Gracias!

 

A very special thank you to all who have shared and helped me grow throughout our Communication course. I enjoyed our many discussion boards and blog posts which your input has helped me grow into a more competent communicator.  Through you I have gained valuable knowledge and information that will forever stay with me.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart in helping me develop my communication skills over these past 8 weeks.  I am eager to begin work with my specialization in Adult Learning.  I wish everyone well as you continue your degrees and specializations.  Good luck and fare thee well!

I bid you ADIEU

I have been working with the same group of Kinder teachers for the past five years.  We were part of a group who shared an identity, had common goals, and had interdependent relationships with each other.   We have helped each other professionally and personally, worked along side one another, and fed off of each other's strengths.  We worked well as a team and became a group of friends.  Our group was cohesive and we identified ourselves "as a sing unit rather than a collection of individuals, which helps hold the group together in the face of adversity" (O'Hair & Weimann, 2012, p. 268).  We were never in competition with one another because we fully trusted our group.  Sadly, this past academic school year was our last together.  The entire team had to part due to other employment opportunities, moving out of town, and opening a new school.  This high performing group was the hardest goodbye any of us had ever gone through.  It took us years to develop the partnerships and friendships we had established.  They became a pat of my primary group like family. 

As a part of our adjourning ritual we cried with one another while wishing each other luck in our future endeavors.  We laughed, hugged, and shed many tears of sadness and joy.  We promised to keep n touch, meet up and have lunch or dinner,  and always cherish all the memories.  It is going to be very different working with a new group and in a sense starting over.

 

I have really enjoyed all that I have learned from Walden's professors and my colleagues but I am looking forward to the end of our program.  My family and I have sacrificed so much for me to continue my education.  The thing I can never have back is the time I spent away from my family.  I have missed many moments from my sons developing years even though all know it is for the good of my family and my job as an Early childhood educator.  I will miss learning and sharing our thoughts and ideas in a very safe and nurturing learning environment.  When we first stated this course we did not know each other and were forced to work with complete strangers.  Our online group transformed into a learning community and we are no longer strangers.  We are a group of people who have a shared identity, have common goals, and had interdependent relationships.  Luckily we will still be ale to communicate with each other through online sources such as blogs or even Facebook. I hope to meet many of you at graduation and wish you the best of luck on your journey into the next chapter. 

 

The Adjourning stage is where "the group members reflect on their accomplishments and failures as well as determine whether the group will disassemble or take another project" (O'Hair & Weimann, 2012, p. 257).  It gives us the opportunity to look back and reflect on our relationships, accomplishments, and is a great way to give closure to the group.  

 

Reference:

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Conflicts

 

Thinking back on past conflicts makes me take a look at who I am and what I need to work on in order to become an effective competent communicator.  With this course I have found a new wealth of knowledge and have learned strategies to improve my communication skills.  I am currently experiencing conflict in my life and I have been using the NVC's model of empathetically listening and honestly (The Center for Nonviolent Communication, n.d.) speaking through observations, feelings, needs, and requests. 

 

I have also been using these techniques when with friends and family.  My sons who are 4 and 6 years old are together all day long during the summers.  They tend to bicker over toys, snacks, the dog, etc.  We have been using conflict management techniques and turning our unproductive conflict into a productive one (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012).  We have been watching our words and I have been looking for conflict triggers which can lead to behavior problems. 

 



 

 

My goal professionally and personally is to use more cooperative strategies, 3R's, and NVC skills.  My Pre-K classroom will flourish, succeed, and learn skills that are necessary for the rest of their lives.  There are many songs, plays, books, games, and such that can be used t assist in teaching conflict resolution with children.   



 

 

References:

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St.
     Martin’s.
The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication.   
     Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

Who Am I As A Communicator

This week we were asked to have two people assess our communication skills so that we may perceive things in a different light.  I asked my husband of 9 years and my coworker of 5 years to help me with this week’s assignment. 

Looking at the results I found that I am a people oriented person.  I value people’s opinions and input.  I am also very empathetic and show concern for other people’s emotions. 

I also scored at the moderate level in verbal aggressiveness.  I was taken back by this outcome because I think I am more assertive and not aggressive.  I feel that the two can be confusing. 

