Saturday, June 29, 2013

Final Blog Assignment - Week 8




My Three Consequences

1.  I have learned on a weekly basis, even though I was not successful in making contact with a professional to correspond, that there is a wealth of information to be found online.  I have expanded my resource base with numerous sites I found and that have been shared by other classmates.
2.  I joined The Society for Research in Child Development http://www.srcd.org/ ..  I was given access to numerous resources and links to connect with other professionals within the field.  There are several social policy reports that I was able to utilize within assignments for this class and hopefully it will be of great help during the next class.
3.  During week 3 my search led me to a link for the World Forum Foundation http://worldforumfoundation.org/ .  I was being extremely hopeful and attempted to contact Irma Allen, Chairperson for the Environment Authority of Swaziland and member of the Nature Action Collaborative for Children.  I was not successful, but the search led me to a story she was telling about a retirement ceremony of a teacher (World Forum Foundation Radio, n.d.).  A man who was a former student was there and approached the teacher and described the wonderful experiences and memories he had as a child in her care.  He described feeling safe with her.  He shared that those experiences have impacted his whole life and assisted with his accomplishments.  This gives one hope and proof that what we do does matter so much, even when we do not realize at the time.  The children we help and teach do not forget us.


My One Goal

Throughout this learning experience what has occurred to me over and over is the fact that although we may be thousands of miles apart and from very different and unique cultures, we are basically facing and trying to overcome many of the same issues-poverty, inequities, homelessness, and not having the importance and emphasis placed upon childhood and the area of child development that it needs and deserves, to name just a few.  Yes, there are some countries that have much bigger issues than we do here in the states and I do not mean to make them seem to be less critical than they are.  My goal for us would be to view the field of child development, children, families, and our desire for growth and progress in the field as a uniting factor that can bring us together and enable us to embrace our differences.

I would also like to say thank-you for the wealth of experience and knowledge each of you has shared within this class.  I look forward to working with each of you in upcoming classrooms and perhaps at some time within the professional field.  I find it very heart-warming to be able to go into these areas of shared interest and feel the love and dedication that each of you have for children, families and the profession.

                                                               Reference

World Forum Foundation Radio. (n.d.). [Audio podcast]. [With Irma Allen]. Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org/get-involved-2/world-forum-radio/ .

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 3




                                    I still have had no success in contacting international early childhood professionals and will be completing the podcast alternative for this week’s assignment.  The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (n.d.) is an international organization that has focused upon the advancement of Early Childhood Care and Education as well as several other areas of research, study, policy and advocacy.  They support the holistic approach to child development and lead an international push for integration of early childhood care and education systems.  I have explored the UNESCO Early Childhood Care and Education website and found a few areas of interest related to the professional goals I formed in the Foundations course and several that are related to issues and trends we have discussed within this course.  My goals from the Foundations course are as follows:
Goal 1:  I will continue my master’s degree and upon completion move onto the next level of education.  I will strive to be a life-long learner.  This process will include exposure to relevant research and the thoughts and ideas of diverse children, families, and professionals.  I will continue to grow and learn through the practice of self-reflection and observation.
Goal2:  I will become a more powerful advocate for children by adding to and staying current with my knowledge of policy, funding, and early childhood issues.  I will refine my communication skills through education and practice.  I will take advantage of any and all opportunities to advocate for children, their families, and the field of early childhood.
Goal 3:  I will continue to contribute to and enhance the lives of children, their families, and the field of early childhood in whatever position I hold as a professional in the field.  I will not be deterred by doubt, negativity, or criticism of others (Ferguson, 2012).
            Within the UNESCO website there are sections that address the subjects of access and equity, quality, investment and financing, and coordination and integration.  They call for higher levels of education of the providers in order to assure quality services to children.  Equity of care is addressed.  As within the United States, this is also a problem in many other nations that children from affluent families are receiving higher quality services and those who are in the most need, cannot afford them and are receiving lower quality care.  There is a push for coordinated and comprehensive systems that serve from an early age through the school years.  There is a move toward alignment of programs.  They still have no universal system of standards and policy for early childhood as yet either.  UNESCO strives to educate, advocate, inform policy makers, and overall positively impact the lives of children and families.  My efforts and goals are of a similar nature, but on a much smaller scale. 

References
Ferguson, C. (2012). Foundations in early childhood. EDUC 6005. Week 8      Assignment 1.
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. (n.d.).  Early childhood care and education. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/ .

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Sharing Web Resources – Week 6




My web resource is the Society for Research in Child Development.  There are several links to outside resources and organizations located at http://www.srcd.org/about-us/links-other-organizations .  They include funding sources, policy resources, related organizations (science and professional; child policy, research and funding; additional policy-related organizations; and international), and teaching resources.  There are several listings under each of the headings and the one I chose to explore was Child Care and Early Education Research Connections located at http://www.childcareresearch.org/content/childcare/find/guide.html .
 When I typed in equity and excellence in early care and education there were numerous links to access.  Information was from countries all over the world and the majority of the most recent were from countries other than the United States.  When clicking on some of the resources it sends you to a link to Worldcat or Google Scholar for those with text not available on their site.  Many of those links required purchase of the article or membership to their site. 
I received a newsletter from SRCD in an email just last week.  There was information concerning an upcoming topic meeting, the 2013 Victoria S. Levin Grant for Early Career Success in Young Children’s Mental Health Research, the SRCD Oral History Project, the International Congress of Educational Sciences and Development and a call for editors on New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development.  When I searched the site for information pertaining to equity and excellence in early care and education I did not find any articles or information but the outside link to Child Care and Early Education Research Connections located at http://www.childcareresearch.org/content/childcare/find/guide.html led me to several sources.
Of particular interest was an article that looked at children within the child welfare system and the services available and the impact of each by Ward, Yoon, Atkins & Morris (2009).  Within the research we have covered so far, that aspect had not been raised specifically.  I also found an article by Kinch & Schweinhart (n.d.) that discussed the importance of high-quality childcare, the cost and looked at how 10 programs achieved both.  There were many others with relevant information on the subject of equity and excellence covering the subjects of common core standards, early education as a wise investment, and programs and approaches from many other countries around the globe that are attempting to bring their early care and education programs, services, professionals, and standards to a level that will provide high-quality for all children.  This is not necessarily a new insight, but what I have gained perhaps a sharper insight and additional knowledge on is that as different and varied the countries around the globe are, we all have many more things in common than we might think—including the concerns for our children and futures. 
References
Kinch, A. & Schweinhart, L. (n.d.). Achieving high-quality child care: How ten programs can deliver excellence parents can afford. Retrieved from http://oldweb.naeyc.org/ece/pdf/kinch.pdf
Ward, H., Yoon, S., Atkins, J., & Morris, P. (2009, April). Children at risk in the child welfare system: Collaborations to promote school readiness. Retrieved from http://www.chil;careresearch.org/childcare/resources/16159/pdf .

