What I learned Internationally about the Childhood Field.

As we have come to the end of our course, I have gained so much information and resources about the EC field over all. Most importantly, I was challenged to step out of my comfort zone of learning specifically about EC in my county, to expand my learning internationally. Three things I have learned about Child development internationally are:

• The importance of maintaining and preserving ones’ home language, when entering another country.
• The United States recognizes the importance of early education, while many other countries are still in the development process.
• How health and nutrition can have a huge impact on a child’s development, and ability to learn.

Through this course I have also learned how to be a leader, and an advocate for all children, and resources on how to design my classroom environment to facilitate the unique differences that each child and family member may bring.

“The idea of belonging and membership, being part of a community, is a basic human need. It’s one of the principles of our democratic society. We all have the same needs, we want to be loved, we want to have friends, we want to feel that we are making a contribution in our families, in our communities…we learn about understanding what someone’s interests and point of view are by interacting with them. To include everyone is to open up those possibilities for learning and appreciating our humanity.”

Dr. Joseph Petner, Educator

Getting To Know Your International Contacts Part 3

This week as an alternative assignment, we were asked to view a website through UNESCO’S Early Childhood Education. The importance of this website is to look closely into the professional field of Early Educators, as well as defining the role of quality care for children.

Research shows the most critical period for children’s brain development occurs between the birth to eight years of age http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/.

In order for children to receive quality care, and a curriculum that will help facilitate all of their developmental needs, professionals need to have access to effective trainings, funding to support or continue their education, and workshops that will continue to keep professionals current on licensing regulations, and best practice policies.

In this week’s reading resource it states that “The ECCE workforce is often made up of a diverse group of pre-school teachers, care workers, informal careers and other professionals. Adequate training and work conditions are essential so they can integrate the content and practice of early childhood care and education and address the transition to formal schooling” http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/quality/.

To ensure we are meeting the needs of all children, there needs to be a partnership between home, school, and community, that also emphasis’s the importance of play and hands on experiences, in preparation to primary education.

Research shows that, “  Active involvement from parents and communities and relevant play and learning materials ensure that early childhood services remain relevant to the needs of the children and all other stakeholders and increases sustainability” http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/quality/.

Further into the reading article, another interesting fact was the issue of funding, and providing quality care for children coming from lower income homes, and continuing to provide a holistic approach to learning, that will meet all sectors of diverse communities. Preserving natural environments, and providing professionals with the proper tools to help children become successful, is a huge key to children staying abroad their social, and cognitive development, and help to reduce the large gap of low academic achievement across the board.

Reference:

 Early Childhood care and Education. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/access-and-equity/.

Sharing Web Resources.

This week we discussed children from low SES, ESL, and other differences that may create a barrier for children to enter quality care programs, which will aid in success academically later in life. I noticed a few barriers in the professional contact website I have been following:

While continuing my journey through the; National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP). I came across a link that followed a few Articles in the New York Times.

The first article talked about the reasons other countries teach better, “The American work force has some of the weakest mathematical and problem-solving skills in the developed world, adults in the United States scored far below average and better than only two of 12 other developed comparison countries, Italy and Spain. Worse still, the United States is losing ground in worker training to countries in Europe and Asia whose schools are not just superior to ours but getting steadily better” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/opinion/why-students-do-better-overseas.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0.

America’s stature as an economic power is being threatened by societies above us and below us on the achievement scale. Wealthy nations with high-performing schools are consolidating their advantages and working hard to improve. At the same time, less-wealthy countries like Chile, Brazil, Indonesia and Peru, have made what the O.E.C.D. describes as “impressive gains catching up from very low levels of performance.” In other words, if things remain as they are, countries that lag behind us will one day overtake us http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/opinion/why-students-do-better-overseas.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0.

Another important article linked to the success of children and adults in countries beyond the U.S, discussed how there were too few girls and minorities attending math and science studies.

“Women make up nearly half the work force but have just 26 percent of science, technology, engineering or math jobs, Blacks make up 11 percent of the workforce but just 6 percent of such jobs and Hispanics make up nearly 15 percent of the work force but hold 7 percent of those positions. There is no question that women and minorities have made progress in science and math in the last several decades, but their gains have been slow and halting. And in the fast-growing field of computer science, women’s representation has actually declined in the last 20 years, while minorities have made relatively small gains” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/opinion/too-few-girls-and-minorities-study-tech-subjects.html.

References:

Why Other Countries Teach Better: Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/opinion/why-students-do-better-overseas.html.

Missing From Science Class : Too Few Girls and Minorities Study Tech Subjects. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/opinion/too-few-girls-and-minorities-study-tech-subjects.html.