What really made me think were the different results in communication anxiety.  I do not like public speaking and I shy away at any possibility of it.  However, when I feel comfortable in the group or have knowledge on the subject at hand I tend to speak up a lot more.  My husband and coworker scored me better than what I did myself.  In their eyes I am better at public speaking than I thought. 

I know these skills will help me in communicating with friends, family, colleagues, and students.  I tend to speak more when I am comfortable and I am quiet when around people I don't know.  I have some things I need to work on in order to become a competent communicator.  The best way to get there is through patience, preparing, practice, and being positive!

Communication

When communicating with people from different groups and cultures I find myself speaking to these groups according to their identities.  These groups can range from children, elderly, colleagues, families, friends, and such.

As an early childhood professional I keep in mind the codes and ethics that surround our profession.  When speaking to parents I establish a common ground and let them know we are working together to meet the needs of their child.  The parents I work with know that I am very friendly and accepting as well as the fact that my door is always open to communicate with me about anything.  When working with my students I always get to their level and communicate with them by actively listening as well as actively speaking.  I keep their interests in mind and even watch a few of their shows to keep our conversations flowing. 

When I communicate with friends and family I am more relaxed and not as critical of my actions.  These people know me and if feel more open when I am surrounded by them.  I am more relaxed and at ease. 

There are three strategies I will start using to help me communicate more effectively with people.

·         Being aware of and learning about cultural differences.  Changing my worldview and being mindful of my nonverbal behavior.

·         Implementing the Platinum Rule.  Considering the thoughts and feelings of others as well as my actions.

·         Actively listen and actively speak.  Using nonverbal cues to communicate my understanding, questioning when in need of information or clarification, and uncover my own biases.

 

Television show - NBC's Camp

 

 

For this week's assignment I watched an episode of NBC's Camp with the volume off.  My assignment this week is to observe the characters' relationships based on the way they were communicating as well as feeling they are expressing based on the nonverbal behavior I observed.  The opening scene is at a camp were you see many campers on sail boats, floats, biking, diving, and having a good time shown by their smiling faces and laughing.  I first observed what seemed to be a father-son relationship.  They are sitting in the car having a discussion.  I have the speakers off and it looks like the son is not wanting to be at camp.  To start things off he has a hooded sweater on with his hood over his head with his body crouched into his seat.  The son looks very displeased by his facial expressions.  He is rolling his eyes, making a pouty face, looks like he is taking deep breaths while his dad is speaking, and is using very aggressive hand gestures.  His father seems to be trying to convince his son to stay at camp.  He is actively listening, making eye contact, and is not interrupting his son. 

 

The scene changes and in comes a blue convertible with what seems to be a girl and her older sister with a possible boyfriend.  I say this because it seems like the couple is eager to leave and doesn't embrace the girl as they quickly leave.  They give her the bags and drive off.   The scene then returns to the father and son where they are embracing each other with a hug and saying good bye.

 

As the father drives off the boy is left standing in the middle of camp looking around and seems to be uncomfortable and confused by his facial expressions and posture.  The boy and girl lock eyes and smile at each other as she walks away.  He stares and smiles back when suddenly he gets hooked in the mouth by a fishing pole.  He is clearly in pain with his eyes and mouth open wide and his hand over the hook.  He seems to be yelling in pain and the surrounding campers come to his aide.   

 

Now I watched the same scene but this time it was with the volume on to see if my assumptions were correct.  My assumption was correct about the father-son relationship.  The father is telling his son that he is going to love being outdoors and making some money.  His dad wants him to spend more time outdoors and away from being a hermit crab with his technology.  His son is not happy with his decision and would rather be home watching television marathons.  He adds that he doesn't want to change and that he is not happy. 

 

What I thought was sibling relationship was incorrect.  It is a mother-daughter relationship.  Her mother tells her to have fun and to call us if she needs us.  She leaves with saying love you baby as her boyfriend speeds off. 

 

The nonverbal cues displayed were pretty easy to distinguish but the relationships were harder to recognize.  Communicating is so much more than two people speaking words to each other.  Nonverbal communication also plays a huge part in the communicating process.  People's attitudes and behaviors add emotion to communication and allows people to share what they truly feel.  We must pay more attention to the nonverbal cues we send others so we can effectively communicate with one another so we can become competent communicators.   

