Early Childhood Issues and Trends Final Blog Post

It has been interesting and very informative to study more in depth about early childhood beliefs and education in other countries.  I was able to make contact with some international early childhood professionals but they did not have time to dialog on a regular basis.  My contact from Singapore, Ms. Wong, gave me a great web site that showed me what was happening in the early childhood field in that part of the world.  I have learned that access to quality early childhood programs is a problem for families all over the world.  I see that countries are trying to find solutions to provide access but it is a slow process.  Those who work with children in Singapore are provided with training and classes to make sure they are current in how to provide quality care for young children.  I found it interesting that some of the Infant teachers were also certified nurses.  Professionally it is encouraging to see that countries are beginning to see the importance of early learning and the need for teachers to be trained and current in the area of best early childhood practices and child health and development.  I also liked that there is an emphasis on providing support and services for families but again this is a slow process that is heading in the right direction.

I learned a lot form exploring the web sites and listening to the pod casts and I have a better understanding of  early childhood issues and trends in other parts of the world.  I now understand that it is important to dialog with ECE professionals from other parts of the world so that I can have a better understanding of what solutions or ideas they may have come up with that deal with early childhood issues and trends that are similar to those in the United States.  We all need to work together to make sure that early childhood is preserved and seen as an important learning foundation for young children.  

I have also learned a lot from my classmates as they have shared what they have learned from their international contacts or from the different web sites on early childhood issues from different countries.  I appreciate this new information and it has helped me have a better understanding of how families, teachers, and young children are affected by early childhood issues and trends around the world.      

   
Singapore Children's Society





National Head Start Association


Working to help children have a better future.

 

Week 7 - International Early Childhood Education issues that Relate to my Professional Goals

Since my international contacts are not able to dialog with me on a regular basis I choose to do the alternative assignment.  I explored the UNESCO's "Early Childhood Care and Education"   web page and found some ideas that related to my professional goals.

In looking at the UNESCO's "Early Childhood Care and Education" web page I was able to correlate  information that related to my professional goals.  My first goal is to help support young children in the classroom.  On the web page I found a link that led me to Curriculum in early childhood education and care which talks about the importance of curriculum and implementing it to meet the needs of the children through educated trained early childhood teachers.
My second goal is to get more involved in my community to help provide young children with the opportunity to have early learning experiences.  When I was reading about what is happening around the world in how much access children have to early education it seems that the wealthy have more opportunity to place their children in high-quality learning programs and the poor do not always have access to these services or the services are not able to meet the needs of all the children.  I read through the Access and equity section of the web page and some of the links.  Most countries see the importance of early education but have a hard time funding it.
My third goal is to be able to provide teachers and families with the tools to help support young children so that they can have a good start in building the foundation of learning.  On the web site it states that parents involvement and relevant leaning materials ensure that early learning materials remain relevant to the needs of the children (UNESCO, nd.).

I have learned from exploring the UNESCO'S web page on early childhood that their are many organizations that are partnering with them to get the conversation started about early childhood issues and to start making changes in other countries that will benefit young children and their families.  The process takes time but if everyone can become one voice for early childhood them change will happen.  Some of the other organizations are:
Bernard van Leer Foundation  is based in the Netherlands and funds and shares knowledge about work in Early Childhood Development (ECD) to support programmes that create significant positive change for children up to the age of eight.
Our mission is to improve opportunities for children up to age 8 who are growing up in socially and economically difficult circumstances. We see this both as a valuable end in itself and as a long-term means to promoting more cohesive, considerate and creative societies with equal opportunities and rights for all.

The World Bank helps countries integrate education into national economic strategies and develop holistic education systems responsive to national socio-economic needs and being conscious of the powerful economic and social justifications for early investment.

There are many more organizations around the world that are involved and it makes me realize that there are possibilities that can open up for early childhood so that young children can have access to quality preschool, families can have access to services to help support early learning and for their children and early childhood teachers can also receive the support and training they need to be able to provide a quality preschool program.

Sharing Web Resources - Week 6

Over the past few weeks I have been exploring the web site of the National Head Start Association.  One of the outside links is to their regional and state affiliates.  I decided to look at the California Head Start Association.  On the first page of their web site there are four areas with different information, Learn, Attend, Act and Join.  Under "Learn" I explored the CHSA Projects and there are several grant opportunities for Head Start schools.  One of these projects was for a school garden and the sponsor was the Western Growers Foundation.  The goals of this project is to generate fun and learning about fresh vegetables, healthy eating and active living through gardening (California Head Start Association, 2011)  


Under the "Attend" link their is information on where to locate a Head Start in a specific area of California and job opportunities.  Under the "Act" link there is information on Head Start policy issues, how to support by donating to the $2 Per Child Campaign, and information on Advocacy resources.  Under the "Join" link people are able to receive a CHSA newsletter, discounts to their conferences, information on events and information and discounts form the corporate sponsors.  

I do not get an newsletter, but there are links to past newsletters and press releases.  The most current press release talks about how the U.S. House of Representatives proposes to cut funds to Head Start.  Proposed funding cuts were a surprise to program leaders and raise questions about long term impacts (CHSA, 2011).  The proposed cuts would reduce Head Start funding by over 20%. If these cuts are enacted, in California 27,000 children and their families will be dropped from Head Start’s education, health, and support service programs. An estimated 6,000 California staff members will lose their jobs. This comes in the midst of California’s state budget woes, where thousands of working families may soon also be losing child care services, creating a domino effect of endangering their own ability to work (CHSA, 2011). I had heard about this from a Head Start Director but I did not realize the impact until I saw the actual numbers.  This is an inequity for the children and families that need this service not only to prepare the children for school but so parents can work.


The CHSA web site has a lot of information and resources for early childhood professionals who work for Head Start and for Families who participate in Head Start or are interested in the program.  Even if you do not work for Head Start you can gain valuable information about issues and policies in early childhood.


Resource
California Head Start Association

Getting to Know Your International Contacts - Part 2

I was able to get a response back from two early childhood professionals.  The first person is from Australia and she will help if she can but she is going to have a baby any day and so I have not had a response to my second e-mail.  The second person I got a hold of is from Singapore, Mrs. Wong.  She does not have time to dialog on a regular basis but she did give me a web address that has a lot of information on issues and trends in early childhood in Singapore.  The web site is called Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and has information on child care policies, research on children and family services, and other information regarding children and families. I looked at the information on the Guidelines for Center-Based Infant/Toddler Care in Singapore and it was interesting to see that the ratio is 1:5 and here in California it is 1:4 and the National Association for the Education of Young Children recommends a ratio1:3.  The age range for Infant/Toddlers is 2months to 18 months in Singapore and the age range in the US is 2 months to 24 months.  In Singapore they have an Infant Educator or an Infant Nurse.  They both have to be over 21 years of age and have certificates in Infant/Toddler care and development.  the Infant nurse is a registered nurse and I found that interesting because in the US nurses get paid more than an ECE teacher so I would be curious what they get paid in Singapore to work in the ECE field.
It also seems that the Parliament in Singapore is concerned with the quality and acceptability of preschool for all children.  In this Parliamentary Motion on Pre-School Education document it shows that in Singapore they are moving forward to provide quality in early childhood education.