Research Around the World

For this week’s assignment, I explored early childhood in Australia through the website www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au . Early Childhood Australia (ECA) has been advocating for children in Australia for many years. As I read the research topics on the early childhood website I realized that the issues and concerns in early childhood are similar across the globe. The Australasian Journal of Early Childhood (AJEC) is Australasia’s foremost scholarly journal and the world’s longest-running major journal within the early childhood field. The topics  range from Supporting literacy learning in the early years, Mothers’ perspectives on learning through play in the home, Inclusive pedagogy from a child’s perspective, and Recognition of family engagement in young children’s literacy learning.  The insights I learned about early childhood was from the parent resource tab. There was a lot of helpful information for parents under that tab. The other noteworthy information I found was about Early Years Connect which is a professional development package which has been designed to support early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators working with children with complex additional needs. This includes children with a disability, significant development delay and complex social, emotional and behavioral needs.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

The topic I would research is the lack of funding for early childhood programs. The lack of funding for early childhood programs have  become a major concern for several states.  This issue personally hits home for me because I have a 3 year old that I tried to get in head start.  We were denied because of income guidelines, but they said my child would be placed on a waiting list.  When I received that letter I was surprised because I want my daughter to attend preschool.  I only wants what's best for her.  I would love to have preschool that I don't have to pay for.  The issue is a major concern for a lot of families.  If I could research how to get a grant for more program funding, that would make a big difference for children and their families.  The positive contributions will be having more programs will help more families succeed in the future.

My Research Journey

The topic I would like to know more about is autism, and how it’s diagnosed in children ages 3-5.  I know that autism is a very broad topic.  I would like to learn ways to teach students with autism.  My professional reason for choosing this topic is I am thinking about teaching Special Education, and I want to learn about different disabilities that affect the learning process.  My personal reason for choosing this topic is I have a close friend whose daughter was diagnosed with autism.  Autism is a controversial topic in education that people need more clarity on.  Autism currently affects a lot of children, and I am just wondering why we are seeing a rapid increase all of a sudden.    My friend stated that her life has changed since this diagnosis, but becoming more educated about autism has helped her through.  She said it’s hard knowing that your child is different from other children. As educators, our focus should be on how to  make instruction time work with children with autism. This will help us work with the child and adjust to each unique way that they learn and deal with everyday life situations.

Final Blog Assignment

The last 8 weeks have been very interesting and informative.  I have had the opportunity to research various issues in the early childhood field both locally and internationally.  I have discovered some consequences of learning about the different aspects of international education.  They are listed below:

1. There are a lot of stressors that affect young children both locally and internationally.  Poverty is a major issue that affects early childhood across the globe.
2. There are no universal standards in the US or internationally for early childhood education. The international schools are more advanced than in the US.  All schools should have universal standards so students will be able to compete in a global economy.
3. The knowledge gained about the early childhood field internationally helps put some things into perspective. It helped open my mind to the different way issues are handled globally. It also helped me realize the importance of continuing to advocate for the field both locally and internationally.    

One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations is for early childhood organizations and professionals to stay abreast of the changes that take place around the world.  There should be continuous updates on the website of the organizations that assist these countries.  I hope to be able to support some of these organizations financially one day as well.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

My friend that's teaching in Korea finally contacted me back.  She is still on vacation because she's on break from school right now.  However, she's going to research some issues affecting education in Korea and let me know her findings.  I asked her  to give me some first hand experiences on equity  if possible.  She's been teaching in Korea for about 4 years now, and she said that the education system is very different from the US.  I can't wait to see what information she has for me.  I will keep you guys posted.

Sharing Web Resources

There is an abundance of information on The National Black Child Development Institute’s website.  I found some interesting websites under the resources tab.  There are links to different articles that give statistical information from different states.  However, there was one newsletter that I found to be very helpful in understanding equity and excellence in early care in education.  This newsletter also gave some insight to a lot of the issues we were discussing this week.  The newsletter was titled A Call for Change: A Preliminary Blueprint to Improve Educational Excellence and Opportunity for African American Males in Urban Public Schools.  There was a section under Early Childhood Education that outlined the need for early child programming.  According to the Council of Great City Schools, “The need for early childhood programming for African American males is profound and overdue. Yet the nation has not seriously confronted or addressed the inequalities and disparities facing some children from their earliest years—inequities that contribute to negative outcomes over a life-time. The research indicates that early childhood programs can produce substantial benefits for students and that urban schools should:

1. Establish high-quality educational and developmentally appropriate preschool and early childhood programs and supports to which African American males have full access to. These programs should have small teacher-to-child ratios, an age-appropriate curriculum that is integrated across subjects, well-trained teachers in child development, and mechanisms for engaging parents or guardians.

2. Set clear goals for the developmental progress of African American children participating in early childhood programs. Monitor student progress, evaluate the results regularly, and follow students as they move up the grades.

3. Ensure that early childhood programs also connect developmentally to kindergarten and first-through third-grade curriculum, address social, emotional, health, nutritional, and physical development needs of children, and use developmentally appropriate assessments.

4. Consider implementation of home visitation efforts, pre-school centers, and pre-school classes in the schools to address the multiple needs of some African American males.

5. Ensure that teachers and aides in early childhood programs serving African American males are early-childhood certified; have adequate training in child development (particularly as it applies to African American males); understand the effects of negative stereotyping and the appropriate use of assessments, and are compensated commensurate with other teachers. Provide mentors in cases where teachers struggle.

6. Make sure that early childhood programming that serves African American males is staffed with appropriately trained teachers, aides, parent-resource personnel, community liaisons, nurses, psychologists, and social workers. (Early grades could use these supports as well.) Staff compensation should be in line with others in the district.

7. Make certain that pre-school programming includes services starting at age two and spanning two years; that parents or guardians have the opportunity to volunteer and participate in program decisions; that there is a curriculum in place that focuses on language and early literacy and is aligned with the curriculum of later grades, and that these programs offer health screenings, nursing services, and free or reduced price meals.

8. Eliminate the use of out-of-school suspensions to discipline students participating in early

childhood programming.” (Council of the Great City Schools, 2012, p. 4-5)

References

http://www.cgcs.org/cms/lib/DC00001581/Centricity/Domain/88/Blueprint%2082312.pdf

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I am still waiting on a response from my contacts.  I reached out to a friend of mine who is an educator in Korea.  She's not a person who checks her email on a regular basis.  I will attempt to reach her via Skype.  The Global Children's Initiative website was very informative.  I learned a lot of valuable information.  The first new insight I learned was there are three types of responses to stress.   They are positive, tolerable, and toxic.  The second insight I learned was the term resilience in reference to how children overcome hardships.  The third insight I learned was that in the U.S., neglect accounts for 78% of all child maltreatment cases, far more than physical abuse (17%), sexual abuse (9%), and psychological abuse (8%) combined.

References

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/what-we-do/global-work/