Time Well Spent

As I look back to the past 20 months that has gone by, without any doubt I can say it has been the most rewarding experience of my career. The program has inspired and influenced me to meet the challenge and opportunities of education not just in the community I live in but worldwide. Understanding early childhood, learning the different strategies and techniques that can make a powerful impact in the life of a child, building positive relationship not only with the child but also with the family and colleagues has helped me cater to the needs of the children, their parents and the needs of the 21st century far more efficiently. Masters in Early Childhood Studies program has not only given me profound understanding and knowledge of child development and learning but also been a greater awakening experience to me as a professional.

1.  I realized that all learning begins with self reflection. Socrates' guiding rule "Know Thyself", made more practical sense to me through this program. I realized that looking at my own self, the ways I think and perceive my experiences can be my greatest teacher. I learnt that it is important to constantly reflect on our work, be open to our own growth, learn from our mistakes and recognize our limitations, what our skills and dispositions are, and realize the need for change and keep trying.
 
2. Growing up in Abu Dhabi within its multi cultural society, my understanding of diversity was different. I thought I don’t need diversity education since I know how to interact with diversity. But this program helped me realize my understanding of diversity was just what was obvious to me – the race, color, language, religion, nationality and culture. I was able to realize that diversity extends beyond the color of the skin - our emotions, our behavior, can also define diversity. This learning has given me a deeper understanding of diversity, accept the unique humanity of others, and be able to understand and respect the diversity and individuality of every child and family I work with. This creates an awareness of my responsibility as an early childhood professional to be culturally responsive, overcome my biases and understand each family, build a supporting relationship with the families, partner with them in order to support the learning and development of every child and create a society that values everyone.
 
3.  Learning on the need for effective and appropriate communication in our world of differences, has definitely changed me as a communicator. As an early childhood professional working with young children and families from diverse backgrounds, I learnt that effective communication, cooperation and collaboration is important to enhance child’s development and build a positive, supportive relationship with children, families and colleagues. I also learned that communication skills such as good listening skills would help me analyze, understand and connect on a deeper level. It would help replace my tendency to defend, withdraw and judge with empathy, respect and attentiveness.

Therefore through my learning and new found understanding and knowledge my long term goal is to be a better advocate, be optimistic in creating a society where all people can be nurtured and have access to what they need for a quality life. It is this optimism to see equity and inclusion that keeps me motivated. Passion indeed comes from the vision. The vision for so much more change, keeps me motivated, gives me the passion to move forward. 

 

I would not have been able to go through this program and attain this knowledge and understanding without the input and insight of my colleagues and instructors. I am thankful to all me colleagues who has supported me right from the start of this program. When I joined this program I was actually very apprehensive as to how I would communicate and build relationship with colleagues I have never known and faces I have never seen. But this course helped us share who we are, our hopes, our dreams and our goals and helped us understand each other without actually physically meeting each other. Walden has helped us to support each other transcending our organizational and geographical boundaries to become a part of community of caring learners and professionals assisting each other in our commitment to a common mission to support and sustain quality care and education in the drive to create a safe and just world for our children to live in. I am truly grateful to be part of this community and thankful to each of my colleagues for making my Walden journey a memorable and edifying one. 

 

I would also like to thank all my instructors who supported me with insights and knowledge through their feedbacks, guided me to shape my thinking and explore options to learn and grow professionally. A special word of thanks to Dr. Teri Davis - I would not have been able to complete this capstone project without your timely feedbacks and responses. I am thankful to have had you as my mentor to master the core concepts and principles I needed to complete my capstone with ease and comfort. 

 

I am thankful to my father who may be no more physically on this earth but had been the motivation and driving force behind me in completing this course. I am greatly thankful to my lovely husband and my mother who have been extremely patient and supportive for the past 20 months. Above all, I am thankful to my God for helping me seek out my interest and pursue my passion. Every assignment I sat down to type, I have started with a prayer seeking His help and He never let me down. I was assured that “If He has brought me to this He will bring me through this”. With that hope and trust in Him I was able to accomplish a major milestone in my life. 

 

Passion is about perseverance. Let us together persevere to make an impact in our professional field and foster positive social change through education.

