Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that they will still value and keep their culture while blending the dominate culture with their own as an attempt to coexist in our ever changing society. 

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is create learning environments that provide opportunities for all cultures to be represented in learning materials as well as encourage families to come and share their culture with the classroom. 

I would like to send a social thanks to my colleagues as we take this journey together!! Thank you for all your comments…your thoughts…your suggestions.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

I choose a family from the country origin of Africa.  

Five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

·         Research their country’s views about child development

·         Research the roles of each family member

·         Print real life images of items in their country that coincide with similar used items in the learning environment

·         Printed vocabulary words that can be translated to have shared meanings

·         Provide similar clothing from their country in dramatic play area

I hope my preparation I describe above provides me with the needed information to building a relationship with the child and his/her family.  I also hope that the family will feel welcome and respected in my learning environment.  Finally, I hope the learning materials will provide the child with opportunities to share his/her knowledge about materials. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

Throughout my 29 years of life in this ever changing society I witnessed various groups of people be discriminated against.  My most empowering incident of prejudice was with my co-worker who was homosexual.  Her and her partner had been trying to adopt a child for years before adopting their bundle of joy.  Through their process they were denied many times because of her sexual orientation.  My co-worker shared some of the interview questions that agencies asked them about that appeared to be bias in nature due to fact that the questions were about how they would be able to provide a ‘’balance’’ household without having a male in the picture.  This question made my wheels turn because I doubt that heterosexual couples were asked about their roles as mothers and fathers.  But needless to say they were able to finally work with an agency that focused on placing children in nurturing families instead of families that focus on sexual orientation.  The incident with my co-worker diminished equity because one’s sexual orientation does not determine whether they are responsible and nurturing parents.

            This incident brought sadness to my heart because my co-worker was being denied the privilege of being a mother due to her sexual orientation.  It made me think about how high the divorce rate is for heterosexual couples and the effect it would have on adopted children.  I wonder if the bias agencies that denied my co-worker only cared about heterosexual couples adopting children regardless of their happiness together.  

            There is nothing I would do to change the incident with my co-worker because she pushed through the prejudice she experienced by continuing her search to adopt a child through a respectable agency that did not care about sexual orientation.  

 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

 ‘’Microaggressions are brief everyday indignities that are verbal, behavioral or environmental, that they may be intentional or unintentionally communicated to women, to people of color, to gay/lesbians that have an insulting message behind them that often time causes severe psychological distress and harm’’ (‘’Microaggression in Everyday Life’’).  An example of microaggression which I have detected this week would be when I was in the grocery store with my seven year old daughter.  We were standing in line to checkout and my daughter said, ‘’mommy can I have this?’’.  The elderly woman behind me said, ‘’honey your parents must be very disappointed in you, but she sure is pretty’’ while looking at me daughter and then me.  This woman in the store assumed I was a teenage age pregnancy due to my physical appearance looking younger than 29.  This example of microaggression is unintentional and invisible nature of microaggressions due to the fact that the elderly woman probably considers herself a good, moral, decent individual.  The elderly woman did not think she was being offensive in her comments, but rather making an incident in nature comment.  I understood that the elderly woman did not mean any harm, but I was offended that she group with teenage girls.  I also felt disrespected because my husband and I planned our daughter like responsible adults at the age of 21. 

Concluding this assignment, I feel I have more empathy for those who experience discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes in their lifetime due to the fact that some people do not mean to offend others, but lack to social skills to express their thoughts/feeling appropriately. 

 

Reference

‘’Microaggression in Everyday Life’’

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I asked three people who were from different culture than mine what is their definition of culture and diversity.  They responded with the following:

1.      Breanna:  ‘’Culture to me is the representation of someone’s ethnicity, or the lifestyle of a group of people.  Diversity to me is when one things different from another’’.

2.      Taber:  ‘’Diversity is a mixture of whatever.  Like if your talking about music then you may have a mix og hip hop, country, alternative rock, rap, pop, jazz, etc.  or if your talking about having a diverse mix of fruit then you have grapes, papayas, applies, watermelon, strawberries, etc. culture is something you partake in as part of your living.  Something about you.  Like black culture, hip hop culture, skater, etc’’. 

3.      Melissa:  ‘’Culture to me is when we are influenced by our surroundings it could be religion, foods, careers and of course our heritage.  Diversity to me is different cultures coming all together.’’ 

