Issues and Trends...Fuel for Continual Learning

This course has been amazing for strengthening professional connections for me.  I took a break from my classes at the end of the summer, so I have gotten to know a completely new set of people through this class!  The further I get into my master’s program, the more I enjoy interacting with my classmates.  As my knowledge grows, so does theirs.  This enables our conversations and interactions to be more meaningful. 

When I look at international EC issues, I am torn.  Some of the issues abroad are so much greater than issues here in America.  Then consequence of this is that I think less of our issues in the States.  Although issues abroad might be greater that issues here, I cannot let myself think that our issues are unimportant. 

Another consequence is that through all of my explorations, I have only found more information.  That is more stuff to read, more people to meet/listen to, etc.  These are things that I will have to earmark for exploration at a later time when I am not bogged down with school work.  On the bright side, this gives me more resources for later classes, as well as opportunities for continued learning after class is over.

I think the biggest consequence of learning about the international early childhood field is that I am only getting a birds-eye-view of the issues that exist.  Without actually immersing myself in the EC setting across the world, I cannot get a full 360 degree picture.  This is what has inspired my goal to travel.  Not travel for travel’s sake, but actual travel to immerse myself in my field across the world. 

International Contact

After 7 weeks, I was finally able to make contact with an EC professional overseas!  I am proud to introduce you to Aleksandra Petrovic!  She teaches preschool in Serbia and she knows a Serbian co-worker of mine.  Here are some things I asked her and her answers to my questions:

What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

"The situation in early childhood field is not so bright.  Public childcare centers do not have large capacities and there are usually too many children in one room (sometimes 25 or more with two teachers).  One interesting thing about Serbia is there are no infant rooms because maternity leave in Serbia is 12 months and majority of children start daycare programs when they turn one!"

What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

"Many early childhood professionals have associate or bachelor's degree in early childhood education.  Also, there are seminars and conferences that might provide additional training for EC educators."

What are some of your professional goals?

"One of my professional goals is to open my own daycare center.  Private daycare centers provide much better service, they are not crowded with children and there are no waiting lists for children to start the program."

What are some of your professional challenges?

"Financial factor is one of the biggest challenges.  Childcare teachers do not make much money.  On the other hand, opening a daycare center requires some money to be invested in it, which might be one of the major challenges."

I was really glad I was finally able to make contact.  It looks like we have some struggles in common.  It appears that the EC field is in very similar places throughout the world.

ISSA - A Good Start

This week, as I continued to dive deeper into the International Step by Step Association, I stumbled upon a program that seemed to go hand in hand with our current learning in this class.  The name of the program is “A Good Start” and they strive to achieve equality in access to education for one minority group in particular, the Romani.  The Romani people are the largest minority group in Europe and are similar to our idea of gypsies.  They have their own language, but it is not widely accepted in schools and public places of businesses.  The Romani people are generally very poor, and are therefore not receiving equal opportunities for early childhood education.  “A Good Start” helps these families by teaching their children the “accepted” language, whether it is Slovak, Romanian, Hungarian, or some other Eastern European language.  They also provide education to the parents on the types of this their child needs to know to be ready for school.  I watched a video, and it really brought to life what these people are going through.  It seems that most parts of the world struggle with the same issues of equity in quality education.  Here are a few quotes from the video that seemed to go hand in hand with what we have been learning in this class:

"Breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty affecting Europe’s largest minority group begins with a good start for thousands of Romani children.

An overwhelming body of international evidence underscores the importance of early intervention – from conception to age eight – on a child’s development.

New evidence from countries like Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia points to the benefits of preschool for Romani children.

Yet, the majority of Romani children in Eastern Europe lack access to preschool.

Investing in early childhood development and giving Romani children an equal start is smart economics, with aging populations and shrinking labor forces, let fast-growing Romani populations.

Like any poor, disadvantaged child, Romani children should be provided with a free place in kindergarten for at least two years.

National governments can benefit from peer learning and can partner with civil society organizations implementing innovative approaches.

  

Let’s break the cycle on intergenerational poverty of Europe’s largest minority group, beginning with a good start for thousands of Romani children."

Video can be viewed at: 

http://www.romaeducationfund.hu/videos/good-start-country-videos-1

International Issues or American Issues?

While trying to decide which podcast to listen to, I chose the one with TJ Skalski.  I have done so much international research, but I wanted to do something a little more familiar and closer to home.  Skalski is the Principal of the Mother Earth’s Children’s Charter School (MECCS) in Alberta, Canada.  From listening to her speak, I gathered that she has not had the easiest life.  She was the 5^th Principal at this school in a period of 5 years.  She was the first to stick it out for more than 1 year and she stayed on staff, despite staff changing all around her, especially of superintendents.  She actually describes her first year as principle at MECCS as hell.  She speaks of the schools vision to reinvest in the children.  She wants to create a community where culture and language are at the forefront.  Most of the students that come through her school are damaged, feeling no worth, and have a lot of baggage.  This is where she steps in and tells her inspiring story of not being accepted.  Her mother married a non-aboriginal man and because of this had her rights taken away.  In 1985, she regained these rights back.  Skalski speaks of regaining her rights federally, but not within the community.  She shares her story with the kids as inspiration.

This podcast was very insightful.  Although slightly different, the core issues of acceptance are the same internationally as they are in America.  It made me think of biracial families and how they continue to struggle to find a place to fit in.  It is amazing to me that in our day and age, we still struggle with these issues.  