 

 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

As I continue to explore the international community of early childhood in addition to the ones I explored in my previous blog, I have been inspired to dream big.
 

One of the organizations that I had not previously explored is the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) (http://www.issa.nl/index.html). I am glad that Walden resources brought me to this site. This organization is an ideal community of practice for professionals and organizations working in the field of early childhood development and education. It is their vision to empower each child with values of social justice and equity to reach their full potential and their mission to ensure greater family inclusion and community involvement in the children’s education and learning that appealed to me greatly. Especially since the topic for my capstone project focuses on active family participation in education process, ISSA would connect me to other professionals and organizations who share common interests. Being passionate about teaching and early child development, I aspire to advocate for policy reform for families and young children in the early childhood. ISSA supports individuals with the necessary advocacy tools that are intended to influence such reforms. I therefore hope to make use of the free of charge membership to ISSA’s Online Community which would access me to an online library, discussion forums and collaborative initiatives focusing on years from birth through primary school.
 

 Another organization that I came across, again thanks to Walden resource is Academy for Educational Development (http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm). In its commitment to improve lives in lasting ways, they bring together an expert team across disciplines and geographies to address the full range of human development needs. What appealed to me is their global workforce and its commitment to professional development. It might be interesting to look into their internship program once I finish this course at Walden to reach my highest potential both personally and professionally. It would be give me a valuable experience needed to fulfill different roles in the early childhood field. It was through this site that I was able to find out about the Educate a Child (EAC) initiative which has implemented 26 projects in 17 countries including Doha which is a neighboring gulf country. They did have a job vacancy for a Technical Advisor in Doha. Though I do not meet the requirements for the position, the job description seems something I might like to look forward to in the future.
 

Job of a Technical Advisor mainly involves: 

•  Provide technical leadership by defining and developing solutions to challenges such as accurate data collection and reporting as well as the drawing comparisons across projects that may or may not be similar.
• Contribute to planning and making recommendations
• Support and review the design and scope of evaluation studies and protocols for showing the impact of EAC on out-of-school children worldwide.
• Review, analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the EAC initiative and make recommendations for enhancements.
• Represent EAC to external entities at professional meetings, events and conferences.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with EAC partner organizations, relevant government agencies, bilateral and other NGOs

Minimal Requirements:

• Master’s degree or international equivalent in education, education psychology, evaluation or related field; PhD preferred
• Expert in quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methods research methods, statistical design and analysis, particularly as applied to program evaluation
• Experienced in the design, development, and maintenance of monitoring and evaluation systems as well as educational research that focuses at a program (rather than project) level
• Experience with meta-evaluations and systems preferred
• At least 15 years’ professional experience working with international donors, government ministries, civil society organizations, and education policy makers in the field of education
• Experience working across the international donor community

Another site that I found interesting was Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm). It is an independent organization committed to accountability, innovation and collaboration in creating a lasting difference in the lives of children around the world. Its mission is to resolve everyday challenges that children face such as natural disasters, poverty, illiteracy and diseases. They have a lot of job opportunities in different parts of the world but nothing in UAE. However, they did have several leadership and development opportunities program which would help to improve skills, advance careers and develop every early childhood professional to reach their full potential. What really appealed to me is the fact that they offer opportunities for being advocates on behalf of children. Such involvement would help us save children’s lives and make a positive difference in the world we live in.

       

Exploring these several organizations has inspired my thinking, given me a wider perspective of roles an early childhood professional could get involved, and compels me to move outside, to engage with the world around us.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

“Meaningful engagement of families in their children's early learning supports school readiness and later academic success” NAEYC (n.d.). It is therefore essential that early childhood programs engage families in their curriculum, improve strategies that would help develop partnership with families. 

 

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there is no body that works for the ECE community on a national level, only on state levels, some of which was explored in my earlier blog. I would rather look into international early childhood communities to see what programs they have that foster the well being of children, families and the early childhood field. 

