INTERNATIONAL CONTACT FINAL BLOG

Issues and trends have been the focus throughout this course and I have gained valuable information about how important it is to continue supporting the development of children, building family and community partnerships, and ensuring that educators are provided the resources that will be utilized to create stimulating learning environments as well as assess programs for equity and quality.

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field:

1.      Internationally, the ECE programs are in the early stage of implementation.

2.      Educators need to be heard and included in the overall evaluation what is needed to build strong programs that promotes equity and quality

3.      Parental responsibilities need support so that poverty is reduced and development has clarity and continuity.

4.      There is still a lack of communication within the community which interrupts beneficial partnerships leading to greater opportunities for everyone.

My professional and personal desire remains the same of making a difference by creating a pathway of educational opportunities.  Advocating for children, families, and educators is important so that those who make decisions have the necessary information as they determine the funding that will support ECE programs.

International Professional Contacts

During this week, I was reminded that I have re-established a connection to one of my colleagues within my organization and my goal is to keep the line of communication flowing.  We have been able to revisit the history of the organization and reflect on the tremendous changes that have taken place within our organization.  Educators have been provided the right tools and resources, additional support has been increased and the level of programming has taken early childhood to a new level of sustaining excellence at all times.

Looking at issues of quality care in Europe, my colleague shared with me that due being in another country providing the same services that have been developed and implemented in our organization are different, based on the fact that local community support is limited like in the US. She also shared that there is less stress (fewer violence and crime) and better opportunities to concentrate on educational goals and aspirations.

In our discussion, we focused on the fact that times have changed for European families has there is a push to provide early childhood services for children under 3 years old.  In the past families were provided the opportunity through government funding to have one parent remain home with their new born until age 3 or 5 to establish family bonds and of course early childhood was not readily available.  Early childhood has become a prominent focus for the development of children in Europe, especially Germany.

On a professional level, my colleague wants to go back to the regional team to provide support, train and give feedback to those in the field, as well as be a strong advocate that will ensure that policy and procedures are met without the concept of basing decisions on individual interpretation.

The hopes, dreams, and challenges are to ensure that goals are met and that collaboration will take place with families as they are the starting point in the development of their children. When families feel that they are apart of the program, there is a connection that will assist in meeting the needs of the child.  During our discussion, it was pointed out that we as professionals must go beyond just providing feedback to families.  We must establish a dialog and continue the dialog to build upon.  After all, we want everyone who are a part of the life of children to be advocates that will voice their opinions that will make a difference for excellence.

I have been enlightened during my conversation this week, that even though we have standards and guideline that measure our programming, measurements of success really comes from family feedback. As early childhood educators we need to partner with parents, (communicate and collaborate), which will lead to the catalyst of providing the voice of advocacy that will have an impact on those who make the ultimate decisions in policies and procedures.  After all we want children to be self-sustaining and productive citizens that will reflect a positive investment for the future.

Sharing Additional Resources

As I researched additional links that I have not thoroughly tapped in to as resources, I was captivated by the website, Center for the Child Care Workforce at www.ccw.org.  This organization has a mission to improve the quality of early care and education for all children by promoting policy, research and organizing that ensure the early child care and education workforce is well educated, receives better compensation and a voice in the workforce.

This is exactly what is needed to assist in responding to the needs of children.  When those in the early care and education field are provided the right support and resources to provide quality care, then children will be provided the expected support and education that leads to the desired level of learning and development.

While on the site I came across a newsletter, “The Economics of Inequality: The Value of Early Childhood Education”, written by James J. Heckman.  His focus is the economic value of human capital development, specifically the value of providing resources to disadvantaged children and their families in an attempt to equalize the children’s possibilities for social and economic success. I like how he stands fast on the importance of starting at the initial point by investing early to close the disparities of and prevent achievement gap, or as he says we can pay to remediate disparities when they are harder and more expensive to close.

I recommend that educators take a look at this website as it provides information of why this organization began and the successful accomplishments that have taken place to make a difference for children and ensures good equitable jobs for early care and education. I have gained another resource that I can utilize to support the needs of the children, families, and all educators who play a role in the development for the continued effort to promote the need to have equity in early and education programs that reflects equality for all.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts - Part 2

           This week, I was not able to link up with my international contact.  For my alternative, I chose to review one of the media segments on the Harvard website Global Children’s Initiative that is titled, Early Childhood Program Effectiveness. There were around five areas of focus.  Below you will find the key points that were highly emphasized in the presentation.

The first main focus was on helping states learn more about how to invest in early childhood programs.  The main areas of investment included having smaller class sizes and higher child/adult ratios, qualified and well compensated adults to work in the programs, having warm and responsive adults, and providing language enriched environments, (Harvard University, 2014).

The second focus was to ensure that basic health programs were in place for all children and families that would ensure that the brain development is provided the necessary stimulates to respond to activities.

The third focus looked at establishing and maintaining proper policies that allow low income families extra support that will lead to a future of greater return by reducing crime rates and increasing tax dollars. Four decades of program evaluation research which help explain how society can ensure that children have a solid foundation for a productive future by creating and implementing effective early childhood programs and policies, (Harvard, 2014).

This presentation provided me valuable information that help me to see what research has been done to provide accurate and effective data that can be used to ensure that all concerns are properly addressed. 

Reference:

Harvard University, (2014).  Global children’s initiative. http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/