 

References: 

 

Camp, Heldens & Elkoff.  (2012).  Pilot.  Kate Woods, (Director), Liz Heldens, Peter Elkoff, Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun, Eugene Stein, (Producers) NBC

 





Competent Communicator

When I think of competent communicators the first person I think of is my husband Chris.  I consider him to be an effective communicator as well as a social butterfly.  When he speaks to people he is actively listening as well as actively speaking.  He always looks you in the eye and will respond to understanding with verbal and nonverbal cues.  When he speaks the room listens.  He always asks questions for understanding and will express his thoughts and feelings without hurting anyone around him.  He watches his language and makes you feel valued.  He always empathizes and is humble.  The thing that sticks out the most is his use of "I" statements.  When he uses these statements he takes responsibility for how he feels and what he wants.  I have gained so much from our relationship and it is all because of him.

 

We have the tools to become effective communicators! What we need is to overcome fears to advocate for the children and families we work for.  Communication is key and we need it to better ourselves, our children, and our future!



Professional Hopes & Goals

One hope that I have when working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is change.  My way of thinking and viewing children has changed.  My hope is to change into a teacher who is aware of the needs of children and their families.  Being aware will help me serve the child and help them be successful learners. 

 

 



One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to create an accepting classroom.  Children of all walks of life will recognize their similarities but will also accept and appreciate their differences.  I want them to know that we are all different and no two of us are the same. 

These past 8 weeks have been a great learning experience and I would like to thank all who contributed to my learning.  Yours discussions, posts, blogs, and comments have deepened my understanding of culture, diversity, and isms.  I look forward in working with you again.  Good luck and thank you for the bottom of my heart!  

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Our world is growing to be a very diverse setting.  In our world today, about 165 different countries exist and 150 of those are represented here in the United States of America.  Early childhood professionals will be teaching children from many diverse cultures.  It is our responsibility to be culturally responsive to the needs of the child and of the child's family.



If a family immigrated from Norway  to the United States and chose to come to our early childhood center I would to my best to make them feel comfortable, safe, and welcomed.  Unfortunately I don't know a thing about Norway or it's people.  There would be a lot of work in preparing for their visit/stay.  The center would have to be culturally responsive and sensitive.  The following would have to be completed prior to the child's visit:

• research information about Norway (i.e. various customs and belief's)
• find the language of origin and learn basic words and sayings to help with communication
• inform and prepare staff to help with an easy effective transition
• create a culturally responsive environment (books, pictures, etc.)
• conference with family to get to know the child, family dynamics/background/customs, as well as expectations
• a translator or community members that will be responsive to the child and his/her family needs.  

Children and their families must feel that the center is safe and welcoming.  When the student feels valued by their teacher they are more than likely to work harder and comply with rules.  effective teachers are also effective communicators.  Listening and communicating with the student and family increases their learning effectiveness and experience.  We must develop positive relationships and hold high expectations for all students.  Doing these will help a child from another country of origin feel wanted, safe, respected and have a smooth transition into the unknown.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression



This week the NBA finals has had basketball lovers sitting on edge with games between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat.  This past Tuesday evening when the United States sat eagerly waiting for game 3 to start we all witnessed an extremely talented young man known as "El Charro de Oro" sing the National Anthem.  Sebastien De La Cruz, a Hispanic 11 year old mariachi singer, immediately became the target to racist comments all over Twitter and Facebook.  This young man was receiving many negative racist remarks about his clothing, ethnicity and the color of his skin.  I couldn't believe the hatred in the comments I read about.  Was this really happening? Are we not in 2013?  It was very clear to me that racism is still around to show its ugly face.  What these people didn't know was that Sebastian was born and raised in San Antonio, TX.  He has been performing Mariachi ballads since he was 5 years old and has such an amazing voice that he made it to the semifinals in America's Got Talent last year.  His father Juan De La Cruz, who honorably served in the Navy, has taught his son to keep his chin up as you can read from one of his tweets.