 

Organization such as NAEYC that is based on improving the early childhood field is something I wish was operating here in United Arab Emirates too. Its professional development opportunities and resources would help to provide leadership, coordination and services to build and maintain a strong early childhood organizational structure here. Especially, with its Engaging Diverse Families (EDF) project which is a project to learn the effectiveness of engaging diverse families in the early childhood programs and share resources and information with other organizations trying to start and sustain family engagement practices. With diversity present here in UAE, a project such as this, would help early childhood programs to relate with children and families from different backgrounds. http://www.naeyc.org/ecp/trainings/edf 

 

Another international organization that engages families as a core component of improving pre-k quality and build essential relationships between families and the education system is the Pew Charitable Trust (http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=59715). Pew Charitable Trust with their mission to enhance children’s learning at home and at school, and promote supportive and effective parenting by building essential relationships between families and the education system can be a valuable member of my community of practice. 

 

Zero to Three is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development (http://www.zerotothree.org). Their leadership, expertise, and resources for professional development help to ensure that babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. Under their care and education section they share resources and tips that would foster intellectual, social and emotional development and lay the foundation for later school success.

 

Exploring on the job market here in Abu Dhabi, one of the jobs in the market here in UAE, that is similar to what I am already doing is that of a Lead Teacher. 

 

Qualifications / Criteria Required:

Qualifications: 

•   Must have a passion for working with young children and their parents/caregivers.
•   2 – 5 years experience in teaching and/or working with young children (from 12mths and up) required.
•   University or College Degree required. Post graduate Degree preferred. Specialization in Early Childhood Teaching is a plus.
•   Must be a team player and able to work with different nationalities.
•   Must have enthusiasm, dedication, and a good work ethic.
•   Must be able to manage many tasks quickly and efficiently and be able to work in a fast paced environment.
•   Outstanding written and interpersonal communication skills required.
•   Must be fluent in English. Proficiency in Arabic, Russian, French or other languages is a plus. 

 Relevant Information:

•   Energetically teach and Manage nursery classes by following Knowledge of Reggio Emilia and Emergent Curriculum preferred.
•   Lead groups of young children and their parents/caregivers through different activities.
•   Ensure that children are comfortable, safe and having fun learning in their environment.
•   Build positive relationships with co-teachers, parents, and children.
•   Must be able to communicate well with parents regarding early learning and the value of play based learning programs.
•   Must be well versed in teaching and the development of young Children.
•   Must understand the benefits and philosophy behind reflective teaching practices.
•   Read and follow all policies as outlined in the Teachers Manual.
•   Have excellent product knowledge of all offerings.
•   Communicate to the manager any classrooms supplies that need to be replenished or replaced.

  

Though it is non-teaching another kind of post found in certain schools here in UAE is 

 

Parent Relations Executive

•  We are seeking and individual who has a customer-centred philosophy and can develop and maintain open channels of communications with existing and prospective parents and school administration.  
•  The role involves a significant focus on marketing the school to a wider community. Excellent communication skills required both orally and in writing.  
•   Individual must be a passionate brand ambassador to the school.

 Skills & Experience: 

•   Proficient in the latest computer packages with excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.  
•  Previous experience in Marketing/ Communication is required with a minimum of two years in a customer service focused role

But what I would really like is to be part of a research group that would help me use the research to uplift the educational system here in Abu Dhabi, for which I found no such vacancies here.

 

 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Exploring the internet for early childhood organizations, agencies and communities of practice that operate locally here in Abu Dhabi where I live was extremely difficult. There were no such listings to be found in Abu Dhabi under such a given name.