After interviewing these people I feel I have confirmed my understanding of culture and diversity which coincides with our course materials.  All three responses covered all aspects of culture which were supported in the media presentation, "Family Cultures: Dynamic Interactions’’.  The panelists defined culture in the field of early childhood by looking at children and their families’ race, ethnicity, language, religion, abilities, social class, and parenting styles.  All of these characteristics that influence culture effects the development of children.  I addition, Janet Gonzalez-Mena, from the media presentation, stated, ‘’And it's been said often enough to make it almost a cliché that culture is like an iceberg, that only the tip of it shows and all the rest, that's the part that's easy to celebrate; the food, the music, the customs, the books, the literature, all that wonderful stuff that's so diverse around the world. But the unconscious part, that huge 90% of the iceberg that lurks below the surface is where the tensions come in, as people have very different ideas about what children need’’ ("Culture and Diversity").  Her statement also supported the responses I received from the three individuals I interviewed because culture has so many definitions and contributes to so many aspects of life that eventually enhance and build upon the meaning of culture.  I do not this that the three individual interviewed omitted any aspects of what culture is due to the fact they covered the general aspects of culture.  However, culture is ever changing due to our diverse society which determines what is socially appropriate.    

Finally, through this activity I have been able to look deeper into my own culture to better understand why I carry myself the way I do and why I act the way I do or parent the way I parent.  In addition, this assignment has added to my understanding of diversity and equity as it relates to the health and well-being of young children and their family because I feel empowered to encourage families to share their culture in the classroom as well as I have a new look on what diversity really means.  In the past I felt diversity was a mix of various group that coexist, but now I feel like diversity really is a group of people that visually look different but are jointly trying to act and behave in a similar manner. 

My Family Culture

If I was evacuated to another county I would bring a Bible, family photo album, and my wedding ring.  I would bring the Bible because my faith is my foundation and rock through any struggles that may come my way.  I would bring a family photo album as an attempt to carry my family heritage and memories along to other generations.  Finally, I would bring my wedding ring as a reminder of love, compassion, and commitment. 

I would explain to others the value of my three items by sharing stories in the Bible; by sharing family stories that corresponds pictures in album; and share stories about my marriage and why it is valuable to me and my family. 

I would be devastated if I found out that I was unable to bring all three items with me when I was relocated because each item has its own sentimental value to me as well as provides a story for my future generations.

The insight that I have gained after completing this assignment is a better understanding of what is really important to me.  I love shopping and buying materialistic items, but when I took a hard look at what was important I felt that I needed to reassess my life and values because materialistic items do not provide anything for my future generation that will provide them with the needed tools to succeed in their lives and society.

When I Think of Research...

The insight I have gained throughout this course has provided me the knowledge to better understand the variables that are involved in qualitative and quantitative research designs. In these types of research designs the variables are the independent variable, the dependent variable, and the extraneous variable. 

 An independent variable is a variable in quantitative research that can be manipulated by the researcher to influence or change another variable (Lepuschitz, 2011).  For instance, in my research simulation, poverty is the independent variable because it influences children’s ability to achieve developmental milestones. The groups will be established based upon socioeconomic status.  One group will experience having early childhood resources, and the other group will not have access to early childhood resources. 

A dependent variable is the variable in quantitative research that undergoes changes as a result of the influence of other variables (Lepuschitz, 2011).  For example my research simulation, children’s ability to achieve developmental milestones would be the dependent variable because children’s ability to achieve developmental milestones are influenced by outside factors or variables.

By recognizing this limitation, I have identified my extraneous variable.  An extraneous variable is a variable in quantitative research that is not the focus of the research, but can influence change in another variable (Lepuschitz, 2011).  The availability of early childhood resources in children’s community would be an extraneous variable because it also influences children’s ability to achieve developmental milestones.    

My ideas about the nature of research have changed because I have better understanding of  what is needed to ensure the validity of methodological triangulation.  According to Mac Naughton, Rolfe, and Siraj-Blatchford (2010), ‘’validity is the process of establishing the ‘truth’ of the research outcomes’’ (p. 370).  More specifically to qualitative research, validity is a statement that judges the extent of the research’s ability to capture valuable information of the field being studied as well as analyzes them with integrity (MacNoughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).  Through the process of triangulation, qualitative researchers are able to build a robust picture of events by analyzing data from various perspectives as an attempt to reduce aspects of bias.  In methodological triangulation, researchers use multiple methods to study a single issue (MacNoughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).  In my opinion, through methodological triangulation researchers are able to get a full view of what is being studied due to having the ability to use multiple methods to better understand the issue being studies. In the field of early childhood, I believe this method is most beneficial because it allows us as early childhood professionals to better understand the meaning behind children’s development and learning strategies due to the uniqueness of children individual development.   I believe methodological triangulation contributes to the validity of a study because through this method sample groups are able to show different ways they can attempt various tasks which will provide researchers with information to better understand the issue being studied. 

