ECCE Internationally

So I was really excited that I would be communicating with a professional in England, but that has not come through.  Although, watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics in London last night I was thrilled to see all the children that were incorporated into the event.  Children truly are viewed as the future of the country and it is clear that they are valued.  

What an amazing image to help us all remember that around the world, we are a group of people.  No matter how different we may be, we are all human and all have the same needs.  And we can come together an unite around one central purpose ... whether it be the Olympic Games or early childhood care and education

Ok ... enough about the Olympics ... Since I have not heard back from my contact, I started this post out by reading Volume 11 of the online journal Current Issues in Comparative Education.    The focus on this volume is the worldwide challenges and accomplishments in the field of early childhood care and education.  Two articles focus on countries in Africa and two focus on Brazil.  The second resource that I looked at was the Center on the Developing Child's Global Children's Initiative.  

What I have come away with from these readings:

• While ECCE is a global need, the implications on different neighborhoods varies greatly!  There is a common understanding that quality ECCE is the foundation for an individual's future life expectations, successes, and path in life.  How this knowledge is used varies depending on where you live.
• In Zambia, there is an understanding of the need of ECCE and Primary education, but the government has not been able to provide quality or effective care in this poor nation.  The author of this article recommends that the country not pursue ECCE until the nation develops a better system of education for children of basic and primary ages.  (published 2009)
• In Brazil, their ECCE program seem to be doing well and reaching families and children because there is a partnership between family, community and coordinated efforts.  There is a focus on reaching children where they are in their current context.  While the information about ECCE is generated in other countries, they are taking the information and applying it to their culture and situation.
• How exciting to read that the Center on the Developing Child hosted a leadership training on early childhood development for 50 Brazilian politicians, policymakers, public managers, and civil-society leaders so that they can develop programs and initiatives to positively impact the children in their county!  They are bridging the gap between what we know and what we do!
• This is all information that we need to take to heart in the US as ECCE is being held in front of our policy makers and is being put to the test in regards to funding.  While defense may be able to keep their funds, the rest of the education and domestic program may loose their government funding because we do not have the voice in Congress that Brazil has in their  government.  Check out this great blog!

I could continue, but you have to stop somewhere.

The NAECTE … part 2

The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE) is found at www.naecte.org.  This is my second week discussing this organization and their website.  Check out the first week here. 

I was a bit disappointed on my further inspection of the organization because in order to get my hands on most things of interest, I need to be a member.  At this point, I am not able to afford the membership, so I am left not being able to see most of their resources for teacher educators.

The organization does offer something called ResearchNets to “facilitate scholarly pursuits on collaborative research projects.”  This is a community network to allow access to other’s research while you are working on your own, allowing for collaboration and conversation on the topics.  The two active ResearchNets are “Teacher Research” and “Technology in Early Childhood Education.” 

Other areas of the site that I can access are

• a listing of
books published by NAECTE members,

• awards and grants
presented by the NAECTE to its members,

• The NAECTE Foundation
which raises funds to advocate, support research projects, and offer scholarships,

•  Job Announcements (Which they currently have a great opportunity in Baltimore Maryland…), and

•  Links to related organizations

There is a page containing five documents, which are their position statements, by-laws, and policies.  Happily, the Position Statement reiterates everything that I have learned about early childhood appropriate practice and the importance of certification of our early childhood teachers. 

What I found interesting was their second document: The Early Childhood Teacher Certification Toolkit.  This toolkit is put together to help individuals or groups battle the powers that be in seeing appropriate laws and requirements be put in place to support the position statement.  While we all may not be fighting this particular battle, it is a great resource to read through (or skim), because it provides support and encouragement to persist and know that change happens, even if it seems like a grueling long process…. Something that I need to remember in my current state of unsurity of my future in early childhood.  Now I am going to get back to re-reading that first letter of the toolkit!

Ethics

I started this blog for my first class of my masters degree.  These past few weeks, I have learned so much and am really excited about the rest of the journey.  This week we are asked to post ideals contained in the NAEYC code of ethics that are meaningful to me.

NAEYC Ideal 1.2 - To base program practices upon current knowledge and research in the field of early childhood education, child development, and related disciplines, as well as on particular knowledge of each child.
To me this just makes sense.  There are so many people out there that think that preschool teachers are just babysitters... and anyone can do it.  Yes, anyone can do it, but only if they care enough to do their best.

NAEYC Ideal 2.8 - To help family members enhance their understanding of their children and support the continuing development of their skills as parents. 
NAEYC Ideal 2.9 - To participate in bulding support networks for families by providing them with opportunities to interact with program staff, other families, community resources, and professional services.
Families are key to children.  They are the child's first teachers.  Luckily early childhood educators have the privilege of working alongside parents and other family members as they raise their children.  It is important to remember that I am only a piece of the puzzle and I need to diligently work to help support the other pieces.  

NAEYC Ideal 4.1 - To provide the community with high-quality early childhood care and educational programs and services.
No matter where my journey in early childhood leads me, my goal and focus will remain to do my best to meet this ideal.

To read the entirety of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct head here.