6162 Week 8 Final Blog

A consequence of learning that materialized for me was that I was reminded of how each country has both similarities and differences relating to the overall education of young children. In addition, I was prompted to view the aspects of investing in the future of young children and the fact that in the United States funding sources are limited and there are many inequities facing children and families.

The information that I obtained throughout this course through media, print resources and international colleagues, has inspired me to advocate stronger and harder for young children. Advocating for the families and the young children will require me to grasp the many policies and procedures that have an impact on early childhood education. These new developments have reinvigorated me to continue my focus on my higher education and make use of my new contacts and the many resources that I obtained will be the start of my professional resource binder.  

 One final word of encouragement to my dedicated colleagues: Keep on being positive fixtures in the early childhood community. Inspire others to be great and build strong networks of professional colleagues that you can share and gain knowledge from. We are building leaders for tomorrow and empowering parents of today. Thank you for being supportive and inspiring me to stay positive!

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

My professional goals revolve around advocating for change in the early childhood field by, improving the excellence of care that is delivered to children and families, enhancing my knowledge and understanding of practices and procedures by furthering my education. In addition, I hope that universal standards are established within the early childhood field to improve access of care to all children. I dream of a world where no child is left without care and that the efforts of those providing care evoke enough intrigue and curiosity to inspire creativity and growth.

In 1994, the United Nations (UNESCO) proclaimed October 5th as World Teachers’ Day, with the aim to emphasize the role of the teacher in children’s education and development, and to highlight principles and recommendations concerning the status of teachers.

Throughout  this course, I have been conversing with my international contact in the UK and France; I have included correspondence and links from my contact in the UK:

Dear Janella,

I hope they have been! I’ve listed my answers below each question.

What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

The biggest issues related to excellence and quality at this moment in time centre around qualifications.

This includes:

http://www.daynurseries.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/26/Debate-should-early-years-teachers-have-qualifed-teacher-status

http://sheila-nutkins-author.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/debate-about-ratios-and-qualifications.html

In addition, the regulator Ofsted has come under increasing fire for standardisation issues:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-24079951

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/article/1214950/exclusive-ofsted-responds-big-conversation

And more recently, ‘school readiness’ has been at the forefront of agendas:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10307682/Failure-to-acknowledge-the-concept-of-readiness-in-education-this-is-the-tragedy.html

http://edfaclib.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/guest-blog-post-too-much-too-soon-school-starting-age-the-evidence-3/ 

Finally – issues over improving the quality within the state sector and comparison to both PISA and other measurements:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10317154/Good-school-bad-school-what-do-we-measure-this-by.html

There are current debates over qualifications particularly within the UK, this link provides some context:

http://www.daynurseries.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1560801/early-years-professional-launches-petition-in-battle-to-gain-qualified-teacher-status

The relative value, and what is required by practitioners, is currently under review and debate –  in an attempt to raise standards both professionally and of those work in the sector.

What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

Early Education offers a very popular Associates programme for further training, and continuous professional development is seen as a key part of working in education in the UK. There are plenty of courses and further degrees, both part- and full-time that you can avail yourself to. Some of these higher postgraduate degrees have more stringent entry requirements, and others may require certain amounts of work or experience in the sector. It is most certainly encouraged by employers – although we’ve not taken it as far as Finland or other countries, who stipulate you must be trained to Master’s level in order to teach!

What are some of your professional goals?

Having recently completed my Master’s, I am currently studying for a PhD in Education. I want to continue to be a researching practitioner within the education sector, and build upon the research I have already had published, as I look towards developing new critical theory. I will hope to move into academia and probably consultancy on the side!

What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

The biggest challenge professionally is funding further education! There are few grants and scholarships, so it often requires individuals to pay for postgraduate training if they choose to pursue it. However, I hope to complete the part-time PhD within four or five years, before moving into academia or consultancy within the sector, to continue getting my work and research published to improve the education sector where ever I can. Hopefully, it will come true and help lots of people!

Hope that helps Janella – as stated, these are purely my personal opinions and goals and should be interpreted as such!

Best wishes,

Chris

Early Education

 

Week 6 EDU 6162

 

One of the outside links that I followed led me to the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) website:

New Home

•Thoroughly search one area of the site. What do you find?

I found a valuable resource: A Framework That Works: How Pre-K-3rd Can Be a Smart Strategy for Black Kids, Families and Communities.

This comprehensive PreK-3rd grade framework consist of the six areas that are imperative to the positive progression and development of Black kids:   

• Effective and Aligned Instruction Across Consecutive Years  
• Positive Relationship Development Between Children and Teachers 
• Strong Family and Community Engagement
• Importance of Social-Emotional Development
• Access to Full-Day, High-Quality Pre-K and Kindergarten 
• Successful, Supportive and Seamless Transitions 

•If you receive an e-newsletter, follow a link related to one of the issues you have been studying. What new information is available?

The National Black Child Development Institute, does have an e-newsletter accessible through the following link:

http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/ 

The NBCDI President and CEO, Dr. Felicia DeHaney, was a well-known member of a panel of experts discussing philosophies and resolutions for forming and supporting additional high-quality early learning experiences in African American communities.

 Additionally, find out if the site you selected at the beginning of this course offers any information about the issue of this week:

The website that I originally explored was the Children’s Defense Fund and it provides plenty of resources and information about quality and equity.

•Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education?

This website increased my understanding of the need for equal equity for all children, I often advocate for this but, the information on this site increased my awareness of the inequities that black children experience.

•What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain this week from exploring the website and/or the e-newsletter?

In addition to the different links on the site, I found links to bi-partisan support and ways to contact members of congress to advocate for change.

Source:  http://www.nbcdi.org/news

Week 5 6162 International Correspondence PT 2

Below, please find additional correspondence from our colleague in France Toluwalope, OTEH:

Hi Janella,

Thanks for sharing about Michigan. It is a good idea you suggested we exchange information about each other’s country because, I am getting to know so much about preschool in France. My 4-year-old daughter attends an International school due to the language barrier but, my 2-year-old son goes to a home-based child care centre (Nounou in French or Assistant Maternal in English) headed by a French woman. After reading so much about French preschools, I am considering enrolling my son in a French preschool (ecole maternelle). Here are some interesting and useful sites, hope I don’t bore you with them.

Quality preschool program is not compromised in France. The standard is high and of a good quality because every preschool is owned, managed and funded by the government. Fees are subsidized for low and middle class families and it is compulsory for every child to attend. Hence, no issue of inequity or discrimination due to socioeconomic status of families as both the rich and poor attend the same school.

 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128328858

http://preschoolmatters.org/2010/07/07/a-glimpse-into-france%E2%80%99s-ecole-maternelle/

Preschool teachers in France have the same degree, civil service status and salaries with their contemporaries in primary school. Their degree is equivalent to masters’ degree. http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/05_03_04.pdf    (pg. 7)

The secrete to the huge success of ‘ecole maternelle’ in France is the child-based curriculum and teachers’ qualification http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200409/Hurless.pdf    (pg. 6)