Concluding this class, I feel I have learned many lessons about mixed methods.  By understanding mixed methods designs I was better able to undertreated my research simulation on poverty’s effects on children’s ability achieve developmental milestones.   I believe that using mixed method approach with my research simulation on poverty’s effects on children’s ability to achieve developmental milestones would be beneficial due to fact that mixed methods approach ‘’allows inclusion of issues and strategies surrounding methods of data collection, methods of research, and related philosophical issues ’’ (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, & Turner, 2007, p. 125).  Throughout my research simulation I have found it very useful to use various types of qualitative research designs to better understand my research question as well as how to narrow down the focus of the study.   By using mixed methods I am able to better understand the individual development of each child in the sample groups due to using various ways to collect data through questionnaires, interviews, and observations.  The main reason I perceive using mixed methods in my research simulation is because ‘’mixed methods research involves the use of more than one approach to or method of design, data collection or data analysis within a single program of study, with integration of the different approaches or methods occurring during the program of study, and not just at its concluding point’’ (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, & Turner, 2007, p. 123).  In other words, my research simulation would benefit greatly by using a combination of any different approaches, methods, data, and analyses as a way to better understand children’s development from both low and high socioeconomic statuses. 

The challenges I face throughout this courses is understanding the terminology used in the course textbook.  I was able to meet this challenge by downloading a dictionary and synonym application on my smart phone as an attempt to understand the meaning of words. 

My perception of early childhood professionals has been modified due to adding researchers to the title of ‘’early childhood professional’’.  Researchers provide early childhood educators with valuable information about the development of children as well as provides us with information based from children’s perspectives which has allowed the field of early childhood to better accommodate the individual needs of children and their families. 

Reference                                                                         

Johnson, R. B., Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Turner, L. A. (2007). Toward a definition of mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(2), 112-133. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the SAGE Premier 2010 database.

Lepuschitz, J.K. (2011). Introduction to variables. Laureate Education Inc., Baltimore, MD.

Lepuschitz, J.K. (2011). Quantitative designs: An overview. Laureate Education Inc., Baltimore

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

 

Early Childhood Australia

                The website for Early Childhood Australia discusses current international research topics like:

·         Quality early childhood services

·         Support for quality early education and care

·         Childcare funding

·         Early Years Workforce Strategy

·         Budget implications for early childhood resources

                After reviewing Early Childhood Australia website, I have gain insight on a country that is experiencing similar struggles in regards to the field of early childhood.   I found the mission statement,

‘’Early Childhood Australia will advocate to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years’’.

to be empowering because I feel even more compelled to advocate for children and their families with new eyes that allow me to be more aware of addressing the issues of quality, social justice, and equity in the field of early childhood.   

                I found Early Childhood Australia’s values to be noteworthy information to share:

The rights of children

Leadership

Excellence

Respect

Courage

Honesty

Openness

Collaboration

Diversity

Justice

Social inclusion of children

As early childhood professionals we all should place an emphasis in these values when working with children and their families.

Reference

Early Childhood Australia. Retrieved from: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Research that Benefits Children and Families

I found the article, Reducing Poverty through Preschool Intervention, to be very informative about providing me with information about the issue of poverty and its effect on the development of children during their early years of life.  Throughout the field of early childhood various studies on neuroscience research have agreed that children’s cognitive development is built on foundational skills that are established in early development through life experiences (Duncan, Ludwig, & Magnuson, 2007).  Hence the reason Duncan, Ludwig, and Magnuson proposed that preschool interventions contribute to children’s future lifetime outcomes due to mastering various social and cognitive skills during early development (Duncan, Ludwig, & Magnuson, 2007).  During early development, children are also developing the capacity to self-regulate themselves.  Children’s ability to self-regulate is directly connected to their brain development which has been constructed from early emotional experiences children experience (Duncan, Ludwig, & Magnuson, 2007). 

            The achievement gap impoverished children are experiencing during preschool years have influenced their cognitive and socioemotional development.  This achievement gap has affected children’s future academic success.  To address this inequity, Duncan, Ludwig, and Magnuson (2007) suggest a national curriculum for early childhood programs to create which would influence preschool reading, mathematics, and behavioral interventions which ultimately will foster children’s academic achievements  and reduce the achievement gap (Duncan, Ludwig, & Magnuson, 2007).

 

Reference

Duncan, G. J., Ludwig, J., & Magnuson, K. A. (2007). Reducing Poverty through Preschool Intervention. The Future of Children, 17(2).

My Personal Research Journey: Poverty

Through this course, Research in Early Childhood, I will focus on the issue of poverty and how it contributes to the development of children and their families as well as to the field of early childhood education.  I choose to research the issue of poverty because I strongly believe all children deserve quality learning experiences during early childhood development.  However, in our society today many children are not attending high quality early childhood programs due to their low socioeconomic status.  For this reason, I feel compelled to open numerous in-home early childhood education programs that are located in low income neighborhoods. 

Through the beginning of this course, I have gained insight that provided me with a clear framework for the requirements for obtaining valid and knowledgeable resources on the issue of poverty.  I look forward to starting my research on the issue of poverty because children are the future of our society regardless of their families’ income. 

