As I have not heard from any of my potential contacts for further discussion on global issues as they pertain to children I decided to continue to dig deeper into the website, Early Childhood Australia, a voice for young children. I have included the link; http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/. Early Childhood Australia is a non-profit organization that advocates for children from birth to 8 years of age and works towards sharing and providing resources and information on early childhood to educators, parents, and social and government bodies. Information about development, children’s behaviors, assessments and observations to school readiness can be found on the website.
I have family who emigrated to Australia many years ago and cousins who were born there, but as you might imagine the topic of early childhood education does not come up in conversation. Australia, like many countries is made up of many people representing different cultures and languages. This week’s discussion prompted me to think that perhaps many of the same issues facing us in this country are also very much alive in other countries as well; discrimination, language and cultural barriers that are perhaps creating an education gap among the different cultures in Australia and if so how are these issues being address? The goal would seem to a similar one; to become culturally aware however that is a challenge as it pertains to education and families. Navigating the site, I came across a piece on creating personalized learning plans for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students so as to create positive learning environments for all students and therefore having improved academic success. (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/eca_webwatch_issue_122_september_2011.html). Indigenous populations like the children attending our school systems, share culture and language that bond them to their community. Teacher, parents and children are collaborators in creating the learning plan that includes clear learning goals as well as potential obstacles to learning and how to navigate through those obstacles. The learning plans respect the Aboriginal children’s cultural differences, their knowledge and obligations within their community (www.whatworks.edu.au). The plans assess where the student is now, where they should be and how they will meet their academic goals; once goals are met, the process begins again scaffolding additional knowledge and learning. The personalized plan certainly promotes both parent and student participation and engagement in the learning process.
The child’s identity as connected to his or her family is celebrated and acknowledge as a path towards learning. This I believe is a positive example that could perhaps be utilized to bridge culturally and linguistically diverse communities in our own country.
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Hi Georgia.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I agree that Australia's demographic and diversity dynamics have a lot in common with the U.S. Historically the Aborigines were an oppressed people like the people of color were oppressed here in the U.S. This just confirms that children thrive when their culture is validated in their physical and relational environments.
Hi Georgia,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we could take some lessons from Australia when trying to bridges our diverse communities. If more people embraced the differences and celebrated heritage we would have less of an issue with racism. I enjoy your passion about the Australian culture.