The major consequence that researching early childcare around the world was the similarities that I found. I really thought that the level of care and the types of care would be extremely different than the United States. What I found out was that the countries that I researched have many of the same issues and follow the same practices as we do here. The one difference I did find was the level of involvement of the government in these countries. The government plays an importance role in funding and regulating early care programs. The United States could learn from them in this respect.
Another consequence was the impact that looking at different programs in depth had on my beliefs about best practices. I learned some very interesting approaches to early care, some of which I intend to steal.
Finally, personally I have had a rekindling of my passion for procurring high quality early childhood education for all children. Which has spurred on my goal to discover ways to help all children have the education they need.
I have enjoyed reading your blogs and learning with you!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
International Issues regarding Quality of Early Childhood Education
Until recently, care and education have long been seen as separate entitites in Ireland. Children were provided care that focused strictly on health, safety and welfare. The State provided this care for disadvantaged or at risk children with the sole purpose of helping the child receive proper health screenings and nutrition.
With the adoption of the Siolta: The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, Ireland has changed its focus to serving and developing all children in early care. This document can be found at http://www.siolta.ie/media/pdfs/final_handbook.pdf The Declaration of the Right to Education spurred the completion of this document.
While reviewing the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education, where The Declaration of the Right to Education was written, I found a statement that I disagreed with. The consensus at this conference was that the private sector should not get involved in the funding of early child care and education. The conferences attendees agreed that funding should be provided and regulated by the government. Their reasoning is that private funding would increase the gap in equity. They felt that the richer children would receive more funding and better opportunities. I disagreed with this thinking . I believe that businesses should be educated on the importance of servicing low income and at risk children with the same quality of education. If this happens the businesses will reap the benefits of an improved workforce.
With the adoption of the Siolta: The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, Ireland has changed its focus to serving and developing all children in early care. This document can be found at http://www.siolta.ie/media/pdfs/final_handbook.pdf The Declaration of the Right to Education spurred the completion of this document.
While reviewing the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education, where The Declaration of the Right to Education was written, I found a statement that I disagreed with. The consensus at this conference was that the private sector should not get involved in the funding of early child care and education. The conferences attendees agreed that funding should be provided and regulated by the government. Their reasoning is that private funding would increase the gap in equity. They felt that the richer children would receive more funding and better opportunities. I disagreed with this thinking . I believe that businesses should be educated on the importance of servicing low income and at risk children with the same quality of education. If this happens the businesses will reap the benefits of an improved workforce.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Exploring Early Childhood Links
The naeyc has a wealth of additional information for which they have provided links. One link that follows the issues that we have discussed this week is http://wwwfamlit.org/ This is the link for the National Center for Family Literacy. One thing that I have learned this week was the prevalence of immigrants not utilizing the early childhood programs available to them because they did not understand the eligibility guidelines. One major way to fight illiteracy is to work with the whole family. The NCFL provides many resources for teachers and families. Some of these resources are a national conference, professional development opportunities, policy and advocacy for literacy, and grant opportunities.
Another resources I found was a self assessment and planning tool for early childhood programs. The link provided a rubric with guidelines for developing and assessing programs. The professional is led through very specific information for scoring themselves. Then they are called to create an action plan to improve upon the guideline. I felt this would be a very good tool for beginners as well as seasoned teachers. In order to provided an excellent and equitable program for all children, it is crucial to continually self-assess.
Another resources I found was a self assessment and planning tool for early childhood programs. The link provided a rubric with guidelines for developing and assessing programs. The professional is led through very specific information for scoring themselves. Then they are called to create an action plan to improve upon the guideline. I felt this would be a very good tool for beginners as well as seasoned teachers. In order to provided an excellent and equitable program for all children, it is crucial to continually self-assess.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Excellence and Equity Issues Around the World
After sending a couple of invitation emails, I still have not heard fromt the international contacts I chose. In spite of this, I have been able to find a wealth of information by researching the assigned topics. What I have discovered is that other countries are dealing with the same issues and have the same beliefs about early childhood education as we do in the US.
While researching equity in education in Ireland, I found an excellent website, developed by the government, that spells out diversity and equality guidelines for childcare providers. http://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/childcare/diversity_and_equality.pdf
The most powerful statement on this site is their definition of equality. "Equality refers to the importance of recognising different individual needs and of ensuring equity in terms of access, participation, and benefits for all children and their families. It is, therefore, not about treating people the same."
Their national childcare strategy is to help each child feel a sense of belonging in his/her program. They hope to accomplish this through the following four goals:
1) Support of children's identity and sense of belonging
2) Support childrn to become comfortable with difference
3) Foster each child's critical thinking about bias
4) Empower children to stand up for themselves and others in the face of bias.
In this report, I found much of the same language used in the US. They key to changing the face of poverty is to make quality education accessible to all children and to serve each of those children in a way that they will respond.
While researching equity in education in Ireland, I found an excellent website, developed by the government, that spells out diversity and equality guidelines for childcare providers. http://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/childcare/diversity_and_equality.pdf
The most powerful statement on this site is their definition of equality. "Equality refers to the importance of recognising different individual needs and of ensuring equity in terms of access, participation, and benefits for all children and their families. It is, therefore, not about treating people the same."