If anyone has any insights or resources about the issue of poverty please feel free to share.  I look forward to my findings and any suggestions :)

Final Blog For Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field

Throughout this course, Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field, I have become aware of various consequences about the international early childhood field that have contributed to my personal and professional development.  First, I feel compelled to collaborate with other early childhood professionals to advocate for children and their families who are being affected by various issues that affect the development of children during early development.  Second, I feel grateful that I reside in the United States of America even through we still have much work ahead of us to address the issues of inequities in field of early childhood development.  Many countries that I have researched throughout this course are struggling to deal with higher levels of poverty and inequities that they are nowhere near addressing early childhood development.  Third, I feel compelled to save money and travel to another country as an attempt to provide quality learning experiences to a few children and their families.  Maximizing a few children’s learning experiences is better than none.  Hence, the reason I strongly believe that we as early childhood professionals can change children’s quality of life one at a time. 

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The website for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) provided me with information about the early childhood field.  UNESCO is one of the prominent organizations that leads the international policy initiative for an integrated early childhood care and education system that incorporates both the well-being and whole development of the child. UNESCO mission is to support early childhood policy development which focuses on building a solid foundation for children to become lifelong learners. 

UNESCO advocates for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programs that address issues like health, nutrition, security and learning that provides children with holistic development.  UNESCO ‘’organized the first World Conference on ECCE in September 2010, which culminated in the adoption of a global action agenda for ECCE called Moscow Framework for Action and Cooperation: Harnessing the Wealth of Nations’’("United nations educational,").  In addition, ‘’UNESCO works in partnership with Member States, partners and other stakeholders to encourage timely and effective implementation of the Moscow Framework so that all young children develop their potential to the fullest’’ ("United nations educational,").

The website provided me with some insight that I can use to better accommodate the individual needs of children and their families.  For instance, the website provided detailed information about access, equity, and quality in early childhood education.  According to UNESCO,  ‘’Privileged children of the target age group benefit from state investment, while poor children of non-target ages receive scant government attention. A policy of universalization with targeting can minimize inequity where governments aim for universal access among the target age group, but simultaneously priorities the poor’’ ("United nations educational,") .  Knowing this information, I feel even more compelled to continue providing quality early childhood care in my home to low income children and their families as an attempt to bridge the achievement gap between socioeconomic classes.  In addition, UNESCO suggested  ‘’there are no universally agreed criteria for quantifying ECCE quality but useful factors to consider include pedagogy materials, personnel training, service setting and parental education and involvement. Learning materials should be quantitatively, culturally and developmentally adequate and focus on child-centered interaction’’ ("United nations educational,").  This information has contributed to my career as an early childhood professional by providing me with the framework for defining quality in early childhood education as well as a framework for what I need to consider when creating a learning environment for the children and families I serve. 

Reference

United nations educational, scientific and cultural organization. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/

Additional Early Childhood Resources

National Black Child Development Institute

The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) works collaboratively with 27 communities around the U.S. to contribute to the quality of lives of black children and their families through advocacy and education.  For instance, they have worked to ‘’improve child welfare services, make universal early care and education a reality, build family support services, press for educational reform and provide vital information reading our children’s health’’ (‘’National Black Child Development Institute’’).  The websites provides resources to families about the importance of early childhood education by providing links that go into detail about various initiatives and publications like T.E.A.C.H., child welfare, early childhood education, health & nutrition, and literacy. The website also provided me with insight about their annual conference that I feel inspired to as an attempt to become more informed about the issues affecting the quality of education black children are receiving due to the limited resources in their communities.  I feel after attending the annual conference I will be a better advocate for black children and their families because I will have a better understanding of what is taking place in their local communities. Finally, NBCDI strongly recognizes the pivotal role that all members of the black community play in addressing the issue of equity and access in early childhood education. 

National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators

The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators is a group of professionals that have shared love for the early childhood field.  They focus on advocating for the needed improvements in early childhood teacher education as well as provide the needed network for early childhood educators.  This website contributed to my insight as an early childhood professional by providing me valid resources and publications about current issues and trends affecting the field of early childhood education.  Finally, I also felt compelled to become an active member.  Wow!  The resources we have been exposed to throughout my master program!

References

The National Black Child Development Institute (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nbcdi.org/

National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educator (n.d.). Received from http://naecte.org/

Global Children’s Initiative

The Center on the Developing Child has launched the Global Children’s Initiative that addresses the international issue of providing a unified worldwide approach to child survival, health, and development during early childhood development.  The Center on the Developing Child is committed to representing children by acknowledging the moral responsibility we have as a society to contribute to their development by investing ‘’in the roots of economic productivity, positive health outcomes, and strong civil society in all nations, from the poorest to the most affluent’’ (‘’Global children’s initiative,’’) through collaborating with others across disciplines and institutions.  In addition, ‘’the Global Children’s Initiative seeks to advance the Center's core mission globally by implementing a compelling research, public engagement and leadership development agenda in child health and development that is grounded in science and engages researchers, public leaders, practitioners, and students from a wide range of institutions around the world’’ (‘’Global children's initiative,’’ ).