Sebastien De La Cruz @selcharrodeoro  

Please do not pay attention to the negative people. I am an American living the American Dream. This is part of the American life.

11:54 AM - 12 Jun 2013

4,328 Retweets 2,887 favorites

What people don't realize is that Sebastien is the new generation of US citizen.  Our diverse country is reflective in the children we serve in our communities.  These racist were only looking at the color of his skin and the mariachi customary outfit he chose to wear.  They were focused primarily on his surface culture and his racial identity as a Mexican-American.  Why is it so bad to have him sing our National Anthem? Is it strictly based on the fact that he doesn't look white? 

The feelings that stirred in me as I read these ignorant posts where that of anger and hatred.  I was so upset to read these comments by different ethnic groups.  How can someone be so mean to someone so small?  I wished to face these people and let them know how they make Hispanics feel when using these racial slurs.  But my hate quickly turned into pride as I listened and read his responses to these racists.  This young man had taught me a great lesson.  Love one another no matter what.  I am PROUD to be an American and I am especially PROUD to be Hispanic! To the people who feel differently WAKE UP!  As Sebastien tweeted:

  Sebastien De La Cruz ‏@selcharrodeoro 10h

Mr. PRESIDENT, Thank you for all your support. I'm a proud Mexican-American to live in the LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE!

 

For things to change we must first start with ourselves and the people around us.  We need to teach tolerance and acceptance for all people of color, gender, age, and sexual orientation.  I need to be aware of my surroundings, actions, and language.  Once I find the change within myself I can reach out to my community and give others a different view point of cultures and differences.  The best way to reach people is with information and collaboration.  This is not Sebastiens first encounter with racism.  He has dealt with this before and through the love and encouragement of his friends, family, and community he has reached a point in his life were the color of your skin doesn't matter but what you have to offer people does. 

 

 

Awareness of Microaggressions

     Becoming aware of microaggressions is the effort I made this week.  Listening in on several conversations you can plainly see that there is plenty of microinsults happening all around us all the time.  Until this week I haven’t really noticed how much we actually say.  Many times the conversations I listened in on were humorous and didn’t seem to intentionally hurt anyone’s feelings.  As an outsider I can clearly see how things can be misinterpreted and hurtful. 

     One of my favorite movies growing up was Bambi.  I will never forget the line, “If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all”.  What a great line to live by!   

An example that will be forever burned into my memory is one from my family.  My mother, in recent years, has gained a lot of weight.  She has always been thin and has struggled with her weight for several years now.  During family gatherings we all sit together and joke around.  Many of the times it is at peoples expenses.  My grandfather, the head honcho of the family, is very sweet, funny, and is great with conversations.  This particular day as we all sat down to be served my grandfather calls out loud to my mother and says, “Here she comes North America”.  Instead of Mrs. America he said North America.  My jaw dropped and you can only imagine the look on my mother’s face when he said that.  She was very hurt and upset.  My grandfather quickly realized how his words hurt and apologized.  On a positive note, this microinsult was turned into motivation and I am happy to announce that my mother has lost 70 pounds and counting.  She will always be Mrs. America to me. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

This week our assignment was to contact three people and ask them to share their definition of culture and diversity.  I also needed to include at least one person who is in some ways culturally different from me either by gender, race, class, religion, ability, or age.

Culture:

1. Culture is what you are born into.
2. Culture is a set of values and beliefs by a group of people.
3. Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people.

Diversity:

1. Diversity is a groups of people from different backgrounds.
2. Diversity refers to many demographic variables.
3. Diversity refers to something that is diverse with lots of different kinds or types.

 When speaking to these individuals they all had similar responses.  However none of them spoke anything about a persons gender, class, religion, or age.  Their thinking has led me to believe that we all need to be more knowledgeable on these terms as well as find ways to incorporate these into our everyday lives.  We must combine our communities so that we are more aware and proactive with each other.  We must do this in order to lead our next generation of leaders into a world of tolerance and acceptance for ALL people.  We must embrace this in our home, community, work, and way of life.  By doing so the world will become a better place to live in.



My Family Culture

Scenario:  A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

The items I would take with me would be my Bible, a photo album, and a cook book. 

