On the top of the home page, I found the mission statement to be similar to that of the thoughts and views of early childhood professionals in the U.S. It states the importance of advocacy for children birth to eight years of age to ensure quality education and equity in early childhood issues.
International Research Topics
As I read through many research topics on this website, many of the topics were similar to that being researched in the U.S. as well as many other countries. For example, there were many articles on the importance of play, school readiness, and impacts of different emotional issues on children's abilities to learn. These were a few of the articles that I read through and found familiar research information.
-Technologically constructed childhoods: Moving beyond a reproductive to a productive and critical view of curriculum development
-Defining and assessing school readiness
-Choices and changes in early childhood education in Australia: A ‘Play School’ perspective
-The implications of poverty on children’s readiness to learn
Noteworthy News
As I explored the site I found numerous topics that we have discussed in class this session. The following topics were of interest to me, as I related prior knowledge from class resources:
- The Code of Ethics section of the website- a new code of ethics was endorsed in September 2006
- Values mentioned on the homepage included: the rights of children, diversity, social inclusion of children
- web and print resources on information about school readiness and transitions and child health and childhood obesity
Another interesting part of the website that I found was the section on supporting best practice. It gave wonderful information on a variety of topics with amazing subtopics under each heading. It gave information on emotional well-being, children's development, speaking out for children, professional development. I read information under children's development: everyday learning and play: routines and rituals. I learned that children like predictable environments where daily routines are consistent. Routines provide children a sense of stability, feelings of warmth, and an opportunity to learn about themselves and the world around them. It is important to keep a routine consistent yet remain flexible and responsive to the needs of the children. This section of the website offers great information under each topic.
I also explored early childhood website of Australia. I felt is was a very well put together website. It offers alot of information on the growth and devolpment of young children. One section I found interesting was the section Everyday Learning series. It gives parents and and caregivers information on how to enhance the growth and development of children through interaction.
ReplyDeleteTabitha
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement of consistency creating stability in children's lives. It is also comforting to have established routines and expectation. I believe this is important for children allowing some security in their relationships and learning environments. It seems that Australia's topics of interest in regards to early childhood are similar topics of interest in the United States. It is nice to know that the research and focuses are alike in other countries around the world.
Tabitha,
ReplyDeleteI can see great similarities between the Australian website and the European website. However, I am particular impressed with the section of your website that deals with supporting best practices. We would have examined some aspect of most of the areas mentioned but interestingly, I am certain that we can enhance our repertoire of knowledge by exploring each of these sites. It therefore means that the issues affecting children’s development and the field of early childhood are quite similar and as such there is tremendous assistance available to ensure we succeed in advancing the sector.