The Center on the Developing Child has provided me with insight that has influence my knowledge has an early childhood professional.   After analyzing the website for the Center on the Developing Child, I feel more informed about what is needed for children to maximize their development regardless of socioeconomic status.  As an advocate for early childhood development, I feel compelled to educate high-level decision-makers about early childhood development; support the Global Initiative by understanding how healthy development occurs as well as how it can be derailed and how development can get back on track; and build relationships with policymakers as an attempt to advocate for all children regardless of socioeconomic status across countries.  All of my efforts to advocate for children and their families will ultimately contribute to the growing global movement of better the quality of early education for all children’s learning experiences.     

The Center on the Developing Child also provided me with information about issues of equity and excellence that have been acquired internationally.  For instance, the Center on the Developing Child has initiated various projects that will affect the development of children across the globe.  For example,  ‘’piloting assessments to measure child development outcomes linked to malaria control strategies in Zambia; and expanding effective interventions to improve preschool quality in Chile’’ (‘’Global children’s initiative,’’).

References

Global children's initiative. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/

Sharing Web Resources

The National Head Start Association (NHSA) website, http://www.nhsa.org/,  has provided me with various resources like news and advocacy in the field of early childhood development as well as informed me of services that are beneficial to the children and families I serve or will serve.  In addition, the NHSA website also has provided me with current research information that has been very valuable in my career as an early childhood professional due to being able to reference various materials that address individual needs of children and families I work with.

The NHSA provides disaster relief for children and their families who are victims of a natural disaster.   When I found out this information, I felt confirmed that this was a great organization that keeps children and their families best interest in mind regardless of their lack of income.  In addition, the last few weeks of class, I have gained more knowledge about the issue of poverty and how it effects the development of children.  The NHSA is contributing to better the quality of life for children who are not as fortunate which ultimately will give the tools needed to increase their socioeconomic status as adults.   

The NHSA website has added to my understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, politicians support the early childhood field by providing me with validated research that has the support of many policymakers and stakeholders due to the fact that NHSA being a creditable source for information about early childhood development.  

The NHSA has provided me with new insight about issues and trends in the field of early childhood development through the various conferences they host that focus on various issues and trends occurring in society today that are effecting the development of children.  After finding this information on the website I was influenced to register for a local conference that focuses on the importance of building relationships.  

Poverty in China: Nan Nan's Story

The case study, Nan Nan: life in a poor migrant family is tough, focused on the life experiences of a fourteen-year-old girl, Nan Nan, and her family who live in poverty in Hefei, China.  Nan Nan family moved from a farm town in Shucheng, China as an attempt to provide Nan Nan and her brother a better education than what they were receiving in Shucheng.  However, the cost of living in Hefei is higher than Shucheng which required Nan Nan’s parents to work undesirable jobs that did not allow them much family time.  As a result, Nan Nan’s parents are unable to support her with her school work which is contributing to Nan Nan falling behind her peer group.

I found this case study to be very interesting as well as admiral.  The parents wanted to provide their children with a better life by sending her to a higher quality school.  Their efforts are very admirable, but I wonder if the move was really in their family’s best interest because the parents are not home enough to support their children with school because they have to work many hours to sustain even though all their efforts still only provide them with enough to live in poverty.

I gained three insights after reading this case study: (1) children in rural Shucheng are at a disadvantage because they are not receiving the same quality education as children in Hefei; (2) parental involvement effects children’s ability to be successful in school; and (3) parents working more hours away from their children to provide financially for them may not be the best idea if they are unable to support their children. 

I’m not sure what I would do if I was Nan Nan’s parents after knowing how their choice to relocate has effected Nan Nan’s educational experience because they were unable to support her due to having financial struggle to provide.  As a mother, I want the best for my daughter while still being able to support her in school as well as in anything she chooses to pursue.  I think the that Nan Nan’s parents were stuck between a rock and a hard place because they wanted her to experience  a quality education for a better future, but did not have the income to provide the experience.  I do take my hat off to their choice because by providing a quality education to Nan Nan, she will have a better chance to not repeat the cycle of living in poverty like her family had to.

Reference

Case study - nan nan: life in a poor migrant family is tough. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=casestudy&id=135   

Sharing Web Resources

I choose to focus on the National Head Start Association, NHSA.  You can follow their link, http://nhsa.org, to obtain anymore information outside of the information I will provide. 

