International Review

The focus of my work so far has been limited to my immediate Center community, without looking outside to the bigger world or the bigger picture.  The struggles faced by many children around the world are great.  Some children travel miles to get to school, entire families dislocate to be closer to schools while other children live in poverty and filth that affect their health, well being and academic outcomes.   Other children live in warn torn regions persecuted for their religious beliefs.   The struggles are very real with lots of challenges.  Sadly, I had assumed that children living in other countries did not face the same type of cultural prejudices as children here.  I was naïve to think that if children shared similar languages, similar culture and similar history that there would not be a divide among the people as it pertained to education.  I really had the blinders on and thought that what happened outside my own country did not have anything to do with me.  It is difficult to turn a blind eye, especially when culturally diverse groups of people continue to immigrate to this country and into our classroom.  To better provide opportunities for learning, we have to know about the plight and history of all people.  We have to be culturally aware to make learning meaningful.    

The international exploration has been like reading a children’s picture book for the first time in the classroom.  We read children’s books to bring new information to children; we read children’s books to expose children to a new world and environment they would not ordinarily know about; and we read children’s books to reinforce information for children. 

I would like to get to know more about how I can contribute to children in other countries who are less fortunate than myself.  I think that information gathering and assessment will begin with my sharing that information with my current teaching community and my current children and family.  I can help raise an awareness of social issues that impact early childhood education around the world. 

It has been a pleasure getting to know all of you and I look forward to meeting you in future classes.  Thanks to all of you for your sharing and insight and helping me to continue to grow as a student and as a professional.

The International Picture

I visited the UNESCO web site (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/).  This was the first time I had visited this site and found that UNESCO is an organization that seeks to improve education around the world.  UNESCO views education as a positive contributor to social development as well as economic development.  When visiting sites such as this one I feel connected to other professionals around the world seeking to make change in the lives of all children.  UNESCO does focus on children who are poor and come from disadvantaged backgrounds.  The organization wants to provide all children with opportunities to grow in all areas of development, cognitive and linguistic development as well as prepare children for higher schooling.  Similar to our discussions of the week, UNESCO struggles with the concept of quality as it can be defined in many ways, but they do define quality in terms of rich, engaging, culturally and developmentally appropriate learning materials and environments.  The issues facing UNESCO is implementing such a curriculum among differing countries; facilities in various countries are inadequate and put the children at physical risk in terms of their health and safety.  Professionals at UNESCO are a diverse group with differing skill sets.  The professionals are comprised of pre-school teach, and care workers. 

Further investigation of the site brought me to an article, “Children In Early Education and Care”, found at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/quality/ and retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001374/137401e.pdf

The focus of the article was about curriculum guidelines being established by national ministries in many countries.  The guidelines provide a framework for program standards by which early education childhood services are to be delivered.  Through these guidelines, the hope is that centers promote social and cultural values that create positive outcomes for society as a whole. The guidelines will also create a mechanism of communication for parents, children and educators.  When designing the framework guidelines, learning patterns of children, individual needs of children, and the ability to learn through play and hands on participation were all considered. 

Children as we are all learning should be the motivator for change, not individual agendas of the professional and standardized education models.  Teachers must also be able to set aside their own needs for the positive development of children.  That is what prompted my interest in another article, “The Early Childhood Workforce in Developed Countries: Basic Structures and Education” retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001374/137402e.pdf.  The notion exists that all children regardless of background deserve education, however there are varying views of education programs in various countries.  Teachers deliver some programs while childcare or nursery workers deliver other programs.   Many countries are moving towards integrating the two systems working towards creating a more positive, professional role for educators.  The move is a difficult one for many countries as they find it difficult to move away from the notion that some childcare works are more than substitute mothers.  To move away from substitute mothers and move towards educators requires higher levels of education.   Higher levels of education translate to a restructured workforce with additional costs and higher wages.  The same question haunts restructuring of this kind, where will funds come from to cover higher education for teachers and higher wages.  It would seem the United States Is not the only country faced with changing the early childhood education field to better serve the youngest members of our communities.

The last item of interest that I found on the UNESCO site was an international conference hosted in Moscow with its focus on early childhood care and education teacher training.  There is a need to assist countries with creating policies and systems that provide training of teachers while continuing to focus on the developmental needs of young children, especially those children living in poor conditions.  The conference also focused on establishing curriculums that take into account the science and psychology of early childhood development,    

References

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/

Sharing Web Sources - Expanded

While exploring the Australia site, I discovered a site called NYU Child Study Center  (http://www.aboutourkids.org/about_us).    The NYU Child Study Center is an organization focused on the treatment of psychiatric disorders in children.  Further exploration led me to a disorder guide describing disorders from acute stress disorder to social anxiety.  The statistics are sad, “75 percent of mental health disorders have their rood in…childhood…millions of children are never properly diagnosed” (http://www.aboutourkids.org/about_us).  Parents can also utilize the site, as there is a tab for families seeking professional help.  This resource tab helps parents in identifying problems, seeking treatment and even information and facts on medications.  The wonderful feature of the site is that there is a tab to translate articles and information into Spanish. 

