Getting to Know International Contacts Part III

Quality

"To address today’s and tomorrow’s requirements, the education sector must impart the necessary competencies but also nurture lifelong learners. The two Analytical Tools (on Competencies and Lifelong Learning) help countries if their education system is equipped to produce the right type of human resources and good citizens".

This was taken from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and it is at the core of what I believe. This week we were asked what some of our professional goals are. I think this quote says it best. I really do believe that it's necessary for the education sector to nurture lifelong learners. I see the need to make sure that this philosophy begins in the early childhood years. This doesn't start at the high school level. Life long learning should begin before children enter their formal years in elementary school. For this reason, I am looking forward to making the transition from special education to early childhood education so that I can become a part of a community that nurtures lifelong learners into tomorrows future.

 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/quality-framework/desired-outcomes/

Sharing Web Resources

The Foundation for Child Development 

 http://fcd-us.org/our-work/new-american-children

This week we were asked to explore more web resources. In my search for sites I found an interesting site that I had not yet visited during the course. What really caught my attention was a link to the one of the initiatives of the organization called The New American Child. According to the website, the initiative is to build a broad base of knowledge about the well-being of children living in low income immigrant families in the U.S. The goal of the initiative is to discover how to best nurture and educate the children, and then connect research with policies and practices.

This week it was nice to locate this website because of their interest in "The New American Child". I continue to see the importance of following what research says about providing early services to immigrant children in low-income households. 

Global Children's Initiative

Early Childhood Systems Around the Globe

 Un Buen Comienzo "A Good Start"

This program began in 2007 in Santiago, Chile. The purpose of the program is to improve early childhood education by providing professional development for teachers. The project also focuses on health issues in the hopes of improving school attendance.

The Zambian Early Childhood Development Project

Zambian Ministry of Education, the Examination Council of Zambia, UNICEF, the University of Zambia, and the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University launched the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project (ZECDP) in 2009, in an effort to measure the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia. to  assess children’s physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development before and throughout their schooling careers. This was the first assessment tool of its kind in Zambia. 

Brazil

Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância is a collaboration between the Center, the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, Fundação Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of São Paulo, and Insper. This project represents a unique opportunity for the Center to work with Brazilian scholars, policymakers, and civil society leaders to adapt the Center’s programmatic model for the local context in order to catalyze more effective policies and programs that will, ultimately, foster a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable society.

Reference

 http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/

 

 

Sharing Web Resources

       

National Black Child Development Institute

http://nbcdi.org/

 

What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

I think the section that seemed relevant to me this week was the section that shows the initiatives that the organization has to offer. Reading instruction has always been one of my passions as an educator so I decided to look at their literacy initiative. I found that the group has targeted children and their parents from the age of 0 to 6 years old. The initiative is called Love to Read. They have also partnered with Reading is Fundamental in order to provide training for early childhood educators to provide them with strategies and resources to enhance early literacy skills to African American children.

Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

 I didn’t find any resources on the website that I found controversial.

What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

While I looked  at the website this week, I saw an advertisement for the National Head Star research conference. According to the website, Head Start’s National Research Conference is a biennial event, which provides practitioners, researchers, administrators, and policy makers involved in Head Start, early childhood, childcare, health care, and administration programs the opportunity to share research that promotes positive development in young children.

What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

This week I was happy to see that there is a push to work with policy makers on the importance of early childhood education. The CEO attended President Obama’s speech on education. According to the website, the group will continue to promote the elimination of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic achievement gaps by focusing on the continuum of birth through age 8 by looking at:

• Effective and Equitable Teaching and Leadership

• Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Assessments

• Meaningful, Culturally Relevant Parent and Family Engagement

• Supportive Transitions for Children and Families

Chilhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre

This week we were asked to introduce the contacts that we established from around the world. Unfortunately I'm unable to report any new information from my contacts because I didn't get any response form Haiti or the other early childhood professionals in other countries. I was hoping to establish a contact in Haiti but that didn't happen. In the event that someone does get in touch with me, I'll be sure to let you all know. This week I did the alternative assignment and learned some interesting information.

Podcast Information

Delfena Mitchell- Director of the Liberty Children's Home in Belize
In the podcast, Ms. Mitchell shared that Belize has the #1 incidents of of child abuse in Central America. The children that have come to Liberty Children's home have been physically or sexually abused. One student that she talked about came to the home at the age of 9 and had been abused by his grandmother. Initially he did not speak and when he entered school shortly after coming to the center. Upon entering school, he was kicked out due to acting out behaviors. Ms. Mitchell said that the child was taking out of school and was, "given time to heal". After staying at the home, the child did begin to speak and started to heal.

Banabas Otaala- Dean of Education at Uganda Matyr's University
Dean Banabas discussed children and families with HIV in Uganda. He noted visiting a village where a young girl was sick. The parents asked for money to help to care for the child. The parents were encouraged to seek medical attention for the girl. A doctor in the group recommended that the girl get medical attention and the parents agreed. After tests were given, doctors discovered that the child was HIV positive. Dean Banabas noted that there is a stigma attached to families that have HIV and that the parents were trying to hide the fact that they have HIV. Dean Banabus noted that he felt that the doctor played a significant part in why the parents decided to seek medical attention for the girl and that partnerships must be formed in order community to trust professionals that are trying to help them.

CHIP- Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center

This website is funded by the UK Department of International Development. The intention of the website is to be a resource for policy maker, practitioners and activists concerned about childhood poverty. This website provided me with information about poverty in different countries. The country that interested me the most was India.

 

 Poverty In India

Children in India at times have to leave school and help their families work. An example that was shared was about a boy who had to leave school because his father became sick. His parents were unable to continue to pay for schooling and he had to work in the family looming business. The family took out a loan so that they could by a loom so that they could weave carpets to sell. The young man spent 8 hours each day at the loom. He shared that he didn't like weaving but he did not wish to leave his village even though he knew that he could have a better life if he left. 

Another story that was shared about poverty in India was the story about a 15 year old girl who had been married at the age of 10. She lived with her family and unlike the boy who had to leave school, she still attended school. Her parents want have continued to send her to school because they want her to become a teacher. She will be formally given away to her husband when her parents believe that he is able to take care of her. 

 

Shared Web Resources

Last week I selected the National Black Child Development Institute as a website that I would like to learn more about. I had never heard of the organization and decided to research it further in order to see if I could obtain information that would be beneficial the parent in the school community that I service. This week my research led me to find a program that the NBCDI sponsors a program called the Parental Empowerment Program. Parent in the PEP program…

Begin to:

• Express and demonstrate knowledge of child development and parenting skills
• Stimulate their child’s growth and development appropriately
• Increase their knowledge of community resources and how to access them
• Develop confidence and positive self esteem

Overall the goal of the Black Child Development Institute is “To improve and advance the lives of black children and their families through education and advocacy.”

The issue that caught my attention is their push for parental involvement in the area of early childhood. The PEP program is designed to help parents become teachers to their children from the age of 3 to age 8.

http://nbcdi.org/blog/category/early-childhood-education/