The vision of the NHSA is to lead and advocate for vulnerable children and families.  In addition, NHSA vision is ‘’to be the untiring voice that will not be quiet until every vulnerable child is served with the Head Start model of support for the whole child, the family and the community’’ (National Head Start Association) as well as ‘’to work diligently for policy and intuitional changes that ensure all vulnerable children and families have what they need to succeed’’ (National Head Start Association).  NHSA’s ‘’mission is to coalesce, inspire and support the Head Start field as a leader in early childhood development and education’’ (National Head Start Association). 

The government affairs update for the National Head Start Association on August 4, 2011 focuses on the major outcomes of the deal on the debt limit as well as how the debt limit deal affects Head Start.  In sum, the deal on the debt limit has two positive outcomes ’’(1) the extra funding for Pell grants, since Pell grants come from the same bill that funds Head Start, and (2) the fact that immediate cuts to discretionary spending are higher than in the House purpose Ryan budget’’ (National Head Start Association).

                I found this website to be very informative about the issues and trends that are affecting the early childhood field.  The government affairs update provided me with information about how the lack of money effects the quality of resources vulnerable children and families receives.  The population that Head Start serves are already at a disadvantage due to their socioeconomic status so the deal on the debt limit will affect them tremendously because these children and families are in need of high quality early childhood services which they will not receive due to the budget cuts.  However, as an early childhood professional I feel even more dedicated to providing children and families will affordable high quality early childhood services.

References

National Head Start Association. Retrieved from http://nhsa.org

National Head Start Association. Retrieved from http://www.nhsa.org/news_and_advocacy/advocacy/legislative_eupdate

Establishing Professional Contacts

As I kick off this next course in my journey to earning my Master of Science in Early Childhood Studies, I have attempted to begin networking with other early childhood professionals outside of the Unites States of America as an attempt to gain more information on various issues and trends in the field of early childhood development.  As of now, I have emailed various professionals in Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Czech Republic. I hope I will get a response because I am looking forward to networking with a fellow professionals and getting a new cultural perspective about various issues and trends in early childhood development.   I chose to use the Global Alliance for the Education of Young Children (http://www.naeyc.org/resources/partnership/globalalliance#australia) website to help me find early childhood professionals outside of the Unites States of America. I selected the following agencies to begin my journey:
Albania
Step by Step Center
Gerda Sula Qendra Hap pas Hapi
Email: sbsal@interalb.net

Belarus
Belorussian Parents' and Teachers' League "Step by Step"
Iryna Lapitskaya
Email: sbtbyst@openby.com

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Center for Educational Initiatives Step by Step
Radmila Rangelov- Jusovic
Email: radmila@costepbystep.ba

Bulgaria
OMEP Bulgarian National Committee
Step by Step Program Foundation Bulgaria
Emil Buzov
Email: emil.step@bitex.com

Croatia

Open Academy "Step by Step", "Korak po Korak"

Nives Milinovic

Email: nives@korakpokorak.hr

Czech Republic
OMEP Czech National Committee
Step by Step Czech Republic
Lucie Rastocna
Email: lucie.rastocna@sbscr.cz
 
Finally, wish me well on my journey!! I hope one of these agency contacts me back because I am very curious to learn more about their country and views regarding early childhood development. 

My Supports

     In my home environment, my husband provides me with the needed support to make our household function.  He provides me with support by maintaining our finances, working as team to raise our daughter as well has be my sounding board for any outside stressors that I may be experiencing.  In addition, he provides me with the needed time and space to be the best student I can be.  He also is my proofreader! As a result, when I earn my grades each semester we share the credit of the hard work needed to earn a Masters of Science.  I believe the support my husband provides me with is beneficial because when people are stressed or overloaded with too many tasks they tend not to be as successful as I have been able to be due to the support I receive.  In addition, the support he provides me with always reassures me that I have someone in my corner wanting the best for me.   I believe it would be extremely difficult to be a successful mother, wife, and student if it wasn’t for the support of my husband.  He is my better half that balances out my busy schedule.  I also believe if my husband was gone from life I would struggle tremendously.  I do not think I would be a graduate student as well as I do not think that our daughter would be as well rounded as she is because she would be unable to participate in the activities of her choosing due to the limited time I could provide her to support her in her endeavors.   
     In my work environment, my co-teachers and clinicians provide me with the needed support I need to be the best early childhood professional I can be for the children and families that I serve.  They provided me with various resources that I can implement into the curriculum and learning environment to maximize each child’s learning experiences.   In addition, the clinicians provide me with the needed trainings and techniques to provide early interventions to atypical developing children.  The support I receive at work is beneficial because the children and families I serve are able to receive endless resources from various perspectives in the field of early childhood development.   I believe if I did not have the support from my co-teachers and clinicians the children and families would suffer because they would be missing the collaboration needed to fully accommodate the individual needs of the children and families being served in the program.  In addition, I believe if I lost the support from these early childhood professionals I would not be able to be a successful educator or resource for children and families because I strongly believe it takes many early childhood professionals to collaborate to fully create a curriculum and learning environment for atypical and typical developing children. 
     When I think of challenges that I would face if I did not have the support from the clinicians I work very close with at work, I envision a chaotic learning environment that did not meet the needs of the children.  I see a classroom with learning centers setup without the needed adaptive learning materials to accommodate the needs of the atypical developing population being served.  I also see uneducated teachers providing low quality early interventions to children who are in need of a high quality early intervention program as an attempt to meet the needs of their adjusted age as well as provide them with various resources to shorten the gap between the children’s chronological age and adjusted age.  In conclusion, I believe the early intervention program I work with require the needed support of all clinician due to the individual needs of the population being served in the program.  The children and families need the support from all clinicians and teachers to accommodate the individual needs of the children, hence the reason it is vital for the collaborations between the families, clinicians, and teachers. 