I was also able to find a tab for Early Childhood Services to further guide parents and educators to appropriate information.  Through this tab one can find resources for evaluation of problems, consultation services as well as treatment services.

The site was extremely interesting especially since most recently I have encountered a few children in my pre-school program who are presenting quite a few behavioral red flags.  Sadly, the parents of these children are not ready to face what may or may not lie ahead and they are not interested in some of the resources we have available. There is a wealth of resources on the site to help administrators and educators alike from news in the field and important research.

As I revisited Early Childhood Australia, I sought to find some of the same issues we have been exploring the last few weeks.  I began to go through the newsletter and found a newsletter on “Understanding Cultural Competence” and “Learning Outcomes.  The links are as follows; http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/eylfplp/newsletters/EYLFPLP_E-Newsletter_No6.pdf

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/eylfplp/newsletters/EYLFPLP_E-Newsletter_No7.pdf

Cultural competence is of great importance to the people of Australia as it plays a role in a child’s healthy development fostering growth in a child’s personal life as well as fostering positive educational outcomes.  One area of importance was to create a community of culture among young children so as to build an inclusive Australian society.  An attempt was made to do just that; in a school system where Aboriginal Torres Strait Children did not attend, a local elder from the Aboriginal Tribe was invited to come talk to the children.  The elder spoke about his culture, sharing with the children his language, stories about his people and information about how the Aboriginal peoples took care of the land.  The children had a great experience. 

Learning outcomes are important for all children.  Learning outcomes are defined as “A skill, knowledge or disposition that educators can actively promote in early childhood settings, in collaboration with children and families”  (www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au).  According to the learning outcomes, children have a strong sense of their own identity and children are connected to and contribute to their world.  Through the learning outcomes young children can become successful, confident and creative learners who then are active, informed members of society.    

Lastly I examined some of the news releases to find any similarities and came across a piece “Quality childcare more important than cost”.  The link is as follows;

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/october_2010_new_quality_childcare_more_important_than_cost.html

The problem at hand is that many early childhood education care services are providing poor quality because they are failing to meet basic standards.  Much like here in this country, if standards could be put into place, a greater sense of high quality childcare would be available as well as be more affordable for families.

Through my exploration of the websites, I have found a sense of commitment to young children and not only to their academic success but to their success as human beings.  The commitment seems to translate to advocacy that provides resources and information to create environments where young children can reach their full potential.  Oceans may separate us, but children are all the same; they need to be valued for who they are, and where they come from.  Perfect environments do not exist, but we should all continue to forge ahead to create those perfect environments where children can grow and prosper.

References

http://www.aboutourkids.org/about_us

www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au

Global Issues and Information

My focus this week was the Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University—unfortunately I have not had any correspondence with my international contacts.  Although that has been disappointing, I have had the opportunity to not only learn about different, informative web sites, I have had the opportunity to gain insight from different global perspectives. Children may be similar in terms of the development needs that must be met, but children are different in terms of the conditions that adversely affect their developmental needs and outcomes.   While on the Harvard University site, I first listened to a podcast discussion on the science of the brain by Director Jack Shonkoff, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. 

The discussion focus was on the importance of the early years in childhood as it refers to brain development.  Science tells us that early experiences are built into our bodies; they shape who we are.  If a strong biological foundation is built, there will be success in all developmental domains (UNESCO, 2010).  Manageable stress is good for development, but constant toxic stress can have harmful effects on the body and the brain; especially brain areas that affect learning and memory.  These children experiencing deep adversity have a higher risk for problems in school and in adulthood (UNESCO, 2010). 

The podcast was conducted during a World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education in Moscow; it can be found; http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/topics/global_child_development/moscow-conference/#UNESCO

I was also able to gain some new insight on new research being conducted to inform and assist with policies and practices in relation to mental health issues of children.  The intent was to generate understanding on conditions affecting many young children.  The study looked into, anxiety disorders; depressive disorders; ADHD and related problems; and behavioral problems ranging from early childhood disobedience to adolescent delinquency and violence. Through data analysis, the organization was able to identify strategies for problem solving as it relates to everyday treatment of children therefore closing the gap between research and practical care.  This information can be found at the following under New Research;

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/topics/new_research/

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/topics/new_research/child_mental_health_network/

While exploring the Harvard web site, I came across another web site that was extremely informative; http://www.aidstar-one.com.  AIDSTAR works to provide support to the United States government’s “commitment to combat HIV through technical assistance and knowledge management”. 

