As we round the eighth and final week of this course, it is important to reflect on the assignments that dealt with international contacts and issues. One of the first things that the previous assignments helped me to see are the similarities and differences in the early childhood field among different countries. For example, early on I researched the country of India; a country that faces high populations living in poverty and forces children to work rather than focus on education
(http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=countryo#11). Poverty is also relevant in the United States as more and more families struggle with affording quality childcare. One does not realize the similarities between countries until researching the issues more closely as we have in this course.
Secondly, researching international policies regarding early childhood can help one make important professional contacts to work together with. Although I did not have any luck in hearing back from international contacts, I look forward to pursuing this in the future in order to gain more knowledge about the issues in our field. It is my opinion that one can never have TOO MANY resources in our field as there is always something new to learn about.
Finally, international resources can help the United States to improve the quality of education. Using other countries' guidelines and standards may help the U.S. to find solutions faster to the problems the country is currently facing. It can always help to look at other studies especially in the creation of standards for improving early childhood education. To look at the similarities in what the NAEYC requires versus other countries might help to create more thorough standards on a national level.
One goal for the field of early childhood regarding international issues would be to visit another country and attend a workshop or conference to identify and relate to others in the field. It would benefit educators to see how others respond in the field to issues that we have learned about in this course. For example, how do European countries provide affordable early childcare to the families that may be experiencing close to poverty conditions? These are questions that could be looked at on an international level and researched as well.
(http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=countryo#11). Poverty is also relevant in the United States as more and more families struggle with affording quality childcare. One does not realize the similarities between countries until researching the issues more closely as we have in this course.
Secondly, researching international policies regarding early childhood can help one make important professional contacts to work together with. Although I did not have any luck in hearing back from international contacts, I look forward to pursuing this in the future in order to gain more knowledge about the issues in our field. It is my opinion that one can never have TOO MANY resources in our field as there is always something new to learn about.
Finally, international resources can help the United States to improve the quality of education. Using other countries' guidelines and standards may help the U.S. to find solutions faster to the problems the country is currently facing. It can always help to look at other studies especially in the creation of standards for improving early childhood education. To look at the similarities in what the NAEYC requires versus other countries might help to create more thorough standards on a national level.
One goal for the field of early childhood regarding international issues would be to visit another country and attend a workshop or conference to identify and relate to others in the field. It would benefit educators to see how others respond in the field to issues that we have learned about in this course. For example, how do European countries provide affordable early childcare to the families that may be experiencing close to poverty conditions? These are questions that could be looked at on an international level and researched as well.
Hi Clara, it is very important that we all continue our social network across the world to stay informed, learn new trends and issues and to help each other work together to make a difference in the lives of the children and families that seem to have no access or resources to a quality education. It was a pleasure working and collaborating with throughout the course.
ReplyDeleteClara,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog throughout this course. You provided readers some insightful information that can be used in the early childhood field. After reading your blog this week, I liked your goal of visiting another county and attending a professional development. What a great idea!! Is there any specific country that you have in mind? I hope that we continue on our path at Walden University together and we can continue to support each other.
Kathryn
Clara,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. This course made me realize the similarity of the challenges early childhood educators around the world are facing. The issues of poverty, equity, and equal access seem to be the common denominators for most of the countries I researched. I loved to learn about the state of early education in different countries, as you stated, there is always more to learn and discover. Your blog has been informative, and I am looking forward to reading more from you.
Nar