Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

        

          Since I have not received a response form any international contacts, I chose to explore the UNESCO website to compare how the information compares with my new professional goals.

         
         After reviewing my three professional goals, in the context of my early childhood studies since enrolling in Walden University’s Masters of Early Childhood Studies program, my goals are more detailed now. At first I stated that I wanted to teach adults in the early childhood field, become a well known early child children’s book author, and become more involved in the political arena by advocating for improvements in the early childhood field. However my goals now are more refined. I know now that I specifically want to educate parents living in poverty about the importance of fostering healthy development in their children’s lives. My desire is to be instrumental in breaking the cycle of poverty by providing this population with the tools and resources to empower them in changing their lives. The other two goals, have not changed, however I now have new insight on how these two goals can be instrumental as well in breaking the cycle of poverty. As a parenting educator, I can promote literacy by teaching parents how to read and or tell a story to their child, how to ask open ended questions to promote cognitive and language development. Also in the area of advocacy, I now understand the importance of committing becoming a life long learner in the early childhood field. Doing so will enable me to be more persuasive when advocating for the early childhood field.

         
          Three Insights I have gained from the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) website similar to my revised professional goals

        
          Like my revised professional goals, I discovered that the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) state that their goal is to expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care. Early childhood policies are no longer restricted to academics but designed to address social development, gender equality and poverty.

          Similar to my professional goal of closing the quality of early care and educational inequity gap, UNESCO posted on their website that the Dakar Framework for Action reaffirmed the importance of early child care and education for all children by placing the issue first among six main goals. Although government assistance for the poor is not sustained, the goal remains.


          Another similarity between this organization and my personal goals were the views on parental involvement. The UNESCO website had several videos about the subject of parental education. One in particular titled “Working Together for Early Childhood" is an advocacy video produced by the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood. Divya Lata, Senior Program manager - Open Society Foundation stated that families play a central role in providing nurturing and stimulating environments for their children and becoming empowered to access resources for good nutrition and health care services to prevent illnesses.


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

Sharing Web Resources

For this assignment I chose to revisit the National Black Child website. I was hoping to find another resource under the Resources tab/ publications, but unfortunately this link was not available at this time. However, the one area I chose to thoroughly search was the “T.E.A.C.H.” tab. 

                Available on the website was a press release of the NBCDI announcing receipt of funds from the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Division of Early Education. The objective is to launch a scholarship system targeted towards early childhood practitioners to provide opportunities for acquiring higher education credentials.  Formal educational opportunities include CDA, Associates and Bachelors degrees, and a Director scholarship in the early childhood field.

            Other bits of information included eligibility guidelines, (must not earn more than $19.00 per hour), and must live and be employed as an early childhood practitioner (working with young children) in the District of Columbia. Applicants are not restricted to Center Based Care, but individuals from Family Homes are eligible too. The T.E.A.C.H. program is also available in 21 other states.

To assist individuals with the application process, applications and forms for each program is available and can be printed. There are also instructions for completing college applications and the FAFSA, along with  a list of participating colleges (including their links). The FAQ section and a T.E.A.C.H. presentation are available to answer any questions one may have as well as contact information.

Lastly, what really captivated me was the “Creative Ideas for Release Time” section. In this section is a list of suggestions for ensuring that participants receive support from their directors. Here are a few of the suggestions. 

·         Offer release time during rest time so scholarship recipients can study or use the center’s  computer and  other resources for papers and class projects.
·         Pay recipients for their lunch breaks.
·         Provide a whole or half day off before a test, final exam or when a class project is due.  This will give scholarship recipients extra time to prepare for these big events.

Wow! I wish!

I am not receiving an e-newsletter from the NBCDI. Information is provided to those who become members. But there was an announcement stating that NBCDI received a $300,000.00 grant from the WALMART Foundation! The funds are being allocated to launch a healthy nutrition initiative. The implementation of this initiative will involve a delivery method that is culturally relevant and meaningful for the purpose of reducing obesity among African Americans and educating African American children and families about the importance of practicing good nutrition. 

