Week 3

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?  If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

I don’t think that I communicate differently with people from other cultures.  However, I do communicate differently with people from different groups.  I think that a lot of it has to do with my relationship to them.  For instance, I communicate differently with parents and co-workers than I do with my friends and family.

Based on what you learned this week, share at least three strategies you could use to help you communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified.

The first strategy that I could use to help me communicate with people from different groups or cultures is to “develop appropriate knowledge” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, p. 104).  I need to learn more about the cultures that I work with in order to communicate more effectively.  The second strategy that I could use is to understand cultures differences.  For example, I was raised to be independent but some cultures teach their children to be interdependent (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).  The last strategy that I could use to communicate more effectively is to be mindful when I am communicating with someone from a culture different from my own.  In order to do this, I need to “acknowledge that there is a connection between thoughts and deeds when you interact with a person from a background different from [my] own” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, p. 108).

Resources

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Week 2

For this assignment, I watched the reality television show, “Toddlers and Tiaras”.  I have never watched this show but I have seen a few commercials in the past.  This episode followed three girls, Rebecca (6 years), Meaghan (9 years), and Ava (2 years), all competing in the “Universal Royalty National Pageant” in Austin, Texas.  Additionally, the competition also includes a competition for adult women and all three of the mothers, Stacey, Phyllis, and Tanya, are also competing.

While watching the show on mute, I was able get the basic information, such as names, ages, locations, and parents’ names from the subtitles.  Based on the number of trophies, ribbons, sashes, and medals each girl has, they all appear to have experience competing in pageants.  The first contestant, Rebecca, is coached by her mother, Stacey, who appears to be serious but also friendly.  The second contestant, Meaghan, is also coached by her mother, Phyllis, who appears to be very serious and competitive.  I am assuming that she is competitive based on all of the coaching that she does while Meaghan is practicing.  The last girl, Ava, is coached by her father, David and her mother, Tanya, plays more of a supporting role.  David teaches Ava her routine, does her makeup and hair, and sews her costumes.  When the trophies are given out, all of the girls get different trophies and all of the parents, except for David, appear to be happy.  Without the sound on, it is difficult for me to understand why he appears to be so upset.  All of the parents appear to have good relationships with their daughters.  However, the relationship between Meaghan and Phyllis seems to be really competitive.  I was not able to detect any conflicts between the characters based on their non-verbal communication.  Except for David, I found it extremely difficult to try to read the feelings of the other cast members, based on their behavior, because they all just seem to smile a lot.

While watching with the sound on, I was not surprised that the assumptions that I made based on their non-verbal communication were mostly correct.  However, I do have to admit that I had preconceived notions about “pageant mothers” that were not correct.  I was expecting all of the mothers to be extremely competitive and for them to all be pushing their daughters really hard.  I had also assumed that all of the mothers would be former competitors but it was not mentioned and Phyllis was the only mother that appeared to be serious about their own competitions.  I do think that if I had watched this show in the past, my assumptions would have been more accurate.  Additionally, if I had been watching a show that I watch regularly, with characters that I already know about, my assumptions would have been based on the knowledge that I already have of those particular characters.

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