        

        

My Connections to Play

Quotes:

 “Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.”
― Flannery O'Connor

“When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.”
― Patrick Rothfuss

Toys from my youth:
   

            People during my early childhood development supported the role of play by providing me with various toys, handmade or store bought, to play with independently or with other children.  In addition, they also assisted me in making my own toys.  My personal favorite toys were the ones of my own creation like forts built out of boxes or paper dolls made out of old newspapers.    

Play during my childhood is different in comparison to the play occurring in today’s society.  Children today tend to play with more technical advanced toys like Playstation , Xbox 360, and iPads.  In my opinion, children today are losing their innate abilities to be creative due to the lack of using materials to create toys to play with.  However, children today may need these more advanced technical devices to prepare them for the direction society is headed in the future.  I believe there should be a balance of creativity and technology to fully maximize children’s learning experiences while still preparing them for our ever changing society.   

My play experiences have influenced the woman I have become today because I was allowed to practice becoming the awesome wife and mother I am today.  Through play I was able to explore cooking, cleaning, and nurturing with various toys.  In addition, I am now able to imitate most toys in stores today through the creativity I was allowed to explore at a young age. Also, the creativity that was fostered during my childhood has influenced my self-concept as well has my self-esteem to pursue anything in life I could ever imagine.   

Relationship Reflection

Relationships and partnerships are extremely meaningful to me as an early childhood professional.  Through these relationships and partnerships, I am able to better serve the children and families I work with due to the nature of our relationship or partnership that has been established over time.  Establishing a relationship or partnership is key to truly assessing the child as a whole due to being able to bridge the gap between home and school through my interactions with the family.  Through my relationship and partnership, I am able to be a better resource for the children and families I serve due to being able to assess children in a variety of settings in their environment as well as inform the family about techniques that could better accommodate the individual needs of the family. 

I have a positive relationship and partnership with the children and families I serve as well a positive relationship with my personal family.  In my personal relationships, I am provided the support needed for me to reach my full potential in my career as an early childhood professional as well as provide me with a sounding board for various ideas.  My partnership with the children and families provides me with hands-on learning experiences that contribute to me becoming a better resource for children and families.  The factors that contribute to developing and maintaining each of my relationships and partnerships are my ability to stay open about techniques that may be used in the home as well as my ability to obtain information about various cultures and ethnicities of the children and families being served.  My partnership with parents is maintained through open communication may it be via phone, email, or text.    

The challenge that I have faced while developing and maintaining my relationships is my ability to stay objective.  Staying objective is very challenging when working in the home with children and families because as an early childhood professional I am educated in the area of child development, unlike the parents I serve.  I constantly need to keep myself in check about my personal feelings and focus my attention on meeting the individual needs of children and families. 

The special characteristic that is needed to maintain a partnership is the ability to respect other cultures outside of your own personal culture.  When we as early childhood professional respect children and families’ culture, we open the door for future lines of communication with families due to them feeling respected and accepted.  In addition, we can also provide families with various learning materials that are more appropriate to their personal customs or beliefs. 

In my personal experiences as an early childhood professional, I find my partnership with families is vital for their children to be successful in a variety of settings.  I have found that when you respect families’ customs or belief about childhood, families tend to be less guarded about making changes to maximize their children’s learning experiences.  In addition, I find that when I have a partnership with families my relationship with their children tend to be stronger and the children tend to respond to me in a more natural way regardless of social setting.     

When I Think of Child Development …

Anonymous-

"Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate."

Unknown-

"Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time".

Aristotle-

"Good habits formed at youth make all the difference".

Unknown-

"Give me a child for the first seven years and you may do what you want with him afterwards".

I'm coming to an end to another course which makes me closer to earning my Master of Arts in Early Childhood Studies with a specialization in Teaching and Diversity in Early Childhood. I would like to thank everyone for supporting me thus far as well as show my appreciation for the various contributions throughout this course. I am forever grateful!

Middle Childhood Development: Testing for Intelligence?

I believe children should be assessed  in all five domains of development: physical, social, cognitive, communicative, and adaptive.

