Reflecting Over My International Connections

I was amazed I made contact with two early childhood educators from other countries. K Corr, from North Ireland, and S. Sheil from Singapore, have taught me so much!  I never thought I would have contacts from countries other than the US.  Both of my contacts have said to contact them at anytime with any questions.  They have been amazing!

Through these two contacts, I have learned that:

1.  In both N. Ireland and Singapore, in the schools that my two contacts teach at, most students are not considered socially disadvantage with less than 20% receiving free and reduced lunch.  In Indiana alone, 40% of students receive free and reduced lunches.

2.  Families, children, and educators face many of the same challenges related to equity as we do in the US. These include location, socioeconomic status, and race.
 

3. A hot topic in N. Ireland right now is the qualifications of a "high-quality" educator.  They are currently in discussions in North Ireland about whether the 3-4 year old teachers should be degree holders.  This is currently a hot topic here in the US.

Learning about these has broadened my knowledge about education in areas other than our country.  It has made me realize that countries that are very different in culture, geographical setting, language, etc., can be facing very similar challenges.  This has made me realize that we have a long way to go in the US in terms of our early childhood program.  During my conversations with my two contacts, I realized that their programs were far more developed than I had assumed prior to the course. 

My goal is to continue connections with these two contacts.  I also plan to make new connections through my recent joining of an early childhood group.  This group is on Facebook, and contains members from all over the world who come together to share ideas and discuss topics. 

I want to thank all my classmates and Dr. Klein for such a wonderful journey through this course!  The discussions we have all taken part in, and the blogs that you have all posted have given my much more knowledge!  Thanks again!

Getting to Know my International Contacts-Part 3

I asked my international contacts the provided questions this week.  Their answers were both interesting and very informative.  It appears that the UK is in a possible transition period simliar to that of the US.  

   

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

The biggest discussion in the Uk at the moment is whether you need a qualified teacher in a nursery class. (3-4 year olds) This was mooted a few years ago in N. Ireland but created such an uproar it was shelved but in some regions of Scotland it has already happened. I would envision that with the recession & budget cuts it will be brought up again.

We have 2 systems for preschool here - statutory (schools) with teachers & voluntary (playgroups) with no teachers. It creates a them versus us situation where schools feel in competition with playgroups & there is limited contact or collaboration between the 2.

There is also a drive to get all assistants (non teachers) educated to degree level.

2.  What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

There is little opportunity anymore for development unless you are willing to study part-time at night and pay for it yourself. Even when you do this you do not get any more pay but I did anyway for my own development. There is little incentive to do any further studies. I have found that blogging & following blogs has helped me become more reflective as a teacher.

3.  What are some of your professional goals?

I want to ensure that the children in my class get the best early years opportunities in their year with me. I want to offer them a unique outdoor learning experience that they can't get anywhere else. I hope to continue to develop European links for my school & would love ot undertake a study on early years proviosn in Australia & Scandinavia.

4.  What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

If money was no object I would establsih an outdoor kindergarten! However I feel very lucky to do a job I love.

I was surprised to see that Ireland voted down the decision to make certain requirements for teachers.  It seems to be an issue all over the world.  When talking about her professional goals, she mentioned making European links.  I am very interested to do a little research on Australia and Scandinavia to see what their education program looks like!

Unfortunately, S. Shieh, my second contact from Singapore, did not respond to my questions from this week.  I would've been very interested to hear what she had to say.

Sharing Web Resources-Zero to Three on "Reauthorization".

Over the last six weeks, I have been exploring the Zero to Three website.  This week, I followed a link from the Zero to Three website titled "Early Head Start".  The link took me to The Early Head Start National Resource Center.  This center had sections on News, Resources, Activities, and Partnerships.  They cover topics such as SIDS, breastfeeding, webcasts, onlines lessons, homebased programs, etc.  It looks a fantastic website that covers a wide range of topics as it relates to infants and toddlers.   

This week I also searched for some specific articles about either access, awareness, or responsiveness.  I had a difficult time finding any specific articles, but did come accross an article titled "Zero To Three Priortities For Early Childhood In The Reauthorization Of The Elementary And Secondary Education Act".  

This article does an excellent job at highlighting the importance of early childhood education, and the effect  it can have on children as they age and grow.  "The first years of life are critically important to later success in school and adulthood" (Zero to Three, 2011, pg. 1).  Furthermore, this article goes on to make reccomendations for creating a new connection between early childhood education with the K-12 education system.  Some of these suggestions include:

• Continue the Use of Title I Funds to Serve Children Birth to Five
• Require Data Collection on use of Title I Funds for Early Childhood Education
• Promote Joint Professional Development for Early Childhood and Early Elementary Educators
• Incorporate Provisions within Literacy Initiatives Based on the Premise that Early Language and Literacy Begin at Birth
• Require K12 and CommunityBased Early Care and Education Providers to Support and Coordinate Efforts with Each Other

What does all of this mean?

There is definitely a move for early childhood to be held at the same level as K-12 education!  This is exciting for  early childhood professionals, and will reap great benefits for edcuation as a whole.  Zero to Three is a fantastic organization that stays abreast the hot topics in the early childhood field.  Zero to Three also advocate for all young children, showing the importance of education and relationships at all ages including infants. 



Resource from:
http://www.zerotothree.org/public-policy/federal-policy/ztt-priorities-esea-2011.pdf