According to the website, 16.6 milling children under the age of 17 have lost their parents to HIV and millions more are vulnerable.  Children’s physical, psychological, and economic outcomes are impacted negatively by family members suffering with HIV.  As we have studied, it is of paramount importance to reach children at the earliest stages of development so as to ensure academic and life success.  “Early childhood development (ECD) is critical to both mental and physical health later in life” (AIDSTAR- one, 2011), however programs and resources are being focused primarily for children of school age at the exclusion of young children.  The study indicated benefits of reaching out to the youngest member of society.  The program focus was child wellness and development for young children as well as providing services that focuses on education, safe motherhood and family economic support (AIDSTAR- one, 2011).    These early interventions lead to positive outcomes and long term societal benefits. 

AIDSTAR strives to foster environments with caring adults as well as contributing to the social and economic well-being of young women so that they can reach full academic potential, while also practicing safe health measures to eradicate HIV.  This information can be found in a brief titled, “Early Childhood Development for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Key Considerations”, http://www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/ovc/resources/technical_briefs/ecd_ovc#tab_1

Globally, the focus seems to be on the health and safety of children and from what I have researched thus far, the discussion of school readiness and standardized tests has not been present.  “Sound health…provides a foundation for the construction of sturdy brain architecture and…achievement of a broad range of…learning capacities” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010).  Health issues, like poverty, create environments where children cannot grow in positive ways; life is spent on overcoming toxic adversity.  Nations then turn their attention towards the positive health and safety development of children.  As educators in our own country, we too must be aware of holistic issues impacting families and children and make sure we are providing adequate services and resources to address those issues. 

References

AIDSTAR-ONE.  (2011). Early Childhood Development for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Key Considerations.  Retrieved from http://www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/ovc/resources/technical_briefs/ecd_ovc#tab_1

http://developingchild.harvard.edu

UNESCO. (2010). Podcast, with Jack Shonkoff

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/topics/global_child_development/moscow-conference/#UNESCO

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2010). The foundations of lifelong

health are built in early childhood. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/reports_and_working_papers/foundations-of-lifelong-health/ 

Web Resource Sharing

We often discuss how to make our programs culturally diverse and inclusive of our representative community.  My professional interest in building relationships with my community (those who are culturally and linguistically diverse as well as the poor) at large has grown. I have found myself wondering how to illicit support for programs and resources for families.  Over the last few weeks I have been learning about the Aboriginal people of Australia, native people of the country.  Strong supports are in place to sustain and maintain the culture of the people with an awareness of providing “cultural recognition…development of literacy and numeracy and levels of participation” (www.whatworks.edu.au).  These goals are not possible without the support and partnership between families, school programs and the community.  I was impressed by the information I gathered from this website and found the collaboration between these partners impressive; there was no discussion regarding investments with positive financial outcomes or policy initiatives as are found in education discussions in the United States.   This web site offers various case studies focusing on different areas of development. 

One such project, the Literacy Links Projects was designed to address the fact that literacy skills of indigenous students are below those of non-indigenous students.  This particular project was an investment in the aboriginal community.   Video conferences were established so children could reach out and communicate with other children in other school programs and communities, while also promoting and building literacy and language learning.  The children read books to each other, and shared tribal art work from their homes and communities.  The video conferencing created an environment where the children were empowered through learning to use technology and the children’s confidence and self-esteem was increased through the video interactions.  In addition, teachers indicated non-engaged children became engaged and disruptive behaviors became modified and controlled.  The program has success as the literacy levels of the students have increased.  Through this program, children and families are valued for their culture and language.  The community truly recognizes the importance of creating and keeping a connection to one’s culture. 

What Works also has programs designed to provide students employment opportunities and training, called vocational pathways.  Students are given a career path with which to follow.  This too is an investment in students with the goal of improving outcomes in the community.

 

Early Childhood Australia does have branches in each state and territory that identifies issues and trends in early childhood education that need to be addressed at the national level (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/).  What was most interesting to me was the commitment to the growth of the community through ongoing projects with the student population; there was no discussion of global competition or fiscal responsibility, nor was there any discussion regarding standardized testing models.  It is not to say these mechanism should be done away with, but a greater focus must be placed on the children and finding solutions to the challenges faced by children.  Far too many groups of people are placing their personal beliefs over the fact that all children deserve an education. 

Resources

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

www.whatworks.edu.au