On further exploration, my search brought me to the website of GEMS Education Solutions (http://www.gemseducation.com/solutions/) that focuses on school effectiveness. I was really excited to come upon this site. It was interesting to see that the GEMS education solutions had partnered with the Abu Dhabi Educational Council (the ministry that governs the education here in the Abu Dhabi) in 2012 to provide professional development and educational transformation as part of its endeavor to increase school-level leadership and capacity. Their missions and values in education transformation strategies, curriculum development, teaching and learning practices, program design and evaluation, policy making and organizational development appealed to me. Knowing that they provide support to private and public sectors from US to China, including Abu Dhabi and India open out more opportunities for me. Among their several consulting services, I found they also focus on my utmost passionate interest -Parent Engagement and Partnership Program (http://www.gemseducation.com/solutions/consulting-services/parent-engagement-partnership-program?submenuid=5157&parentid=1107)- that is crucial for breaking down barriers because of the cultural diversity found here in UAE. GEMS have such leading personalities such as academics, educationalists, authors and researchers on their parent engagement advisory board that it would be an honor to work under the guidance of such leading thinkers (http://www.gemseducation.com/solutions/consulting-services/parent-engagement-advisory-board?submenuid=5546&parentid=1107). In fact The GEMS School in Abu Dhabi did have a job vacancy as a parent relations executive responsible in maintaining open channels of communication with existing and prospective parents and school administration. They also have teaching vacancy for teachers from foundation stage to year 9 requiring attested Bachelor's Degree with a B.Ed/ TTC, a minimum of two years teaching experience, valid UAE residence visa (for expat candidates on husband's or father's sponsorship), and excellent communication skills.

Another site I came across in my search that caught my attention was a children’s nursery in Dubai (Emirate 2 hours from Abu Dhabi) called Blossom Children’s Nursery (http://www.theblossomnursery.com/). This nursery was awarded the winner of the prestigious Arabian Child Award for the best early childhood service provider of the year 2011. What appealed to me were the credentials of the founder of Blossom, Zahra Hamirani. She is a law professor working with many organizations including International Montessori Foundation and National Association for Early Years Practitioners (www.naeyc.org). NAEYC is an organization I regard highly and to know there is someone in this country who is associated with it and has merged all that knowledge into implementing a curriculum that is stimulating and engaging to get children the best start of their early years created in me a hope of forming a community of practice. If we could form a community of practice, with her kind of focus and commitment, we could ensure many nurseries setting standards of international excellence here in UAE.

National Association for the education of Young Children (NAEYC) (http://www.naeyc.org/) is an organization that is based on bettering well-qualified practitioners and improving the conditions these professionals work in, improving early childhood education by working to deliver a high-quality system of supporting early childhood programs, and encouraging excellence in childhood education for all children by constructing an extraordinary, all-around organization of groups and individuals who are committed to promoting excellence in early childhood education for all young children. Being a member of this community of practice and staying informed can support me in my professional development and help me stay current on early childhood issues, and participate in group efforts to promote improvement in services to young children.

Being in the diverse community I am in, establishing and supporting a community of diverse membership would help to connect people not merely through ideas but through feelings, passion and drive to support and sustain quality care and education within a community.

Reflecting on My Anti-Bias Learning

This course on how to build an inclusive, anti-bias learning environment that is developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate has been enriching. As an early childhood professional my hope is to build on the strategies and techniques that I learnt to help develop children’s strengths, capacities and skills needed to take step in the direction of what is right and stand up for what is fair I would not have been able to gain the insight and knowledge that I did without the collaborative support of my colleagues. I like to take this moment to thank each of my colleagues for the all the help, advice and ideas extended towards me.    

Addressing something that hurts children is a proud and fulfilling moment. I continue to need your support in my anti- bias journey. I need allies to cheer me during my success, and stand by me during my failures. As I move forward in my professional goal of doing anti-bias work in early childhood classrooms, I request my colleagues to continue to be the allies I can talk to and the circle of groups I can come to. I wish you all the best in your role as the diversity/equity educator and wish that through our collaborative efforts we can together build a world in which children feel safe, supported and loved.

An International look at Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The headline in our local newspaper read this morning “In Syria, the biggest losers are children” (Gulf News). Syria has been in war now for the past three years with more and more people fleeing the country every year. Even here in Abu Dhabi we have a lot of Syrian families and so seeing this article this morning I thought it apt to look into the impact of war on the early emotional development of children in Syria for this blog assignment.

War in Syria has taken an unacceptable and unbearable toll on children exposing them to grave human rights violations, poor conditions for survival, destruction of schools, unsanitary conditions and risking them of losing a generation (UNICEF).