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2





            I have completed the alternate assignment for this week which consisted of exploring the Global Children’s Initiative website at http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/ .   The website contains several areas of interest and information relating to global issues and concerns which several countries and initiatives or efforts are specifically focused upon in articles (2012).  Central to the focus of the Global Children’s Initiative are the education of policy-makers in the areas of learning, behavior, and health in relation to child development; support research and projects that facilitate the understanding of what is required for healthy development, how it can be inhibited or interrupted, and what steps are necessary to correct any interruptions; and preparing and educating leaders to include low and middle income countries around the globe upon how  to  and what it takes to facilitate the healthy development of children and families for the best outcome for society (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2012). Three domains of particular interest and focus are child development, children in crisis and conflict, and child mental health.  There are several projects currently underway in many areas of the world (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2012).  
I found the article by Shonkoff, Richter, van der Gaag and Bhutta to be quite informative (2012).  Many of the things we have already learned throughout this class are contained in this article to include the cost of poverty on people and society in general, the issue of human capital, the importance of unified efforts across economic, educational, health, and other linked domains to come up with a unified research based approach, and various global efforts (Shonkoff, Richter, van der Gaag & Bhutta, 2012).  The one thing I found to be of the utmost importance and quite upsetting is the number of children who will not survive to have any of these efforts impact their development.  Child mortality is a very huge problem in many parts of the world at a very high rate, but progress has been made (Shonkoff, Richter, van der Gaag & Bhutta, 2012).
Poverty, stress, lack of focus upon early childhood and need for reform seems to be an issue regardless of the part of the world you are from.  There are different levels of each, but all are found in each country.  There is unified agreement that this issue will not resolve itself and will require efforts of all groups and at all levels of politics and society to address and work towards resolution of this huge, huge problem impacting the world’s children.  The future success and continued growth and development of children depends upon our ability to work together.

References
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2012). Global children’s initiative. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/ .
Shonkoff, J., Richter, L., van der Gaag, J., & Bhutta, Z. (2012, January 4). An integrated scientific framework for child survival and early childhood development. Pediatrics, 129(2), 1-13. Doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-0366.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Sharing Web Resources-Week 4



The website that I have chosen to study is the Society for Research in Child Development located at http://www.srcd.org/ .  The section that I have found to be particularly relevant to my current professional development is the Wiley Online Library.  I have spent time looking through the various books, journals and publications available through my membership.  Some of the articles require purchase to download or access, but I have found several of interest that are free to access.
 Two social policy reports were of particular interest.  The first by Killen, Rutland and Ruck examines the effects of social exclusion and discrimination of children, (2011).  It addresses the need for interventions to be developed, the possible causes of the formation of these behaviors in children and suggestions to address this issue. The second report by Rhodes and Huston addresses the early childhood care and education workforce, (2012).  They discuss the current condition, the needs to address, the challenges of forming a high-quality, educated workforce, and makes suggestions for policy goals to address these issues, (Rhodes and Huston, 2012).
The article that may be viewed as controversial by Golombok discusses the subject of reproductive donation and blended families that use this process to have children, (2013).  It describes various family structures that utilize this process to have children, the concerns, and data on parent and child adjustment (Golombok, 2013).  Surprisingly, there is not near the adjustment issues for families comprised of gay or lesbian couples as there are for those using donor insemination or single mothers – these have increased risk for psychological concerns according to Golombok (2013).
The research being done in the fields of economics, neuroscience, and politics (social policy) are evidence themselves that there is interest in learning more and addressing the issues in the early childhood field.  The attempt to gain accurate, up-to-date knowledge shows concern and a genuine attempt to become more educated upon the issues that need to be addressed in order to make provisions for high-quality, accessible care for all the children in need of it.  The more it is discussed perhaps the chance for true change will increase.  It is very apparent that we need to take action to change the future of our children for the better and of our society.  Knowledge and awareness are key to implementing policy and practice that will have positive lasting impact on the field of early childhood and education.
References
Golombok, S. (2013, March). Families created by reproductive donation: Issues and research. Child Development Perspectives, 7(1), 61-65. DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12015.
Killen, M., Rutland, A. & Ruck, M. (2011). Promoting equity, tolerance, and justice in childhood. Sharing Child and Youth Development Knowledge, 25(4). Retrieved from http://www.srcd.org/sites/default/files/documents/spr_254.pdf
Rhodes, H. & Huston, A. (2012). Building the workforce our youngest children deserve. Sharing Child and Youth Development Knowledge, 26(1). Retrieved from http://www.srcd.org/sites/default/files/documents/spr_261_final.pdf