Reflection on International Studies in Early Childhood Education

In reflecting about my study of the international early childhood field, I am struck with how few consequences I can find with such study. Unfortunately I was unable to come in contact with any international contacts so my post is simply based upon my own study of various websites whose focus is on international issues within education. 

For myself one of the main consequences of studying the international field would be  a slip in judgment. This is to say that comparing how the educational field is approached in various other countries. This can happen in two ways one would be compare the approach to development of children and feel a sense on entitlement and that how things are done here in the United States when studying how less developed countries are beginning to approach education. Or to view that everything is done wrong here is the United States again when studying comparable international countries. 

In thinking of education how one country may or may not be approaching education and how it compares to the United States, is a dangerous trap. In studying education an open mind is always key. Even when comparing the educational approaches from state to state and how policies can become vastly different in the early childhood field here in the United States it can be easy to sit in judgment. Instead studying every new approach as a possible learning experience and a chance for greater professional growth. 

With that said it is my hope that through studying trends and policies internationally,  that through communication and an establishment of greater international connection.  Then ideas can be exchanged in order to ensure that every child is given the benefit of the very best in trends and ideas across education and in every country. 

UNESCO

Over the past week I have had the chance to reflect on my own personal goals in education and how through my course work I have been influenced to change or reaffirm whats I have set out as my goals.

My goals:

- to always be an advocate for positive change within the field of early childhood education for the benefit of children and families.

-to always seek the education and knowledge needed in order to be the change I wish to see in education.

-to always seek to develop partnerships with families, building trusting relationships in order to ensure that their child will receive the highest quality in education.


UNESCO 

"Early childhood care and education programmes 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"( UNESCO, 2014) . 

Through my exploration of the site, I have been able to find that the goals of the educators internationally are the same as my own. In seeking to emphasis the holistic development of children with focuses on quality and equity in education. Whether in the United States or abroad in other countries the goals of all educators should be to advocate for positive reaffirming change in the lives of children and families through education. 

"There are no universally agreed criteria for quantifying ECCE quality but useful factors to consider include pedagogy materials, personnel training, service setting and parental education and involvement"( UNESCO, 2014) 

In this one statement I am reaffirmed in my assessment of myself and my personal goals within education. 

Harlem Children's Zone & Center on the Developing Child

Harlem Children's Zone

While researching through the Harlem Children's Zone site I decided to focus first on the the press releases offered through the site. 

A 2012 press release offers an article on the 20 communities chosen as recipients to grants for Promise Neighborhood Programs inspired by the Harlem Children's Zone program. 

This federal program recognizes the importance of leveling the playing field for children in under-resourced neighborhoods." Inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone, Promise Neighborhoods wrap children in high-quality, coordinated health, social, community, and educational support from the cradle to college to career."

http://www.promiseneighborhoodsinstitute.org

Center on the Developing Child

On the Center on the Developing Child site, their most recent article is entitled 

"Changing the Narrative for Early Childhood Investment"  Shonkoff, Jack P. (2014). Changing the Narrative for Early Childhood Investment.JAMA Pediatrics, 168(2), 105–106. 

"Advances in the biological and social sciences tell us that the period from conception to school entry is a time of both significant opportunity and considerable risk. Multiple interventions during these early years have been designed to address the roots of lifelong disparities in learning, behavior, and health, and half a century of program evaluation has documented positive impacts on a variety of outcomes. That said, the quality of program implementation has been highly variable and the magnitude of the impacts has remained fairly stable during the past several decades, consistently falling within the small to moderate effect-size range. The time has now come for a different approach to early childhood investment that catalyzes innovation, seeks far greater impacts, and views best practices as a baseline, not a solution"(Shonkoff,2014). 

This is an article that is reflective of the issue of providing equality in education, from birth through adulthood. As the evidence is has shown the positive effects on child development and educational equity for all children. The quality of the program from which children are exposed at the earliest ages have the biggest impacts on their lives. 

This article further helps my understanding the importance quality programs that children of all ages have exposure to, when we are thinking of programs this is to say from birth through school age up through high school. All children can make gains from the benefits provided a high quality program. 

Global Children's Initiative

The center for developing child (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/). 

Currently, Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância is a collaboration between 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 project represents a unique opportunity for the Center to work with Brazilian scholars, policymakers, and civil society leaders to adapt the Center’s programmatic model for the local context in order to catalyze more effective policies and programs that will, ultimately, foster a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable society.(2014; Center for the Developing Child)   The current push in the country of Brazil is to develop a community of scientist and scholars whose main focus is on the development of early childhood policies. Their hope is to apply this research into equitable and fair social programs that will benefit all children in the country of Brazil. This push is a result of the rapidly expanding economic growth within the country of Brazil and the wide disparities gaps within the country. 

In the country of Zambia, a number of studies are being conducted to investigate the impact of early childhood experiences on development, health and educational outcomes from children in developing countries.  The ZECDP ( Zambian Early Childhood Development Project ) collaborators hope that the data collected as part of this project, as well as future work in this area, will not only improve understanding of child development in this context but also help identify key interventions towards improved outcomes in a rapidly changing developing world.

In the country of Chile Un Buen Comienzo (UBC), “A Good Start,” is a collaborative project in Santiago, Chile, 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 also designed to intervene in critical health areas that improve school attendance as well as socio-emotional development, and it seeks to involve the children's families in their education.( 2014; Center for the Developing Child) 

Brazil, Zambia, and Chile are three countries seeking to make changes in the future of the children within their countries through changes in the current policies of early childhood development and education. While each has begun to approach their initiatives in different ways, the goals of all three are to improve the lives of their children and families. 


(http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/),