The Bible will guide me through the difficult time of copping with loss and change.  It will ground my family and I as well as giving us hope in our temporary home and our future one in Heaven.  The Bible's standards, laws, and traditions will guide us.

A photo album will provide us with pictures of our families and friends.  Our pictures will show our families traditions, values/beliefs, and customs.  It will be a great reminder of who we are, where we came from, and what we look forward to.  My memory is not was good as it once was and although I have many beautiful memories it is wonderful to have pictures of them. 

 



My grandmother's cookbook.  Food has always brought our family together.  We always get together, tell stories, and cook traditional dishes.  Tortillas, menudo, enchiladas, paella, cabrito, and pan dulce would be a few items we could still enjoy together.  

 

If upon arrival, I were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you I would be devastated.  All these items are strong representations of who I am and where I am from.  Each one has special meanings and memories attached to them.  If I could only bring one item I would tear pages out of my photo album and cook book and add them to the Bible. 

 

I have always known how much my family means to me but after considering the thought of devastation has only given me more love and respect for my family and culture. 

 

When I Think of Research...

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
When we initially started this course I thought we would be reading and reading and reading all sorts of research.  I was not looking forward to the course.  I am very glad it didn't turn out the way I thought and that I am actually taking a lot more information on research instead.  Research although tedious is absolutely necessary.  It is very detailed and before one attempts to start research you must plan it all out.  From the participants, to ethics, validity, reliability, test groups and such.  I know understand the process and have gained great respect for those researchers who have gone from a hypothesis to answers. 

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
I now have a more positive outlook on research, its work, and its findings.  It is a long process but is very beneficial to all.  Through research we have learned so much about children's development it is essential to our ever changing world.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
When conducting research much planning is needed to prepare and conduct any form of research.  The designing and planning portion of research is just as important as the actual research itself.  The more detailed you have the more validity to your research.

What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?
One of the challenges I faced was tweaking my hypothesis and getting a really good research simulation question.  Through the term of this course with provided feedback from my course instructor and classmates I think I finally understand how to write a good research question. 

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?
Educators wear many hats and researcher is now a hat I will eagerly wear.  We love the children we work for and to continue this love we must do so much more to help our students.  Through research we can provide answers to questions we have been trying to figure out.  We can research what works best for the students under our care.  But most of all we are willing to go the extra mile for the ones we love so much.

 

A huge thank you to all who have helped me in this course become a better professional and researcher.  I want to thank Dr. Shephard and my classmates in Group 1 for all the positive feedback and comments that have helped me along the way in our course.

Research Around the World

This website is the Australian equivalent to the U.S. based NAEYC.  They have several links to early childhood research in practice.  Their mission statement is to advocate to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years.  They have a Research in Practice series for practical, effective approaches from early childhood experts and practitioners.  The series provides a practical, easy-to-read resources for those involved in the early childhood field.  Which are designed to assist with challenging issues which arise in the care and education of young children, by offering effective, new approaches.  Some of the research topics include:

• Partnerships: Working together in early childhood settings
• Respecting diversity: Articulating early childhood practice
• Children's resilience: Working with the Early Years Learning Framework
• Learning and teaching through play
• The Code of Ethics: A guide for everyday practice
• Young children as active learners

Early Childhood Australia has a lot of hands on research on child development and its research is similar to that of the United States.   It is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, and is in an ideal position to advocate for the best interests of young children and where necessary campaign for change. 

 

 

The ECA is celebrating 75 years of continued service to Australian children.  In1938 they started as the ‘The Australian Association of Pre-School Child Development’.  The longevity of this organization and its continued commitment to this important role is testament to its leaders and members.

 

To learn more about the ECA visit their website at:   http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

 



Uplifting Stories

Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field.  Imagine further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present.  Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families.  What topic would you choose?  What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be?
I have been working as a Kindergarten teacher for 9 years.  It has been a crazy roller coaster ride with ups and downs and all arounds.  I wouldn't change that experience for all the money in the world.  As an educator you wear many hats: teacher, friend, counselor, peace maker, politicians, etc.  As much as I love working with children I feel that I can better serve them by shaping and preparing the next generation of educators.  These future teachers will work hard to engage student learning, will care so much that they will not accept failure, will be positive and know how to take charge, will be creative and humble, will be resourceful and organized.  These assets are merely the icing on the cake.  We all remember that teacher that will stay in our hearts for ever as well as the teacher who needed to find another career.  What if all teachers were like your favorite teacher who changed your life forever?

