Final Blog Assignment

 

         

Blog Assignment: Final Blog Assignment

 

          Upon conclusion of this semester I learned that it is important to ensure all children have access to education regardless of their household’s financial situation. From UNICEF’s website I learned about how children in Namibia suffer from poverty. One out of three children are living in poverty (“Child poverty in Namibia: A child-centered analysis of the NHIES 2009/10,” 2012). Poverty is an issue that is seen all over the world. It was interesting to learn how efforts are being made around the world to use grants to support individuals suffering from poverty. It is important to discuss issues and trends that children and individuals face internationally. 

A second issue that is shared internationally is sharing the need for early childhood education and how children can benefit from attending. I learned that in Gambia there is a need to educate children who are disadvantaged by putting together a plan to start early childhood education (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006). The need for early childhood education has become a priority in the United States, however, ensuring that improvements are consistent state to state is an ongoing issue. The more information that is shared internationally about what works and how it works will support improvements. 

Lastly, I enjoyed speaking with my international professional contact. I enjoyed talking with her and listening to what she believed were issues and trends in early childhood education.  She is currently stationed in Italy and shared similar views as myself. One that stuck out to me was the discussion on excellence in the field of early childhood education. It is important to change families and individuals view that early childhood professionals are “babysitters.”  Mrs. Rowe and I discussed how it is important to educate individuals about what early childhood professionals do in and outside of the classroom (Taesha Rowe, personal communication, November 28, 2014). I believe that teachers and other educational professionals can continue to use the internet and other modes of communication to share issues and trends in education to assist in making changes. I wish all of my classmate success in their journey to enrich their knowledge in early childhood education.

Reference

"Bite off only as much as you can chew": Gambia's policy for early childhood. (2006). United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, (34), 1-2. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001470/147041e.pdf

Child poverty blog. (). Retrieved from http://www.unicefglobalstudy.blogspot.com/

Child poverty in Namibia: A child-centered analysis of the NHIES 2009/10. (2012). Namibia Statistics Agency, (), 1-32.

UNICEF: child poverty and social protection. (). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/index_childpoverty.html

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3 (Alternative)

This week’s blog assignment I was not able to get a response back in time from my international early childhood professional. This week I selected the alternative assignment and went to UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage. I started on the page access and equity. I then clicked on the related information and clicked on the link to “Bite off only as much as you can chew”: Gambia’s Policy for Early Childhood.  In this article I learned about Gambia’s Early Child Development Centre for children ages three to six years old.  Children of this age group that lived in areas that were considered disadvantaged could attend the program. This program was planned to increase workforce and the school infrastructure in early childhood (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006). 

An interview was conducted between the Director of Basic and Secondary Education of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Momodou Sanneh and Soo-Hyang Choi, UNESCO, Paris. In the interview, Mr. Choi questioned Mr. Sanneh about his thoughts on creating the ECD Centres. Mr. Sanneh discussed how he wanted to provide disadvantaged children with experiences in early childhood. He also discussed how the program was a pro-poor policy to help the poorest community. To ensure children in the program were receiving a quality program Mr. Sanneh discussed how the teachers would be trained. He also discussed that the program was for children ages three to six years old. This was based on the fact that primary and secondary school did not start until children were seven to fifteen years old. Mrs. Sanneh discussed how lowering the age level for children to enter primary school to six years old was considered. However, based on projections of the cost it was too costly for the government to implement without receiving support from the outside (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006).  

Mr. Choi questioned Mr. Sanneh about the ECD Centers providing savings. Mr. Sanneh discussed that the program would cost less due to the infrastructure of the building. The building would be a shed that is considered a playground set up by the community. Another cost saver according to Mr. Sanneh was that the ECD centre did not have a curriculum. The trained teachers would be “responsible more for childminding than for their learning process” (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006, p. 2). Lastly, the trained teachers would come from the primary school under a polyvalent teacher training framework that includes teaching early childhood, according to the government (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006).  

