Final Blog Post

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for your professional and personal development.

The first consequence of learning about the international early childhood field was learning about the high rate of child abuse in Belize by listening to the podcast with Delfena Mitchell.  Mrs. Mitchell is the director of Liberty Children’s Home in Belize which is a home for children that have suffered abuse or abandonment (World Forum Foundation, 2013a).

The second consequence of learning about the international early childhood field was learning about childhood poverty in China.  The number of children living in poverty is much higher in Western China than Eastern China.  As a result, many children in Western China are not receiving an education because their parents cannot afford to send them (Child Poverty Research and Policy Centre, n.d.).

The third and last consequence of learning about the international early childhood field was learning about the international resources that are available for professionals.  These resources include: the website for UNESCO (2013), the podcasts available on the World Forum Foundation (2013b) website, and the website of the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (n.d).

One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations.

One goal that I have for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends is to continue to be informed throughout my career.  After I complete this program, I hope to stay informed about the issues and trends in the field on both the local and international levels.

References

Child Poverty Research and Policy Centre (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=country

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org

World Forum Foundation (2013a). Episode 3: Delfena Mitchell [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://ccie-media.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/WFR_03_DelfenaMitchell.mp3

World Forum Foundation (2013b). World forum radio. Retrieved from http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/world-forum-radio/

UNESCO

Share at least 3 new ideas or insights you gained about issues related to international early childhood education that relate to your professional goals from the UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage:

The first insight that I gained relates to my professional goal of continuing to work with low-income children and I found it in the section for the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP).  United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) currently has a research project evaluating access to quality programs for children considered to be in vulnerable groups such as low-income children.  The project “will generate a powerful means of identifying factors that provide a more powerful explanation of the educational achievement levels of vulnerable groups of pupils” (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2013b, para. 7).

The second insight that I gained relates to my professional goal of learning how to manage an efficient early childhood program.  The UNESCO website provides training materials on management and supervision in the IIEP section.  The training modules include the importance of supervision, “roles and functions”, organization, managing staff, and many more (UNESCO, 2013a, para. 4).

The last insight that I gained also relates to my professional goal of managing a program.  I found a pamphlet in the IIEP section entitled “Preparation, Recruitment, and Retention of Teachers”.  While reading about teacher retention, I was surprised to learn that in the United Kingdom and the United States “30 to 50 percent of teachers leave within the first three to five years” whereas “rates in many other developed countries are low to negligible” (Cooper & Alvarado, 2010, p. 17).  Research has found that “the primary cause of teacher turnover rate seems to be due to poor or difficult working conditions” (p. 19).

References

Cooper, J. M. & Alvarado, A. (2006). Preparation, recruitment, and retention of teachers. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001520/152023e.pdf

UNESCO/International Institute for Educational Planning (2013a). IIEP training materials. Retrieved from http://www.iiep.unesco.org/capacity-development/training/training-materials/school-supervision.html

UNESCO/International Institute for Educational Planning (2013b). Strategies to improve access and retention of vulnerable students. Retrieved from http://www.iiep.unesco.org/research/equity-access-and-quality/improve-access-and-retention.html

Sharing Web Resources: Part 2

Follow some of the outside links that you have not yet explored. Where do they lead? Thoroughly search one area of the site. What do you find?

The Zero to Three website provides the following outside links:

1. The Early Head Start National Resource Center: http://www.ehsnrc.org/
2. Technical assistance for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program: http://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/homevisiting/ta/index.html
3. The National Training Institute (sponsored by Zero to Three): http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1185937

 I chose to search the Early Head Start National Resource Center website.  I then chose to search the area of the site “News You Can Use”   http://www.ehsnrc.org/Publications/newsyoucanuse.htm which provided an article from October 2012: “Supporting Early Math Learning for Infants and Toddlers”.  It was an interesting article about how early childhood professionals can identify and support early math learning for infants and toddlers.  For instance, object permanence supports math learning for infants because it involves change and time which are necessary components of math.

If you receive an e-newsletter, follow a link related to one of the issues you have been studying. What new information is available?

Since I signed up for the newsletter, “The Baby Monitor”, I have only received it once (in May) even though, according to the website, it is a bi-weekly newsletter.  After checking the website, I discovered that no other newsletters have been published since the one I received last month.  Perhaps they are taking the summer off?