 



Personal Research Journey

As I embark on a new journey into my Masters in ECE I find myself in a new course (Building Research Competency).  The past two weeks have been to familiarize myself with research articles.  My general early childhood research topic is on quality and excellence in child care settings.  From this general topic we were asked to generate three related subtopics.  I have now narrowed my subtopics and will focus on highly qualified teachers (as well as their impact on all students).  I chose this topic because I feel that more needs to be done on educators parts to ensure high quality engaging instruction for all children.  We have all had different experiences with educators (positive & negative).  We have all had teachers who changed our lives and teachers who should be working in a different field.  My goal is to research elite teachers and share their strategies to use as a guideline with all others.  If we are to change the world one child at a time we should change our ways as well.    

 

Final Blog Assignment

Throughout this course we have studied issues and trends in early childhood education.  We have studied our educational system and have learned about issues in other countries.   Here are three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development.

• letting our voices be hears and contribute to the early childhood field and advocate for needed changes in ECE programs
• connection to the world and the problems we face globally such as poverty, equity, etc.
• how we adapt to change for the sake of our children and our future

My goal is to provide students with the resources, materials, and knowledge they will need to succeed in life.  To get them there we need highly qualified professionals to teach highly quality programs.  I hope to one day teach adult learners professionalism and the value/long term benefits of a well-rounded preschool through effective programs and practices. 

 

UNESCO'S "Early Childhood Care and Education"

UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. 

 

One of their goals is to attain quality Education for All (EFA) and lifelong learning.  The Education for All (EFA) movement is a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, including youth and adults. At the World Education Forum 164 governments pledged to achieve EFA and identified 6 goals to be met by 2015. Governments, development agencies, civil society and the private sector are all working together to reach the EFA goals.

 

Goal 1
Expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Goal 2Ensuring that all children, particularly girls, in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality.

Goal 3
Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes.

Goal 4
Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.

Goal 5
Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.

Goal 6
Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.

 

 

The main challenge faced by the teaching profession today is both one of numbers and quality.  The recruiting of new teachers go hand in hand with improving the quality of teaching and learning as we have learned through our Effective Programs & Practices class as well as our Issues & Trends course.  Achieving quality education for all EFA calls for more and better trained teachers, as pedagogical processes lie at the heart of quality education.   Schools must be supported in attracting qualified teachers to ensuring quality and equity for all students.  UNESCO works to address these challenges by designing and implementing viable national policies for teacher initial and continuous training, recruitment, retention, status and working conditions.

 

 

Quality childhood care and education programs should emphasise the child’s holistic development and extend beyond assisting the child’s transition to formal schooling.  High quality childcare, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, promotes motivation, confidence, good cognitive and linguistic development and school readiness.  The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) workforce is often made up of pre-school teachers, care workers, informal carers and other professionals.  Adequate training and work conditions are essential so they can integrate the content and practice of early childhood care and education and address the transition to formal schooling.  Regular inspection and follow-up of the service setting are crucial for meaningful learning to take place.  Active involvement from parents and communities ensure that early childhood services remain relevant to the needs of the children and all other stakeholders and increases sustainability.

 

References:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

 

 

e-Newsletter

This week I received an e-newsletter from The Children's Defense Fund.  The e-newsletter didn't have any information on accessibility, availability, or affordability of early childcare education.  It is however, calling for action for better gun safety measures.  Their campaign is called America's Broken Hearts.  Just since this Congress convened on January 3, an estimated 2,102 children and teens have been shot.  They are calling for us to help end this epidemic of gun violence. 

The Newtown massacre was a turning point that changed the national discourse on gun safety. A group of non-partisan concerned citizens came together to create a March on Washington for Gun Control on Saturday, January 26. More than 100 residents from Newtown led the march. Most Americans, according to a recent Gallup poll, support universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds or less. The Children's Defense Fund joined thousands to call on members of Congress and state legislators to pass common sense gun safety laws. See the highlights and join CDF's Protect Children Not Guns campaign. Learn more http://shar.es/CDueC. 

