I have learned some valuable information about the international early childhood field from the podcasts and from exploring the websites. Below are three consequences of my learning:
1) I have gained international knowledge of how early childhood issues affect other parts of the world. I also learned ways in which other countries are dealing with these issues.
2) I have gained additional resources that I can use throughout my early childhood career. These resources offer information that can be used to continue my professional development as I work to help families and childern in early education.
3) Lastly, I have gained other cultural perspectives on early education. By exploring international contacts, it has given me other ideas and insights into early childhood issues.
My goal is to continue to use these resources to broaden my understanding of international issues related to early childhood education. Hopefully, as my colleagues and I continue to grow as professionals, we will remember the insights we have gained from these resources and from each other. I wish you all well in your professional endeavors.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
UNESCO Website
I enjoyed reading about early childhood quality in the section on the right hand side under policies briefs. There was an article on the early childhood workforce in developed countries. I found a section of this article to be interesting because it talked about the origins of early childhood services. Dating back to the 19th century, there were two main origins in early childhood services: nurseries for poor families and schools for middle class families. Today we offer early education to all familes; however, because of this history, there is a divide between systems with differences in staff, access, cost, funding, and regulations. Still we have divided systems with one system offering "childcare workers" and the other offering "teachers". There is a difference in education levels, pay for staff, employment conditions, and social status between the two systems. In towns all across America, this is still a problem today and education professionals and early childhood advocates are trying to change this through policy reform.
Under the investments tab, I found an interesting article that shared information about how Colombia created and two percent early childhood development payroll tax in order to improve programs for children and families in Colombia. In 2004, 21% of the population received services. An evaluation showed that the programs created by the funds from this tax expanded women's employment, improved children's cognitive and social development, and protected children. However, the following areas still needed improvement: home child care environments, mother educator training, child development, nutrition, and health services.
I found this paragraph on access to be very powerful.
"Central governments must ensure an equitable distribution of resources among different populations and especially those who live in the most disadvantaged regions. This approach aims to expand access without creating serious regional inequities. However, where there is universal provision for a certain age group while the overall enrolment in other age groups is low, this policy can create inequity."
Resource:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/access/
Under the investments tab, I found an interesting article that shared information about how Colombia created and two percent early childhood development payroll tax in order to improve programs for children and families in Colombia. In 2004, 21% of the population received services. An evaluation showed that the programs created by the funds from this tax expanded women's employment, improved children's cognitive and social development, and protected children. However, the following areas still needed improvement: home child care environments, mother educator training, child development, nutrition, and health services.
I found this paragraph on access to be very powerful.
"Central governments must ensure an equitable distribution of resources among different populations and especially those who live in the most disadvantaged regions. This approach aims to expand access without creating serious regional inequities. However, where there is universal provision for a certain age group while the overall enrolment in other age groups is low, this policy can create inequity."
Resource:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/access/
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Sharing Web Resources
On the website, NAECTE, I followed the outside link under Journal. This link takes you to the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education where it welcomes research reports, position papers, and essays on educational issues. When exploring a little deeper, I noticed a side bar on the right hand side that shared the "most read" articles, so I thought I would take a look at those.
The article that I thought best related to our class and study was an article on Historical Themes and Contemporary Issues. This article discusses the increase of investment in prekindergarten education and raises questions of what makes a well-qualified early childhood teacher. In this article, the author explores what is "high quality" and attempts to define quality teaching. It also suggests that there is much to be learned from the history of kindergarten and talks about ideas of best practices. This article touches on the topics of equity and excellence as we have explored this week. In order to reach excellence an early childhood program will have to be of high quality and employee well-qualified, educated teachers.
The article that I thought best related to our class and study was an article on Historical Themes and Contemporary Issues. This article discusses the increase of investment in prekindergarten education and raises questions of what makes a well-qualified early childhood teacher. In this article, the author explores what is "high quality" and attempts to define quality teaching. It also suggests that there is much to be learned from the history of kindergarten and talks about ideas of best practices. This article touches on the topics of equity and excellence as we have explored this week. In order to reach excellence an early childhood program will have to be of high quality and employee well-qualified, educated teachers.
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