Their national childcare strategy is to help each child feel a sense of belonging in his/her program. They hope to accomplish this through the following four goals:
1) Support of children's identity and sense of belonging
2) Support childrn to become comfortable with difference
3) Foster each child's critical thinking about bias
4) Empower children to stand up for themselves and others in the face of bias.
In this report, I found much of the same language used in the US. They key to changing the face of poverty is to make quality education accessible to all children and to serve each of those children in a way that they will respond.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Sharing Web Resources
I have changed the website I am reviewing to www.naeyc.org . I have found a wealth of information in the Early Childhood Research Quarterly. This journal has a multitude of articles writtten about research done on specific issues and trends in early childhood education. I have also gained some good ideas to incorporate in my own professional career.
Much of the research that is presented focuses around best practices and policies in education. One article I felt was a little controversial written about research done on low socioeconomic Latino families. The authors attempted to show the correlation between low ses Latino families and the low instance of school readiness in these children. This was controversial because poverty knows no race. The issues that affect children in low ses households span all races. Many of these children are ready for school but the schools are not ready for them. Most schools do not have programs established to serve these children in their native language.
There are many articles showing research done on public policy in education and its effectiveness. By seraching for topics, I am able to find articles that help me gain proven knowledge on specific issues and trends in education.
Much of the research that is presented focuses around best practices and policies in education. One article I felt was a little controversial written about research done on low socioeconomic Latino families. The authors attempted to show the correlation between low ses Latino families and the low instance of school readiness in these children. This was controversial because poverty knows no race. The issues that affect children in low ses households span all races. Many of these children are ready for school but the schools are not ready for them. Most schools do not have programs established to serve these children in their native language.
There are many articles showing research done on public policy in education and its effectiveness. By seraching for topics, I am able to find articles that help me gain proven knowledge on specific issues and trends in education.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
International Research on Childhood Poverty
I have yet to hear from either of my international contacts so I conducted some research on my own. Spain is one of the countries that I have chosen to research. In my research one surprising fact was the prevalence of children living in poverty. I have always thought of Spain as a "rich" country, but in actuality the unemployment rate is 20%. This leads to alot of family tension due to families living with economic hardships.
I found an interesting report outlining research, conducted by unicef, about childhood poverty in Spain, UK and Sweden. The research teams set up discussion groups in schools of the countries studied. The children in these groups were asked to describ aspects of good days and bad days. The researchers were looking for the affect of poverty on the well-being of children.
What the research showed was that it is not the lack of material possesions that affect the well-being of children but the increase in family tensions due to economic hardships.
The children in all three countries sited the same aspects of good and bad days. Good days consisted of time with family, friends and pets. Bad days were characterized by an upset in stable family time such as: separation, fighting, and substance abuse.
This research leads me to believe that the way to end poverty is a combination of things. Families need to be provided basic needs such as: food, clothing, and shelter. But education is key to helping these families lead successful lives. They need to be educated in how to deal with issues that arise as a result of having a low income. They also need to be educated in the importance of quality time with their children.
I feel that, no matter what country we are talking about, the cycle of poverty will not change until we address the underlying causes.
I found an interesting report outlining research, conducted by unicef, about childhood poverty in Spain, UK and Sweden. The research teams set up discussion groups in schools of the countries studied. The children in these groups were asked to describ aspects of good days and bad days. The researchers were looking for the affect of poverty on the well-being of children.
What the research showed was that it is not the lack of material possesions that affect the well-being of children but the increase in family tensions due to economic hardships.
The children in all three countries sited the same aspects of good and bad days. Good days consisted of time with family, friends and pets. Bad days were characterized by an upset in stable family time such as: separation, fighting, and substance abuse.
This research leads me to believe that the way to end poverty is a combination of things. Families need to be provided basic needs such as: food, clothing, and shelter. But education is key to helping these families lead successful lives. They need to be educated in how to deal with issues that arise as a result of having a low income. They also need to be educated in the importance of quality time with their children.
I feel that, no matter what country we are talking about, the cycle of poverty will not change until we address the underlying causes.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Establishing Professional Contacts
I chose to begin my correspondence with representatives from Ireland and Spain. I chose Ireland because part of my heritage is Irish and I am very interested in the country. I chose Spain because I live in South Texas and I feel like communicating with a Spanish speaking country might help me in communicating with families here. I wanted to find a contact in Mexico but there was not one listed on the website. I am going to research this further.
I emailed each representative and am still waiting for a response.
I chose to further research the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educatorshttp://www.naecte.org/ website. I chose this because the organization is focused on being a tool for professional growth in early childhood educators. I feel strongly that the best way to improve education is to improve teachers through positive professional development. The dues for this organization is only $45 for graduate students. They offer a quarterly newsletter, periodic e-newsletters, national conferences, information on research conducted by teachers, and the opportunity for members to contribute. I am looking forward to learning from fellow educators.
I emailed each representative and am still waiting for a response.
I chose to further research the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educatorshttp://www.naecte.org/ website. I chose this because the organization is focused on being a tool for professional growth in early childhood educators. I feel strongly that the best way to improve education is to improve teachers through positive professional development. The dues for this organization is only $45 for graduate students. They offer a quarterly newsletter, periodic e-newsletters, national conferences, information on research conducted by teachers, and the opportunity for members to contribute. I am looking forward to learning from fellow educators.
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