Upon completion of reading the article about early childhood program in Gambia I gained some insights. One of the insights was that every country does not start primary education at five years old. In Gambia children do not start school until they are seven years old. I feel that it is important to expose children to education early in order to support children’s educational journey. I was happy to see that the ECD Centre will provide early childhood for children from three to five years old based on the National Education Policy of 2014-2015. Another insight I learned was that Gambia did not view early childhood education as a time where teachers should focus on educating children using a curriculum but “minding” children. I hope in time that this view will change. It has been a fight for early childhood professionals to be viewed as teachers rather than “babysitters” and it was sad to see that in Gambia the teachers are essentially babysitting (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006).  

Lastly, I was surprised at the percentage of children that attended school in Gambia.  According to “Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood” (2006), the net enrollment in the primary school was 73 percent. In Gambia, providing early childhood centres was a part of universaling education with the hope of boosting enrollment in primary education. In conclusion, my hope is that more information will continue to be provided about the benefits of early childhood programs in order for it to be a part of all public school and child care programs (“Bite off only as much as you can chew: Gambia's policy for early childhood,” 2006).  

Reference

"Bite off only as much as you can chew": Gambia's policy for early childhood. (2006). United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, (34), 1-2. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001470/147041e.pdf

UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education”. (2009-2014). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Sharing Web Resources

          The early childhood website I followed was Zero to Three at http://www.zerotothree.org/.  I browsed some of the outside links that I have not yet explored.  One of the links was resources for parents.  I clicked on early experiences counts which discussed how emotional development unfolds starting at birth.  I look for related information which led me to Early Head Start.  On the link it led to an orientation page of Early Head Start’s National Resource Center.  Some of the links to this page were on Early Head Start, School Readiness, Child Development and Education, Comprehensive Services and Systems, Program Options and Initiatives. There were also five pages that scrolled across the page.

One on the pages that scrolled across referenced an e-newsletter that individuals may access.  The e-newsletter provides individuals with “news you can use”.  The areas of focus are categorized by school readiness and learning environments.  Some of the topics related to school readiness include developmentally appropriate practices.  When I clicked on the PDF on developmentally appropriate practices, the article defined developmentally as the development of infants and toddlers to include physical, brain, language, social-emotional and thinking skills.  Appropriate was defined as something that is considered to fit or be right.  What individuals may think is appropriate depends on their culture and beliefs.  Lastly, practice is defined as what is done at home or in the classroom.  The article provides supports of how to put the learned information together.  The importance of relationships developed during early childhood to include providing consistency in care is also discussed.  At the end of the article individuals are provided with examples of words they can use ("Developmentally Appropriate Practice", 2011).   Providing understanding of how to support children and assist with meeting their educational needs supports individual’s awareness by providing information about early childhood to individuals working with children and families (Matthews & Ewen, 2010).

Below this page are other links to access information about Early Head Start, School Readiness, Multimedia, Birth to Three Initiatives, Products A-Z, and Events and Conferences.  From this list I clicked on Program Options and Initiatives.  This gave me new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field (Laureate Education, 2011).  I clicked on About Early Head Start.  I learned that the program supports infants and toddlers of low income families.  The program also supports families and women that are pregnant.  Early Head Start has goals that consist of meeting children’s developmental needs such as cognitive, social, physical and emotional needs of infants and toddlers.  The support is intended to help children in the future.  The support provided is also for the father and mother with the goal of helping them meet goals they have set and achieved.  The program also works to mobilize communities in order to provide resources and environment that supports families.  The programs also helps to ensure that high quality is provided to families with staff that cares and is trained.  Early Head Start has program options including center based, home-based, family child-care services, and combination services ("Zero To Three", 2014). 

           From this page I clicked on Program Options and Initiatives.  I clicked on EHS-Child Care Partnership.  This led me to click on promoting local partnership between child care and EHS: Ideas for State Leaders which is a PDF file titled Collaboration Considerations for State Leaders.  The article focused on developing high quality child care across the country.  To fight equity in early childhood the incentive programs that are suggested in the article is one way to support programs meeting the needs of being a high quality program by providing financial initiatives.  According to Collaboration Considerations for State Leaders  (2011), “Many states are looking at building financial incentives into the child care payment systems, including CCDF subsidy payments, bonuses connected to Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), and individual compensation or bonuses attached to higher educational attainment” (Provide financial incentives and supports for providers and grantees to join and maintain partnerships).