Reflection

The past 8 weeks have been a very educational journey where I was able to get insight into issues I never had such deep understanding of.

To me the term poverty brought the image of poor people begging on the streets of India. It is only when I did this course and looked into the issue of poverty did I realize that poverty has many faces. It is not only the amount of income but also the instability and the unpredictability that it causes that matters for children.

I learnt from my colleagues and my international contacts that changing demographics is a global issue and most of the time teachers do not know how to handle the diversity in their classroom. However, developmentally appropriate and evidence-based practices are being recognized and implemented in many countries. Exploring the NAEYC website was very enriching as it included resources that supported my professional development with information on how technology can be integrated into the classroom and curriculum to support positive development of young children in a diverse setting.

I also realized from my international contacts that increased pressure on literacy and math is another global issue. Many of the areas of learning such as social, emotional and physical learning are overlooked. People’s attitudes about pre-k need to change, because preschool years are the exceptionally transformative years in a child’s life.

We as educators need to think more broadly and participate in group efforts to promote improvement in services to young children. I think this must be our goal to be committed and dedicated to provide a good start in the life of children and work towards caring for the ‘whole child’.

I would like to thank my international contacts: Fahra, Wanda, and Clair for without the information they shared compiling my blogs these past 8 weeks would not have been possible.  I also want to thank my classmates who have been part of my educational journey for all the valuable information that you posted on your blogs as well as supporting me with your comments and encouragement.

Let us together be the change that we want to see - Mahatma Gandhi

Equity and Excellence in the Early Childhood Profession

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” – Albert Einstein

However, early childhood teachers are not given the due recognition they deserve nor their efforts valued or appreciated. They have been considered ‘mere babysitters’ lacking professionalism. Without structural support and poor paychecks, what will keep an early childhood teacher motivated, what will sustain their commitment, what kind of quality can be achieved?  

Let us this week go back to my contacts in Indonesia, Germany and UAE to look into the early childhood field there and see how these countries support the early childhood professionals, provide opportunities for professional development motivate and sustain them and achieve quality

Trends in INDONESIA,

My contact in Indonesia is Fahra Amiroeddin, who is currently working in The World Bank prior to which she worked as education curriculum consultant in UNICEF and Save the Children.

Indonesia is lacking qualified early child professionals. In term of quantity, many of Indonesian children (rough estimate is 15 million) are not enjoying early childhood education. The existing early childhood centers have teacher-children rationales of 1:30.

“In terms of quality, Indonesians in general are not particularly interested to be early childhood professional because most of us are not familiar yet with early childhood education. People assumed that it is ‘easy’ to teach early childhood children. They don’t think it’s necessary for childhood professionals to understand stages of child development, early childhood learning that stimulates children, etc.

The usually un-lucrative benefit package for early childhood educators also exacerbates the people’s interest to become early childhood educators/professionals. Only few childhood education centers and/or organizations give substantial benefit package for their professionals and those are usually ones located in big cities” 

In order to cultivate a mutual professional relationship with my contact when asked on her goals, professional hopes, dreams and challenges:

“My professional goal is to continue building the capacity of education stakeholders (from early childhood until university level) to provide quality education for children in Indonesia.

My dream is: Someday, Indonesia’s education system at all level will become one of the best one in the world and that each and every child here can enjoy it. The challenges are of course including government’s commitment, community minimum awareness on the importance of education and unpreparedness of the human resources to materialize that dream” Fahra (July 7, 2012).

Trends in UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

My contact in UAE Clair Watson is on vacation and hence I did not get any response from her.