In terms of finding information related to this week’s topic about equity and accessibility in the early childhood field, I discovered a paper in the resources section titled “Economic Recovery Letter” (2009). The letter was addressed to the Senator/ Representative from the Child Care and Early Learning Coalition. In the closing section of the letter was a list of the organization affiliates. Just to name a few, the YMCA of the USA, Zero to Three, NAEYC, and The National Black Child Development Institute was on the list.

The content of the letter entailed strong support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the purpose of revitalizing our country and helping struggling families make ends meet. The letter addressed the need to assist families with the cost of quality child care, putting parents back to work, and pleading that new school constructions make provisions for early child education as well. The content also includes addressing the issue of eligibility by stating that an increasing number of families need financial assistant with the high cost of early quality child care. The coalition also stated their support of the $255.2 million in funds to target quality improvements, of which $93.6 million would be allocated for infant and toddler care. The objective is to excel beyond the current standards of quality. 

In closing, I must say that I am real excited about the T.E.A.C.H program. This initiative is a step in the right direction to improve the quality of care in communities least likely to provide quality care. And after  reading the Child Care and Learning Coalition (2009) "Economic Recovery" letter, I realized how powerful advocacy can be when everyone pulls together.

References

National Black Child Development Institute
http://nbcdi.org/

Getting to Know Your personal Contacts: Part II

While exploring the Harvard University’s Global Children’s Initiative” website, the first piece of information I explored in the context of global equity in early childhood education was a video webcast titled “Early Childhood Program Effectiveness”. Ph.D. Yoshikawa of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education presented the concept of the “Three Tiered Approach” as the solution to ensuring that all children regardless of their backgrounds experience healthy development. Tier 1 covers the basics, a safe environment, consistency of care with responsible, nurturing caregivers. This type of care (quality care) has been proven to sustain healthy brains and bodies. Tier 2 not only provides quality early childhood education for children, but provides educational and financial support systems for parents. Tier 3, encompasses being responsive to the needs of children and families experiencing toxic stress by providing specialized services for child maltreatment, substance abuse, and mental health issues. The insight I gained from the “Three Tiered Approach” is that creating equity in early childhood education calls for multiple strategies (as opposed to the cookie cutter programs we now have in place)  to address the diverse needs of children and families.

The second bit of information I discovered came from the resources section that linked me to the Pathways Magazine (2011).  The article that really caught my attention was “Race to the Bottom” (Ravitch, 2011). Like the NCLB initiative the “Race to the Top” initiative is outcome driven with punitive consequences of firing teachers and closing schools. This type of intimidation only creates a culture of dishonesty in our educational system as administrators and school faculty fabricate test scores in order to receive funds and or remain open. Ravitch (2011) contests, that it is our nation’s poorest children who are hurt the most as they enter school lagging behind children from more affluent families. Poor communities yield poor performance schools which perpetuates the cycle of not receiving the finances and resources needed to improve the quality of education in poor communities. As children are passed on from one grade to the next, the discovery is made after graduating that they have not been adequately prepared to be successful in college. Students coming from this type of system often have to take remedial classes upon entering college. In contrast, Ravitch, (2011) states that high performance nations place emphasis on providing a rich-well balanced curriculum as opposed to our test only performance driven approach. The insight I have gained from reading this article is that fear driven initiatives such as the Race to the Top initiative are ineffective in creating equality in our early childhood educational systems, especially among the poor.

Thirdly, I explored Global Children’s Initiative. The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University invited early childhood experts from various parts of the world to set the agenda for Harvard’s initial entry into to international research on child development. Historically the center has always conducted studies only in the United States. But to get a global perspective, the center recruited 25 academic scholars in the early childhood field to attend a conference. Despite challenges such as imposing western ideas on to other cultures, this is a good place to start for the purpose of gathering research based data that can be applied in creating equality for children worldwide. 