Sharing Web Resources - ISSA

In my explorations of the ISSA this week, I stumbled across a new publication they just released.  It is a book entitled “Early Childhood Programs as the Doorway to Social Cohesion: Application of Vygotsky’s Ideas from an East West Perspective.”  It caught my eye because of its obvious correlation to the issues and trend in the field of EC.  We have been discussing how investing in EC pays out at least double in the long-term.  That’s right, there have been NUMEROUS studies that prove that investing in EC programs will monetarily benefit the community and the government many times over the initial investment.  This book takes that idea and puts it on a global level, in eastern and western contexts, and how Vygotsky had these thoughts and theories long before it was publically accepted.  This was the closest thing I found that related to this week’s topic of economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support of our field. 

One thing about the ISSA that fascinates me is that it is shared among many countries.  It demonstrates teamwork among people with potentially differing opinions, and I think an organization like that sets a fantastic example for the children and families it is designed to reach. 

I will leave you with a line found in one of the ISSA leaflets I found on their website:

“ISSA is open to exploring new partnerships and

is eager to engage in joint initiatives that aim to

strengthen democracy, encourage active civic

participation, promote quality teaching, and celebrate

diversity and inclusion.”

Poverty Around the World

After many struggles to contact EC professionals in other countries, I have come up dry, and will be using the alternate assignment. 

This week I listened to a podcast via the World Forum Foundation radio website http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php.  The podcast I listened to was with Mr. Meridas Eka Yora.  He is the founder and director of Fajar Hiayah for Islamic Education and director of the Yayasan Fajar Hidayah Foundation.  As many of us remember, there was a great earthquake in 2004 located in the Indian Ocean.  Indonesia was the closest land to the epicenter of this earthquake, and the territory of Aceh was devastated.  225 Indonesians died and 500k were left homeless.  In the wake of this devastation, what are homeless orphans to do?  Where are they to go?  This organization ran preschools for these orphans.  They also had nurses and psychologists for the children.  Yora spoke of a holistic approach to care.  He said it gives a family-feeling to the children. 

I hoped to find information about Indonesian childhood poverty from the CHIP organization (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/), but I saw information for China, India, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia.  I chose India because it is on the Indian Ocean like Indonesia, and unlike the other three options.  Also, we have a large Indian population in Richmond, VA.   

I learned that India is home to the majority of poor people in South Asia.  Almost half of the population is under the age of 18, and half of those children are malnourished.  India is also home to the largest number of working children in the WORLD…nearly 1/3 of these children are under 16 years of age.  This makes me uncertain if I should buy thing “made in India” to support these poor souls, or abstain from buying these products to boycott child labor.  I am amazed at the poverty level in this country…more than 25%.  Surprising enough as this is, the poverty level in Richmond, VA is 25%. I live in Henrico County (neighbor to Richmond City) and our poverty level is 9%, with a state-wide poverty level of 10%.  I can’t imagine if my entire country operated at this level of poverty.

(Poverty statistics for Virginia retrieved from www.census.gov)

Global Resources - International Step by Step Association

As I stated in my last blog post, I have chosen the International Step by Step Association for my web resources exploration – http://www.issa.nl . 

“The International Step by Step Association (ISSA) is a membership organization that connects professionals and organizations working in the field of early childhood development and education. ISSA promotes equal access to quality education and care for all children, especially in the early years of their lives.”

Google Map of the ISSA Network
Retrieved from the http://www.issa.nl

 

I found this organization on my search for an international contact for the other part of my blog assignment for this class.  I saw the website for the ISSA attached to most of the names and countries on the Global Alliance of NAEYC page and decided to check it out.  My thoughts were that if that many countries had a connection to this organization, it would be well worth my time to check it out.

As I explored this site, my first instinct was to find some sort of newsletter.  I did find a newsletter that the organization puts out, but upon closer examination, I began to notice that all the articles were at least 2 years old…everything was dated 2010 or before.  This puzzled me, so I did some further investigation.  I found a place to become a member, and I believe you can only receive CURRENT newsletters if you are a member, which makes sense.  Being that I am a full time student with a low paying job who was also not in the countries to which the newsletters pertained, I decided to save my money and use the old newsletters that I COULD access instead.  I know that 2 years is rather out of date, but I figured it wasn’t SO out of date that I could not get a broad view of the kinds of things that are going on inside this organization. 

It appears that after some period of time (about 2 years), the newsletters for the ISSA are “released.”  I found a Winter 2010-2011 newsletter and in this newsletter was an article about Eurochild’s 7^th Annual Conference.  I read a little further to see what kinds of things might have been the topic of discussion at this conference.  After reading for a while, it seemed very similar to a NAEYC conference.  I have not been to a NAEYC conference, but I have been to and presented at a VAECE conference, which is the Virginia Association of Early Childhood Educators conference, and the topics seemed quite similar. 

One objective that caught my eye because of its correlation to this class of issues and trends in the field of EC, was ”In the framework of the European Year of Combatting Poverty and Social Exclusion, the conference highlighted the importance of EU efforts in helping member states fight child poverty and social exclusion, and brought suggestions of how this effort can be reinforced in the future.”  This was proof to me that America is not the only country that deals with these issues.  As I read on, I also learned that they seem to have some of the same difficulties with funding that we do.

I am excited to dive deeper into this organization that appears to be so similar to those I am already familiar with.