Consequences & Solutions…

Learning about the international early childhood field gave a great deal of enlightenment to the world of early education in general, however it posed difficulty in a few areas, as I seek to develop professionally. Three of those areas are:

• Learning how similar under-developed areas face issues of equity and unfair treatment with lack of funding
• How to provide substantial support to the families that I serve
• Understanding and staying on top of the changing demographics facing our day care centers, child care centers and schools

One goal that I have for this field is to enhance my knowledge in the area of diversity and cultural supports for my families. As you see, I always refer to them as “my” families. I refer to my students as my kids. That level of commitment and dedication to them is what keeps me thriving. I want nothing more than to see them succeed and knowing that I can leave that building everyday with stories of success, development and achievement is all I need to keep going.

 

Learning about UNESCO

UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Having read through their site, I learned that they advocate for Early Childhood Education programs that tend to health, nutrition, security and learning and which provide for children’s holistic development (2012). Additionally, the organization developed and organized the first world conference on Early Childhood Care and Education in 2010.

Through the Global Campaign for Education, UNESCO implemented Global Action Week, which seeks to raise awareness about the importance of education for all. This is something that is celebrated in many different nations during one specified week a year.

 

Learning more & exploring NBCDI

The website for the National Black Child Development Institute has a wealth of information that any educator or educational professional can use for dealing with and working with minority children, in general. Though their main focus is on the African-American child, many of the resources and supports that they utilize can be used for all children. One of the links I clicked on led me to the US Dept of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families Head Start’s National Research Conference webpage. The 11th annual conference is focusing on research on young children and families: effective practices in an age of diversity and change, which is taking place next weekend, June 18th-20th in Washington D.C.

A lot of the areas on this website are not fully developed, leaving me to question what exactly are the goals of ths organization. One of my earlier posts, I stated that I would like to attend the national conference in October, however there’s no insight into their direction, iniatives or goals. When I click on initiatives, I am led to another page with outside links for pre-k education, the head start conference, limited information on a literacy initiative by the NBCDI. My hope is that the organization does more than their website portrays.

There is nothing on this website that speaks to equity and excellence in childcare. Many of the sections of the website speak to advancing development for African-American children but it doesn’t speak to how or why. Furthermore, I have yet to receive a newsletter from this organization. Sadly, I’m a little bit disappointed in what I’ve learned (or have not learned) so far.

 

Early Childhood Systems Around the Globe

The Center on the Developing Child with Harvard University’s Global Children’s Initiative put the spotlight on a few nations across the globe and the work they are doing to support early childhood systems within their country. Three countries I learned about were Zambia, Brazil and Santiago, Chile.

The Zambian Eary Childhood Development Project was founded in 2009, with a mission to measure the efforts of an on-going anti malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia. The ZECDP created the first comprehensive instrument, of its kind, to assess children’s physical, socio-emotional and cognitive development. The ZECDP collaborators hope that the data collected as part of this project will not only improve understanding of child development in this context but also help identify key interventions towards improved outcomes in a rapidly changing developing world (2012).

Nucleo Ciencia Pela Infancia is part of the Global Children’s Initiative in Brazil and the first of its kind out of the United States. The project represents a unique opportunity for collaboration amongst Brazilian scholars, policy makers, and civil society leaders to specifically build an agenda and community of scholars around early childhood development, strengthen leadership, and translating and adapting the center’s current resources for a Brazilian audience.

Finally, in Santiago Chile, Un Buen Comienzo (A Good Start) was designed to improve early childhood education by way of teacher professional development. Specifically focusing on langage development, this project is also designed to intervene in critical health areas that improve school attendance as well as socioemotional development, and it seeks to involve the children’s families in their education (2012). Encompassing 60 schools, this project seeks to put Chile at the forefront of demonstrating the impact of a high quality early childhood education.