                                                                                                                                                References 

Center on the Developing Child. (Harvard University). (2011). Early childhood program effectiveness [video webcast]. Retrieved from (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/)

Ravitch, D., (2011) Race to the bottom. Pathways (29-32) Retrieved from The Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality website: www.stanford.edu

Center on the Developing Child. (Harvard University). (2011). Global Research Conference Retrieved from (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/)

Issues and Trends: Economists, Neuroscientists, and Politicians as Early Childhood Advocates

The section(s) relevant to my current professional development include the following;

Policy Engagement and Chip Activities/ International

The content in the Policy Engagement section is very informative in terms of providing me with researched based information about which combination of policies have been proven to be the most effective in eradicating poverty. CHIP outputs include reports, policy briefings, case studies and photo images, all of which are downloadable from this website. Having access to this information will equip me to effectively advocate for the well being of children.

Something I found to be controversial was policy about population control. I wonder how (in a democracy such as the U.S.) this could be implemented.  CHIP found that the larger the micro-system the more diluted family resources become. Resources include income, access to public services, parental time and the mother’s physiological and nutritional resources. For example, an infant born within 18 months of a previous birth has twice the probability of dying of an infant born two or more years later. Also large families have a higher incidence of working girls in some countries.  CHIP suggests that countries with high populations provide family planning services. Although we already have family planning services in the U.S. perhaps we should educate poor families more about the consequences of bearing children in poverty.

The information I found to extend my understanding of economists, policy makers, and politicians investing in early childhood, was from the Donors section. Donors are instructed to develop strategies that break cycles of poverty rather than programs that treat poverty through the implementation of projects. According to CHIP, economic growth alone is not enough to reduce poverty, but must be accompanied by redistribution as well.

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center Website

After exploring this website, I discovered the "CHIP" program. The CHIP program was funded by the UK Department of International Development , Save the Children and Chronic Poverty Research Center. Although this program has been discontinued, the website remains as a source of information to practitioners, policy makers and child advocates who are concerned about childhood poverty. Information is researched based and used in compiling reports and briefings.

The country I chose to explore regarding childhood poverty was India. In 2001, India was the second most populated country in the world with 260.2 million people living in poverty from 1999 -2000 (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/). There are several factors contributing to India’s poverty status, ecological situations such as drought, inequalities among the people due to social and caste subclasses, and gender discrimination.  Some regions are poorer than others. Persons living in rural regions of the country are the poorest due to the lack of access to assets, education, health and skills. 

There has been some progress, however the numbers remain high. During the past five decades, efforts have been made to alleviate poverty by means of creating economic growth.  Between 1973 and 2000, the percentage of the population below the poverty line declined continuously from 54.9 percent to an estimated 26 per cent. Rural poverty reportedly declined from 56.4 per cent to 27.1 per cent during the same period (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/). Despite these declines, there is still much controversy about the accuracy of these numbers. Overall, the absolute poverty numbers remain very high. 

In terms of how children are impacted by poverty in India, I found it interesting that girls are most impacted due to gender discrimination.  For girls, the poverty cycle begins at birth.  Depending on their social class and or caste (heredity hierarchy), girls are typically neglected, least likely to be educated and are more likely to participate in the child force labor. Overall, almost half of India’s children (about 62 billion) under the age five are malnourished, and 34% of newborn infants are extremely underweight (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/).   

Despite some improvements, India’s children make up 20% of the world’s population of children not enrolled in school and has the largest number of children under the age 16 working (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/). 