However, being in UAE myself, working as an early childhood teacher from what I am aware of, here the ECE field is developing. Up till now, early childhood was not given much importance as it was regarded as merely babysitting. As a proof of that is what our designation is on our labor card (Here, we need a labor card or work permit to work in any organization). It is 'Nanny'. There were not any qualification requirements to work as a preschool teacher. But now things are getting better. The education ministry has realized that ECE is equally an important field and therefore teachers have to have at least teacher training to work as a preschool teacher. For this reason the ministry of education offers training program which they are insistent that every unqualified teacher must take. They have also begun to realize the need for standard curriculums that cater to the developmental needs of the children. For this reason there are even companies now who hire employees qualified in education and curriculum development just to prepare these curriculums. This is where I see my future. I love teaching. But I feel somewhere down the line I would like to be part of the preparation and building a curriculum that is developmentally appropriate based on all the knowledge and learning that I am getting.


Trends in GERMANY

My contact in Germany Wanda Martin did not respond to my mail. So sorry I have no first hand information to share. But as far as trends in Germany in relation to excellence and equity in the early childhood field is concerned what I found when searching the web is

Availability of childcare is a major problem in Germany, especially for younger children because of Germany's views that mothers should stay home and care for children before they reach school age. Only 1/3 of children age 5 and under has a slot in full-time childcare in Germany. However, Germany today is in ‘a situation of transition’. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is high on the political agenda in Germany for ‘childcare’.
http://www.oecd.org/education/preschoolandschool/33978768.pdf

Sorry I could not find any further information. Hoping my contact will respond and I will be able to update my post.


Since anything we as early childhood educators do impact the lives of children, we have a great responsibility in articulating what we do, take assertive steps in acquiring respect for our profession. Only then would we be recognized and the need to invest by the government for our further advancement would take place. Only up to date training and mentoring would help sharpen our skills essential for effective professional performance, update our knowledge, help us grow professionally with opportunities to collaborate with other teachers and thus improve our work with young children. Professionalism is a “matter of awakening” an “ongoing lifelong developmental process”.

Sharing Web Resources - new unexplored links

As I continue to navigate through the NAEYC website, there were links that connect to within the NAEYC as well as outside that I had not yet explored.

NAEYC hosts a radio program that focus on different topics each month related to early childhood education that can benefit both parents and educators alike. The link to the NAEYC radio is
http://www.naeyc.org/newsroom/NAEYCradio

I found this link particularly interesting as there were topics that related to education and equity discussed that can further add to our understanding of this issue. For example, the topic for this month that is aired is Strategies for Dual Language Learners by a lead consultant Karen Nemeth, Ed.M. which clarifies misconception on the topic and shares practical strategies.

http://www.jackstreet.com/jackstreet/WNAEYC.Billboard.cfm

Besides a whole lot of other topics that I found in their broadcast archives there were also topics on  
How Federal Policies Affect Early Childhood, and
Underpaid Early Childhood Professionals: Finding the path to better pay.

For people like me who prefer to listen than sit in front of the monitor reading pages after pages, this link was particularly appealing.

On the NAEYC homepage under the resource tab there is link to Earl Childhood Organizations listing websites to number of organizations outside NAEYC that share in the same commitment and provide resources that can enhance our work with young children and their families.

For Example,

 Association for Childhood Education International supports the optimal education, development and well being of children worldwide. For information outside the US on the needs of children, this site is very informative. There was report on May 30, 2012 on Child Poverty in the World’s Wealthiest Nations. Topics such as these can influence the professional growth of educators by providing timely data that is necessary to advocate and plan evidence-based policies needed to tackle the issue of poverty and its effect on the early childhood education. 

Another interesting link I found was the website to Educational Equity Center at AED. Since it related with our current topic it caught my attention. The purpose of this EEC is to develop programs like professional development, consulting services and community partnerships and materials that promote bias-free learning thus eliminate inequities based on gender, race/ethnicity, disability and level of family income

Exploring the website, it is clear that there are plenty of resources out there than can empower teachers and others involved with early childhood programs to ensure children arrive at school with the tools they need to learn and to thrive. Knowledge is the cornerstone of effective change. Let us as educators figure out how we can put this knowledge to ensure ALL children have access to high-quality early learning and development programs that help them get ready for school.