This chart that I came across UNICEF website appalled me (http://storify.com/UNICEF/syrian-crisis/elements/b660f6994cda7f5d2deaee3e)




Indeed the biggest losers are children. Because of adults’ conflicts, it is children who lose homes, families and siblings, suffer injury and permanent disability, get uprooted and transplanted into circumstances beyond their control. They get denied of love, compassion, education, health and dignity and also lose their innocence when they are forced to look after their younger siblings and elderly grandparents becoming breadwinners overnight. All around them, their dreams and opportunities for the future are being lost. As a result of the trauma, they suffer profound long-lasting psychological effects. Children replicate killing scenes while playing, cover their faces and seek shelter when they hear planes flying overhead.

A child’s identity is constructed within his or her culture, ethnicity, language, family structure and home relationships. War and other forms of trauma affect the lives of children, challenging their well being and development and create psychological dynamics that can affect their individual sense of self and undermine their healthiest and fullest development as human beings. UNICEF and its partners are trying to combat the deteriorating state of children by providing them with safe drinking water, vaccination campaigns and organizing learning programs that will provide psychological services.

Children need a helping hand that would promote their strong sense of identity, feel pride in who they are, and have courage to stand up for what’s not fair. With appropriate adult guidance we can help lay a strong foundation that would provide the base for the next stages of healthy development and the skills they would need to thrive and succeed in our complex and diverse world.

References
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/files/Syria_2yr_Report.pdf
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/jordan_65808.html
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/syriancrisis_68134.html
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/in-syria-the-biggest-losers-are-children-1.1199838
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/syriancrisis_69285.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

Children as young as preschoolers are brainwashed by the institutional and cultural socialization they encounter such as media, language, and song lyrics. The media culture has become an educational force playing a significant role as “teaching machines” in influencing young children on the institutional and cultural expectation about normalized race and sexuality. Today’s media and commercial culture bombard children with graphic sexual images and information that they may not even understand. 

Just a couple of days back a 3 year old child in my class was signing ‘oppa gangnam style, hey sexy lady” and doing the gangnam style dance steps. Another 4 year old child was singing, Scream and Shout by Britney Spears “…..you gotta turn the shit up… All eyes on us…” They may have been just singing a song that they found catchy, without knowing what the lyrics meant. Observing how these children as young as three years pick such songs is quite alarming.

It may be cute to see my 2 year old niece flaunt a dress, swirling around pretending to be a princess. This is what most of the little girls want to be ‘a princess’, ‘the prettiest of them all’ because of the influence of the animated movies. But when she refuses to wear any other clothes and insists on wearing only frocks that she can swirl around in, it can be disturbing. What is observed is that even at an older age of 5 years, girls are still obsessed at being ‘lovely’. My colleague’s daughter wears only pink frocks. After she gets dressed, she parades before her parents tossing her head, and waving her hair asking “am I not lovely?” This emphasis on beauty can push them from being the prettiest little girl to being the being the hottest little girl.

It was quite shocking to see how my Lebanese colleague’s 9 year old daughter walks out the house in micro mini shorts, high heels, and tiny tops that expose midriff. My colleague does not seem to mind her daughter walking out the door looking like that. Somehow letting a young girl dress like that has become Ok, part of their culture. As a result of such thinking we find clothing these days outright sexy.   

Children think listening to secular songs is ‘cool’ and they idolize the artists. I see around how boys as small as 6 year olds imitate the current popular boy band – ‘one direction’ in their hair styles and clothing.

The authors of the book ‘So sexy so soon’ (Levin, & Kilbourne, 2009) has rightly asserted how young children’s exposure to an overly sexualized environment plays a significant role in undermining their healthy gender and sexual development and negatively impact their sense of self worth. Children learn narrow definitions of gender and sexuality that focus primarily on appearance.

When children adopt the values that dominate commercial culture—materialism, self-indulgence, conformity, impulse buying, and unthinking brand loyalty—the health of democracy and sustainability of our planet are threatened (CCFC). Therefore as early childhood educators, we need to partner with parents and provide positive age-appropriate experiences that can help children begin to sort out their ideas and feelings about themselves and others, deal with issues of sexualization that would support the healthy sexual development of children. 


Reference

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC). Retrieved from http://commercialfreechildhood.org/actions/home.html

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf