allow them to direct their full attention to their work with children, and when they do not attend simultaneously to other tasks.

I believe as early childhood advocates we need to present more empirical evidence to our policy makers and stakeholders that quality really lies in the kind of staff our children have to encounter with on a daily basis. Many of our children who attend early care programs spend majority of their developmental years in these programs. Much effort should be made to ensure that our children get the best care and experiences. The attrition rate in our early childhood programs and the poorly trained staff will contribute to poor quality programs.

(http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/e-newsletters/)

Reference

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/e-newsletters/

 

Getting To Know Your International Contacts-Week 5

For this week’s post I have chosen to explore the alternative from the website “Global Children’s Initiative.” This website main aim is to focus on child health and development globally. They describe this initiative as “We view healthy child development as the foundation of economic prosperity, strong communities, and a just society, and our mission is to advance that vision by using science to enhance child well-being through innovations in policy and practice” (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/).

The main goals of this initiative are (1) Building a unified science of health, learning and behavior to explain the early roots of lifelong impairments; (2) Leaning the design, implementation and evaluation of innovative program and practice models that reduce preventable disparities in well-being; (3) Catalyzing the implementation of effective, science-based public policies through strategic relationships and knowledge; (4) Preparing future current leaders to build and leverage knowledge that promotes the healthy development of children and families and brings high returns to all of society ((http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/).

The three insights that I have learned from this website is (1) the focus is one the earliest stages of child development through the use of science; (2) engaging all necessary stakeholders globally so as to ensure that every one is aware of early childhood development; (3) the formulation of policies and practices that will help to guide the initiatives of the organization.

There is so much we can learn from this global initiative because of the approach they are using to build early childhood development. The “Global Children’s Initiative” first focus is to engage and educate the leadership of key international agencies, publish and disseminate papers to establish a strong scientific framework for global work and conduct systematic communications research and to identify the most effective ways to translate the science of child development for global policy makers(http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/). For the past weeks we have been discussing how important it is for policy makers to be knowledgeable about early childhood development. The Global Children’s Initiative is ensuring that a common framework be established so that all nations interesting in the development of early childhood have the opportunity to participate and gain valuable information that will help to formulate policies that will be relevant and enhance early childhood development.

This kind of initiative will help us to identify resources, save money and eradicate many diseases such as HIV that plague our societies.

Judy

Reference

(http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/),

Sharing Web Resources

For the past weeks I have been making myself familiar with the resource “Zero to Three”. This website has a multitude of information on child development. The website provides information through journals, newsletters, on line forums and brochures etc.

The area that I am most attracted to as an early childhood professional on this website is Public Policy. This section provides us with information on the policies that are used to manage early childhood. I am particular drawn to this area because for the past weeks we have been examining the trends and issues in early childhood. This section focuses mainly on research that helps to guide our policies and practices. This is very important because we need both the information from the past and the present in order to guide future decisions.  I didn’t find any controversial issues but I have definitely developed an appreciation of how much work goes into formulating policies for early childhood.  “Zero to Three” uses a policy framework: “Infant and Toddler Policy Framework” consists of: Good Health, Strong Families, Positive Early Learning Experiences, System.  If we are really going to be serious about early childhood we need to be informed. I believe “Zero to Three” has done their “homework” well because they have left no stone on turned.  Countries that are seeking to improve their early childhood systems can look at these different areas and garner information. However, it is important tthat his information ties into good cultural practices and not be seen as a “one size fit” all. I want explore the policy tool kit because early childhood in my country is still in the basic stages and we are stuggling with the policies and practices.  Too many persons are having a say in early childhood but they really do not know what early childhood is about.  The Early Childhood Commission recently celebrated ten years of service but many issues were revealed about how really effective are we. Everybody seems to want to contribute to early childhood but there are no proper policies and guidelines in place or are enforced to ensure that whatever we do is beneficial. “Zero to Three” focuses on action research and I believe this is very important in formulating our practices and policies. I believe the Commission could take a page out of their book.

Judy

Reference

http://www.zerotothree.org/public-policy/policy-toolkit/