The newsletter did provide information related to the issue of accessibility.  Specifically, in the state of New Mexico a new bill was signed into law in April 2013 that will provide $5.75 million dollars for Pre-K and $2 million for home visiting.

Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education?

The website does contain a report, in the Public Policy section, which addresses the issue of increasing access to early childhood programs.  The report, “Expanding Access to Early Head Start: State Initiatives for Infants and Toddlers” (2012) details that “despite difficult economic time, 23 states have at least one initiative that builds on the federally-funded [Early Head Start] program” (Colvard & Schmit, 2012, p. 5).

References

Colvard, J. & Schmit, S. (2012, September). Expanding access to early head start: State initiatives or infants and toddlers at risk. Center for Law and Social Policy-ZERO TO THREE. Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/public-policy/pdf/expanding-access-to-ehs-paper.pdf

"Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 2"

Alternative assignment:

After reading about the descriptions of the podcasts on the World Forum Foundation (2013) website, I chose to listen to the podcast “Episode 3: Delfena Mitchell”.  Delfena Mitchell is the director of Liberty Children’s Home in Belize city in the country of Belize.  Liberty Children’s Home is a residential center for children that “have been abandoned, abused, or orphaned and many have special needs or are HIV positive” (World Forum Foundation, 2013b, para. 20).  According to Delfena Mitchell, Belize has “the number one incidents of child abuse in the whole Caribbean” (World Forum Foundation, 2013a).  Many of the children that arrive at the Liberty Children’s Home have endured so much abuse that they are “broken down” and they need time to adjust before they can attend school with the other children in the community.  She gave the example of a nine-year-old boy named Joseph who had not spoken in over a year because of the physical abuse that he endured.  However, after Joseph had lived at the Liberty Children’s Home, he began to speak again (she does not specify how long he had lived there).

The link that was provided for Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/) did not work; I was redirected to the home page.  However, after some searching I located it at: http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/.  The website provides information about “Global Children’s Initiative” projects in Zambia, Brazil, and Chile.  The program in Chile, “Un Buen Comienzo” (UBC), or “A Good Start” is a project designed to “improve early childhood education through teacher professional development” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2012b, para. 1).  I gained the following insights about the project “Un Buen Comienzo”:

• The project began in 2007, operating at four sites and it will eventually expand to 60.
• The project is designed to improve language development, health, socioemotional development and family involvement.
• Once the project has expanded to 60 schools it will involve a longitudinal evaluation known as “a cluster-randomized experiment” (Center on the Developing, 2012b, para. 4).

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2012a). Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/ubc/

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2012b). Un buen comienzo. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/ubc/

World Forum Foundation (2013a). Episode 3: Delfena Mitchell [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://ccie-media.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/WFR_03_DelfenaMitchell.mp3

World Forum Foundation (2013b). World forum radio. Retrieved from http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/world-forum-radio/

Sharing Web Resources-Part 2

As a former elementary school teacher, the early education field is completely new to me so the majority of the information that I have learned in this program is relevant to my current professional development.  While evaluating the Zero to Three website, I found the report Common Vision, Different Paths: Five States’ Journeys toward Comprehensive Prenatal-to-Five Systems (2007), which was co-authored by Pre-K Now and Zero to Three.  The report provides information about the history of early education in five states: California, Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.  Since I live in California, this information pertains to my professional development.  For instance, I did not know that in California, early childhood education began 60 years ago, in 1943.

There is an article on the Zero to Three website which directly addresses economists supporting the early childhood field.  The article, Partnering with the Business Community & Economists to Advance a Birth to Five Policy Agenda (2007), provides several tips and examples of how early childhood programs can partner with businesses.

References

Dugger, R. H., & Rappaport, D. M. (2007). Partnering with the business community & economists to advance a birth to five policy agenda. Retrieved from http://zttcfn.convio.net/site/DocServer/Partnering_with_the_Business_Community_final.pdf?docID=4361

Pre-K Now & Zero to Three (2007). Common vision, different paths: Five states’ journeys toward comprehensive prenatal-to-five systems. Retrieved from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/Common_Vision__Different_Paths_Final.pdf?docID=4521