Sharing Web Resources

The NAEYC has three publications that I find extremely relevant to my current professional development.  As a preschool owner and teacher, Spotlight on Young Children, Young Children (YC), and Connections (the Journal of the California Association for the Education of Young Children, CAEYC) include articles that are current, relevant and incredibly useful in my day-to-day teaching.

In the Winter, 2014 issue of Connections, an article titled: “CAEYC looking to the Future of Early Care and Education in the State”, discusses the results of the recession on the early childhood field. Sadly, in 2012, “only 21-30% of four-year-olds were served in preschool in California. In the great recession, early education has been sacrificed and hopefully a new era will change that” (Thompson, 2014, p. 23).

Economists and policy makers have been reading the research from the Perry Preschool Project about the return on the investment of the dollar by funding early education programs. Results show that for every $1 invested, the rate of return on the dollar was at least $8 or 16%. (Thompson) These results prove that the school readiness gap is equal to the achievement gap for children at the end of third grade (where children are no longer learning to read, but reading to learn). (Thompson)  Children who are below grade level by the end of third grade are more likely to stay behind grade level making them at risk for school failure and more negative outcomes in life. (Thompson)

Thank goodness, in Washington “a new federal Early Learning Plan was introduced as a bipartisan proposal that will expand high-quality early childhood education for children birth to five years of age” (Thompson, p. 23). This proposal will expand access to quality voluntary preschool for four-year-olds, enhance Early Head Start funding, allow states to use a portion of their pre-k dollars to provide high quality care settings for infants and toddlers, and expand evidence based home visiting programs to help parents. (Thompson)

In California, we are ready to begin rebuilding after years of funding cuts. CAEYC will be at the forefront of discussions with policy makers and through various advocacy efforts. (Thompson) “A new era is coming backed by research and facts” (Thompson, p. 23). We as early childhood professionals must help in the effort to advocate for high-quality environments for young children where they can play, learn, and thrive.

References

            Thompson, K., (2014) “CAEYC looking to the Future of Early Care and Education in the State”, Connections, the Journal of the California Association for the Education of Young Children, (Winter 2014)

Childhood Poverty in Zimbabwe

Data collected by UNICEF suggests that children in Zimbabwe are better off than they were 5 years ago, however 70 per cent of households continue to live in poverty (22 per cent in extreme poverty). (UNICEF, 2013) More than 164,000 children are HIV positive and unfortunately, only 45 per cent are receiving treatment at this time. The HIV epidemic has been going on for nearly thirty years, which has contributed to a high orphan rate and age dependency ratio. (UNICEF) All primary health clinics offer free maternal/child health services and 87.2 per cent of the clinics have at least 80 per cent of essential medicines. “Women and children however continue to face barriers to utilization of services due to user fees, distance, cost of transport, and religious beliefs, while geographic and wealth disparities persist. UNICEF places a priority on addressing these inequities and their social determinants” (UNICEF).

In 2013, Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution including a Bill of Rights for children. The ‘Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation’ (ZimAsset 2013-2018) is in place but implementation will depend on availability of resources in the 2014 budget. UNICEF has been instrumental in their role as a “critical broker” of the relationship between multiple donors and the government. “These partnerships allow for programs by UNICEF to build an enabling environment, demand for and supply of health, education, WASH and child protection services; and the determinants of child deprivation” (UNICEF). 

References

UNICEF (2013) Annual report 2013- Zimbabwe, Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/files/Zimbabwe_COAR_2013.pdf

Sharing Web Resources

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children. Their mission is to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources. http://www.naeyc.org/

A current trend in EC that has definitely caught my eye is engaging with families and building meaningful partnerships. This extremely important trend is featured in the September 2014 issue of Young Children, the journal of the NAEYC.

I am excited about meeting with each of the families in my preschool and childcare this month to learn more about their different cultures, languages, and various life experiences. This will help to shape my teaching approaches so they have the most positive impact on the children and families I serve on a daily basis!

“For young children, the most important community is their family. Learning communities strive for genuine family engagement by recognizing that teachers who tie community-based participation into the curriculum extend children’s learning far beyond the classroom. Inviting children’s home cultures into the classroom as resources to be used in their learning helps build bridges between home and school. In doing so, teachers extend the learning beyond the school day and validate children’s home experiences.

            Families become collaborators in their children’s learning when teachers validate the children and families’ life experiences and implement strategies that respect diverse families and cultures. Teachers can work to create family learning through communities in which educators, children, and their families learn cooperatively and collaboratively.” (YC, Young Children, The journal of the national association for the education of young children, 2014)

References

YC, Young Children, The journal of the national association for the education of

 young children, September, 2014, Engaging families: partnering in meaningful ways)

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Establishing Professional Contacts

In an attempt to contact ECE professionals outside of America, I messaged blogs in Australia, New Zealand, and South Arica. I must admit I felt a bit defeated when none of them returned my messages. So…

I set up a profile with the World Forum Foundation (christine.dreher) and am really excited about getting to know more about what they do, and exchanging ideas with other participants!

 Expanding Resources

I chose the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website because I am a member of my local affiliate (SNAEYC) and am on the membership committee.  This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the NAEYC and the resources it offers!