Every Beat Matters

This week I followed a link from the Save the Children webpage.  I was interested in their spotlight area which led me to http://www.everybeatmatters.org/.

 

 

Their mission is to mobilize citizen action in the U.S. to help local health workers help save more children worldwide.  This organization has traveled the world and recorded actual heartbeats of children in need.  These heartbeats were used by the singing group OneRepublic to create an original song that you can download to help save millions of children.

Every 3 seconds a child survives thanks to the basic health care provided by frontline health workers. Frontline health workers help children all over the world survive the leading causes of death, including newborn complications, pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and malnutrition (all preventable).  With proper training, supplies and support, frontline health workers — such as community health workers and midwives —could help save most of the 7 million children who still die each year.

Save the Children by the U.S. government and other governments so that frontline health workers can bring lifesaving care to hard-to-reach communities and make the survival of children a reality worldwide.

You can find Every Beat Counts on their facebook page and twitter. 

Harvard’s University’s “Global Children’s Initiative”

Unfortunately, my international contact has not returned my emails for two weeks.  As a result I have been exploring Harvard’s University’s “Global Children’s Initiative”. 

Harvard is attempting to build an integrated international approach to child survival, health, and development in the earliest years of life.  The Center on the Developing Child has launched the Global Children’s Initiative as the centerpiece of its global child health and development agenda.  The programs focus is on three strategic areas:

·         reframing the discourse around child health and development in the global policy arena by educating high-level decision-makers about the underlying science of learning, behavior, and health, beginning in the earliest years of life;

·         supporting innovative, multi-disciplinary research and demonstration projects to expand global understanding of how healthy development happens, how it can be derailed, and how to get it back on track; and

·         building leadership capacity in child development research and policy—focused on both individuals and institutions—in low- and middle-income countries to increase the number and influence of diverse voices and perspectives that are contributing to the growing global movement on behalf of young children.

Below you will find some of their projects.

Global Children’s Initiative is launching its first major programmatic effort outside the United States. This project will use the science of child health and development to help guide stronger policies and investments for the benefit of young children and their families in Brazil.

Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância is in collaboration with 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 collaboration will foster a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable society.

Together, these organizations will engage in the following activities:

·         Building a scientific agenda and community of scholars around early childhood development;

·         Synthesizing and translating scientific knowledge for application to social policy. This will include working with the Center’s longtime partner organization, Frameworks Institute, to effectively communicate the science of child development in the Brazilian cultural context;

·         Strengthening leadership around early childhood development through an executive leadership course for policymakers;

·         Translating and adapting the Center’s existing print and multimedia resources for a Brazilian audience.

There have been a large number of studies investigated on the impact of early childhood experiences on children’s developmental, health, and educational outcomes in developed countries.  Little evidence is available on early childhood development in sub-Saharan Africa. To address this gap, the 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.  This collaborative effort measures the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia.  ZECDP created a new comprehensive instrument for assessing children’s physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development before and throughout their schooling careers which is the first assessment tool of its kind in Zambia. The Zambian Child Assessment Test (ZamCAT) combines existing child development measures with newly developed items in order to provide a broad assessment of children of preschool age in the Zambian context.  These collaborators hope that the data collected will not only improve understanding of child development but also help identify interventions to improve outcomes in a rapidly changing developing world.

Un Buen Comienzo (UBC), “A Good Start,” is a collaborative project in Santiago, Chile.  Its efforts are to improve early childhood education through teacher professional development.  The idea is to improve the quality of educational offerings for four-to-six-year-olds, particularly in the area of language development.  This project is designed to intervene in critical health areas that improve school attendance as well as socio-emotional development.  It seeks to involve the children's families in their education.

This project will eventually encompass 60 schools. UBC incorporates a comprehensive evaluation: a cluster-randomized experiment in all 60 schools. This type of longitudinal evaluation in early education has not been carried out in any other country in Latin America and will place Chile at the forefront of demonstrating the impact of a high-quality early education. 

References: 

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