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.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
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/
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
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
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