Physical development includes children's ability to master movement, balance, fine and gross motor skills. For example, children can walk on a line or small balance beam and balance on one foot. Children also develop the skills to throw and catch a ball, walk up and down stairs without assistance as well as do somersaults. In addition, children begin to master motor skills that allow them to build block towers, draw circles and crosses as well as use safety scissors.

Social development refers children's ability to make and maintain relationships. During early and middle childhood development, children cooperate with others and begins to develop conflict resolution skills. For example, children enjoy engaging in group games and begin to understand the concept of playing fairly with others.  In addition, children can tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but still enjoy engaging in imaginative play with others.

Cognitive development includes children's ability to learn and think.  For instance, during early and middle childhood children develop the ability to sort objects and organize materials by classification.  In addition, children's attention span increases and they seek to gain more information through questions.  Children also know the difference between fact and fiction which allow them to understand the difference between the truth and a lie.

Communicative development includes children's ability to understand the spoken word of others as well as express themselves verbally. For example, children talk about experiences, shares personal information and understands positional concepts such as up and down. In addition, children are capable of engaging in a back-and-forth conversation.

Adaptive skills refer to children's ability to dress themselves, feed themselves, use the toilet, or wash themselves. For example, children learn to dress and undress themselves without assistance, use utensils for eating and can pour some liquid without assistance.  In addition, children also become able to use buttons and snaps as well as can take care of toileting independently.

I believe various assessment tools can only truly be effective if they incorporate the whole child. The whole child consist of the five domains described above.  As an an early childhood professional, I find knowing this information provides me with all the needed details to accomodate the individual needs of children which include their typical or atypical developmental milestones.

When looking at middle childhood development and assessment among children in Ontario, Canada, I found that the children were usually placed in a grade according to their age due to not all school boards providing a formal assessment for children.  However, the school boards that do provide assessment for children provide an initial assessment that collects data on children's educational background and English skills so they can be placed in the appropriate grade level.  The assessment focuses on children's mathematics and language development.  "The mathematics assessment is based on the standard requirements for Ontario schools. The assessment takes into account a student’s ability to communicate in English. The student may be able to complete part of the test in his or her first language" ("Settlement.org", 2012).  Whereas, "the language assessment usually starts with an interview. The purpose of the interview is to test the general linguistic skills of a student in the language he or she has been taught. That's why the interview is often held in a student's first language. The next steps of the assessment include evaluating oral, reading and writing skills in English" ("Settlement.org", 2012).

After all the data has been collected on the assessment of children's mathematics and language development, Canadian children are then placed in a program that matches their development.  In addition, the assessment findings are sent to children's school to assist educators and professionals in creating a learning environment that will next accomodate the individual needs of the children.

Reference

Settlement.org. (2012). http://www.settlement.org/sys/faqs_detail.asp?faq_id=4001195

Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

Every day throughout the world children are affected by the conflicts taking place in their communities due to thousands of civilians being killed or wounded. More than half of these civilians are children. For instance, in our recent history we as Americans have been at war with Iraq on their soil.  As a result children in Iraq have been exposed to armed conflict.  "According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2 million children have been killed by conflict over the last decade; 6 million children have been made homeless; 12 million have been injured or disabled; and there are at least 300,000 child soldiers operating in 30 different conflicts across the globe" (Danziger, 2003).  The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement work towards limiting the effects children experience as a result of witnessing or experiencing conflict in their childhood. For example, in Iraq children are being exposed to explosive remnants of war like artillery shells, grenades, mortar and cluster bombs to rockets and missiles. Red Crescent support various social groups in Iraq by examining and informing local communities about the dangers of explosive remnants of war.
In my early childhood years, I remember being in my aunts house during one of California's largest earthquakes in late 1980s. I remember being extremely scared and had no clue what to do while everything around me was falling out of their orginal places. I remember hearing my aunt telling me to stand under a doorway for safety, but I didn't know what she meant or why she wanted me to do such a thing. After hearing her voice, all I remember is a bookcase beginning to fall towards me and my dad picking me up and running to stand under doorway until the earthquake was over.  After all everything settle down, my aunt and dad sat me down to talk to me about what to do during an earthquake. In addition, during school I remember having to participate in frequent earthquake drills.
In conclusion, I believe it is crucial to inform children and local communities about various natural disasters that may occur in their area because it is the only way to increase children's chances of feeling safe.  Children who feel safe tend to explore their learning environments freely which contributes to them becoming life-long learners.  As a Californian mother, I make sure to prepare my daughter on what to do during an earthquake or fire. I also think it is awesome that the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement contribute to spreading awareness to children an families in Iraq about the dangers of explosive remnants of war.

Reference
Danziger, N. (2003). Children and war. The Magazine of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement,Retrieved from http://www.redcross.int/en/mag/magazine2003_3/4-9.html