Three insights I have gained from this website are as follows; 1) The first step in eradicating poverty is to create a worldwide awareness about the issue of poverty and how it impacts children. 2) In terms of children experiencing poverty, children are the most vulnerable population as they can not speak up for their rights. I realize that in order to rid the world of childhood poverty, we (adults) will have to get involved in advocating for the well being of children at all policy levels. The CHIP website is a voice for children who can not speak up for themselves’ and provides information and photos that can be downloaded for the use of advocating against childhood poverty. 3) After reading several case studies from the website, I realized that poor families are no different from families that are not poor in terms of wanting their children to be educated. It was also enlightening to see how the children themselves communicated their desire to get an education as well. In contrast to the United States, our children seem to be more occupied with material gains rather than their education. Perhaps we should incorporate worldwide childhood poverty awareness in school curricula to help our children develop an appreciation for the education we have access to here in America. We could also involve our children in fund raising projects to support programs like CHIP. 

References

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP). (n.d.). Knowledge for tackling childhood poverty. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Changing Demographics and Diversity

National Black Child Development Institute

While exploring the National Black Child website, I was curios about its origin, so I clicked on the “About Us” tab and discovered that this organization was birth in the 60s during the civil rights era by the Black Women’s Community Development Foundation in Washington, D.C who were concerned about the unsatisfactory conditions of children and families who wanted to rear healthy children. After impacting their community on a local level, the group decided to form a national advocacy group forming networks in other cities and were incorporated in 1970 as The National Black Child Development Institute Inc.Their mission statement is as follows, 

“To improve and protect the quality of life for children of color and their families by giving every child a chance.” 

NBCDI promotes a multifaceted agenda to promote and protect the well being of children of color and is committed to replacing the existing cookie cutter (deficit oriented) program models with strength based initiatives designed to meet the individual needs of this particular population. Programs are designed to assist children and families experiencing challenges in the areas of early care and education, health, parenting, education, and child welfare. NBCDI also collaborates with other early childhood professional organizations and persons associated with the field.

Next, I explored their accomplishments and I was excited to discover that a NBCDI work successfully to create public policy and influence legislation that directly affects the lives of African American children by testifying before Congress on every significant child care bill. I was also excited to learn that the P.E.P. Parent Empowerment Project was one of their initiatives, reason being I was a child care director in the 1990s for the YMCA and we contracted the operation of a teen parent child development center with a Fort Worth Public high school. I recall the school social worker having weekly meetings with the teen parents that I sometimes attended. Topics ranged from filling out an application to properly strapping children in car seats and more.

I was also amazed to learn of another program initiative, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® This program provides sequenced educational scholarship opportunities for child care center teachers, directors and family child care home providers who work in regulated settings. Scholarships are also available to supplement the expense of teachers pursuing their CDA, Associates or Bachelor degree in Early Childhood Education.

One last thing, I discovered is that their annual conference will he held in Nashville, TN Oct. 8 – 11, 2011 where I reside.

In response to does this  website respond to this week’s topic, changing demographics and diversity, I did not see an actual article, the publication tab is being updated, but the topics for the conference are as follows,

• ·      Solving the Persistent Challenge: How to Promote and Support Diverse Leadership

• ·       Preparing for Diversity: The Role of Higher Education in Preparing Effective Educators of Black and Latino Children

Membership is very inexpensive for students, only $20.00! Wow! I think that is what I paid back in the late 90s.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

After several email returns I have opted to use Alternative 1, the World Forum

I clicked on the “Current Work” tab and selected radio forum from the drop down box.

Next, I subscribed to World Forum Radio and listened to two podcasts.

Episode 3, Delphina Mitchell-The context in which she improves the quality of life for children is healing children who have experienced physical and sexual abuse, abandonment and neglect. 

Episode 6, Meria Eka Yora-The context in which he improves the quality of life for children and families is  by meeting the social/ emotional, physical and cognitive needs of orphaned children due to the Tsunami tragedy.

The Early Childhood Organizations I have chosen to explore are;

Association for Childhood Education International
17904 Georgia Ave, Suite 215
Olney, Maryland 20832
USA
(301) 570-2111;
(800) 423-3563;
Fax: (301) 570-2212
E-mail us at headquarters@acei.org

National Black Child Development Institute
http://nbcdi.org/

International Child Resource Institute
http://www.icrichild.org/