Final Blog Assignment

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field are:

I am more aware of issues that affect children around the world.

Being aware of these issues make me want to advocate for children.

I have realized that I take many things for granted. When I hear about how some children have to struggle to receive an education or they are denied the opportunity of an education it makes me more appreciative of the opportunities that I have had and that my students have.

One goal I have  for this field is that each country would develop standards that a high quality program should meet.  Educators from different countries should convene and compare standards and methods and use ideas from each other to improve their own standards and teaching methods.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts- Part 3

As an educator I believe it is important to be knowledgeable about the field I am in and to provide a quality education for my students.  It is also important that all my students feel included regardless of their socioeconomic background, gender, religion and culture.  Lastly I think I should collaborate with other colleagues and organizations as this will expand my knowledge and resources.  The three elements I mentioned were seen in some form on (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage.

A statement that stood out on the webpage was that “The main challenge faced by the teaching profession today is both one of numbers and quality” (UNESCO, n.d.). UNESCO hopes to address this through “national policies, training, recruitment and working conditions” (UNESCO, n.d.).  I learned that there is a demand for teachers in some countries and a call for quality teachers in many places. “UNESCO is concerned by the rise of racism, xenophobia and intolerance,” so it has undertaken a project to design educational materials to address these issues (UNESCO, n.d.).  These materials will then be distributed to different countries (UNESCO, n.d.).  In this venture, UNESCO is seeking to let everyone feel included.  UNESCO has formed partnerships with several organizations and international networks (UNESCO, n.d.).  These partnerships help “UNESCO [to] leverage resources, expertise and competencies to promote all UNESCO’s ideals and values, to achieve common development goals, and to strengthen visibility and impact of its action” (UNESCO, n.d.).  UNESCO wants to see the holistic development and education of all children (UNESCO, n.d.)

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Reference:

UNESCO. (n.d.). Early childhood care and education.  Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Sharing Web Resources

Most of the outside links lead to other child advocacy groups, statistics about children, polling data, research concerning children and evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies in regards to children and education (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).

When I researched the project area of the site I found that the International Child Resource Institute (ICRI) has several projects in different parts of the world (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  There was some similarity in some projects but none of the projects looked exactly the same.  This made me think that ICRI did not take a “one solution fits all” attitude but they truly went into the communities and saw where they were lacking and what they needed help with the most.  Some of their projects focused on preventing children from being physically and sexually exploited, lifting families out of poverty, meeting the basic needs of children (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.). They also focused on immigrant and refugee children, orphaned children, training , child advocacy, supporting prisoners and their families and the quality of early childhood education (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).

I have not received a newsletter from ICRI even though I signed up for one weeks ago. In terms of excellence in education there was a blog on the website which described a classroom that seemed to be an example of this (Cai, 2012) . It was ICRI’s Heart Leap Center in Berkeley, California.  The blogger was an intern at ICRI, she visited the school and  noticed developmentally appropriate practices, attentive and responsive teachers, parent involvement , the use of a “discovery-based emergent curriculum”, children engaged in creative activities and  various play areas could be seen all over the classroom (Cai, 2012). In the classroom there were also areas for music, reading, science and sports (Cai, 2012).

From the website I realized that equity in education is an issue that affects many if not all nations.  “Disabled children and their families face many challenges” (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  In Nepal, “many disabled Nepali children continue to be isolated and excluded from the country's educational system” (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.)  We need to continue to advocate for children and speak out for them.

References:

Cai, H. ( 2012, January 23). Hearts leap center [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.icrichild.org/blog/?category=Early+Childhood+Development

International Child Resource Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.icrichild.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts- Part 2

I still have not heard from any professionals so I explored the Global Children Initiative website. I learned that maternal depression can have long lasting effects on a child (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2009).  Caregivers who are depressed tend not to be responsive to their children (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2009).  This lack of responsiveness negatively affects the way in which a child’s brain develops (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2009).  In the long run it can “interfere with young children’s ability to learn, and increase the risk of emotional disorders” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2009, p. 3).

Secondly, for many of us it is easy for our brains to perform executive functions and to self-regulate.  Executive function skills include: “the ability to hold onto and work with information, focus thinking, filter distractions, and switch gears” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, n.d., p.1).  Being able to perform executive function skills and self-regulation allows children to do better in school, it helps them to develop positive and healthy behaviors and it helps in the workplace when they grow up (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, n.d.).  Relationships lay the foundation for these two important skills to be built (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, n.d.).

Thirdly, if a child is constantly in situations where they experience fear and anxiety it can affect the development of their brains negatively which can follow them for the rest of their lives (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child , 2010).  These experiences “have the potential to affect how children learn, solve problems, and relate to others” (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010, p.1).  The temporary fear about monsters is normal but fear of abuse and violence can cause immediate and long-term problems for children (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010).  It can affect them both physically and psychologically and disrupt their learning (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010).

According to Akyeampong, Rollenston, Ampiah and Lewin (2012) “despite policies to eliminate fees” disadvantaged groups are sometimes unable to have access to education because of the costs involved (p.4). This suggests that other groups are probably well- educated in comparison. If inequities like this could be addressed appropriately by the government all the citizens would be on the same level when it comes to education.  This is much easier said than done.  As it stands those who can afford it are able to get a better education and those who cannot seem to be stuck in a cycle of poverty.

References:

Akyeampong, K., Rollenston, C.,  Ampiah, J.G., & Lewin, K.M. (2012). Access, Transitions and Equity in Education in Ghana: Researching Practice, Problems and Policy. Retrieved from http://www.create-rpc.org/pdf_documents/PTA72.pdf

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (n.d.). Executive function: Skills for life and learning. Retrieved from InBrief%20-%20Executive%20Function%20-%20Skills%20for%20Life%20and%20Learning.pdf

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2009). Maternal Depression Can Undermine the Development of Young Children: Working Paper No. 8. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2010). Persistent Fear and Anxiety Can Affect Young Children’s Learning and Development: Working Paper No. 9. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.net