Consequences of Establishing International Contacts

When I first read the assignment description regarding establishing international contacts I will admit to feeling very overwhelmed. I was unsure that I would be successful, wondering if anyone would take the time to help a student in the US with their studies. I was concerned that with so many of us reaching out to the same reference list our odds of establishing contact would go down, with that in mind I decided to take an alternate route to finding connections through my Linkedin early childhood groups. I reached out to at least five group members and received only two initial replies. When I initiated specific course related discussions Godfrey, from Kenya, was the only one to reply. Thank you again Godfrey.

Three consequences that resulted from establishing this contact are:

•   Gaining a more developed world view of early education and care.
•   Gaining an understanding that many of the problems and goals of the US education system are shared by other countries.
•   Establishing a professional relationship that can be a valuable resource throughout my career.

As I shared last week, it is my hope and intention to remain in contact with Godfrey, he agrees we have much to learn from each other. I have had the opportunity to share my opinion and knowledge with others in the Linkedin groups I belong to, establishing contact with early childhood educators around the world. A goal to continue to share knowledge about quality and equity in early care and education on an international level is one I would not have pursued on my own but have found very rewarding.

Thank you to all my fellow classmates for your thoughtful comments and interesting posts!

Professionalism- Training, Development and Goals: A View from Kenya

I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to correspond with my international contact, Godfrey, from Kenya. I have learned a great deal with regard to the many similarities our countries have as we try to improve equity in early care and education.

The past two weeks, once again, Godfrey has been kind enough to take the time to engage in a discussion about quality and professionalism in early education.  Godfrey has a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and with that degree he works at a college overseeing Diploma and Certificate students.  The difference in education between Diploma and Certificate students is minimal; all students are introduced to the basics of early childhood development and education. The contents of instruction are not as in depth for Certificate students and the programs have different entrance requirements with the Diploma student needing higher grades to enter. Both can work as teachers in centers and Godfrey reports that interestingly it is often the Certificate students that are rated higher in the field. This made me think of our discussion this week in class about what the requirements to be an early childhood educator need to be. 

His primary duty is to train teachers that will work directly with children at child care centers. The Ministry of Education provides a syllabus that covers diverse topics that include curriculum, child rights, management of early childhood centers, as well as, special needs education.  The hope is that with an extensive curriculum teachers will be better prepared for various issues that come up once they enter the classroom. Additionally, Godfrey assesses teaching students in the field, focusing on pedagogy. Further, the Diploma students in Kenya conduct research on various issues in the field of early childhood.  Godfrey feels it is important that the ministry allows students to be exposed to conducting research.  I shared with Godfrey that in the United States, it requires at a minimum a master’s degree and in most cases a doctorate to oversee education students although some of the requirements, such as research, seem very in depth for non-master’s level work.

I shared with Godfrey that I was a master’s degree student when looking for someone to correspond with.  I shared that I was an Early Childhood Studies student with a specialization in Administration, Management and Leadership. I chose this specialization because although I knew I wanted to advance my career this allowed my several options, to direct a center, to work with adults within the profession or to work in the area of advocacy. Godfrey shared that he would also like to continue his education and specialize in the area of developmental psychology or special needs education in order to develop a better understanding of children. He intends to establish a consultancy and training firm to deal with ECE issues.  I wish him much success! I can feel his passion for his work in the messages we have shared and know the ECE field in Kenya is blessed to have him.

The government and NGO’s sponsor conferences and workshops for educators in Kenya.  One held last fall was entitled Knowledge Sharing Among ECE Stakeholders. Godfrey, like many of us in the ECE field find attending conferences, workshops and earning advanced degrees challenging due to time and financial constraints.

As this class nears the end I would like to thank Godfrey for taking time to share his thoughts and dreams with me, a stranger from across the globe. It is my intention to stay in touch with my new professional contact to support each other as we continue our journeys in the ECE field. Who knows maybe someday we will have the blessing of meeting in person.

Exploring the NIEER newsletter for expanded resources.

NIEER (National Institute for Early Education Research) provides several ways to follow their research. I have chosen to subscribe through Facebook and to get their newsletter emailed to me. Often when I receive these alerts I will use the links provided to get more information on what was highlighted.

The newsletter is broken down into several categories, Hot Topics, a link to Preschool Matters Today (NIEER’S blog), Calendar, Early Education News Roundup, and Resources.

In Hot Topics this week were the results of a yearlong study in Texas showing an achievement gap in children as young as 3. While 52% of students overall were ready for Kindergarten, in low income area this number dropped to 12% (United Way, 2011). These findings are very much related to my current studies at Walden regarding equity in early education and the influences of poverty on children’s learning outcomes.

The calendar section provides links to conferences, summits and workshops being held throughout the United States and abroad. There is a conference in Estonia, June 18-19^th 2012, being held by the International Council of Children’s Play.  The keynote speaker is John Wall a professor at Rutgers University which is my home state of New Jersey.  More information can be found at http://www.iccp-play.org/conferencetallinn2012.htm

The area I chose to explore more extensively was The Early Education News Roundup. This part of the newsletter provided links to many recently written articles in the area of early education. It was interesting to me that most of the articles discussed the importance of early education and children’s later educational success and productivity as adults or impending budget cuts to early education programs across the United States. Also discussed was constitutes quality education and are we asking too much of young children. All of the articles related to equity and excellence in early care and education.  The challenges of balancing equity of access to quality early education and being able to fund that access has been the focus of my studies in my current coursework. I found it very interesting how different states are handling or mishandling early education in their state. The article on California’s transition kindergarten program and funding cut is an excellent example. To read more http://nieer.org/news/index.php?NewsID=3301

A new issue that I read about is developmental psychologist Dr. Gordon Neufeld believes we are asking too much of young children and our approach to early education need to change. We should be focusing on play and not be concerned with outcomes until the children reach the age of seven. He believes that there is a correlation to children going to school younger and losing their curiosity by 12^th grade. He believes their prefrontal cortex is not developed and they are much better equipped to work at the age of seven. This was interesting reading and gave me a lot to consider. I have been aware of the pushing down of curriculum and felt that was an issue in early childhood, but not starting formal education until the age of seven was not something I had considered.  To learn more of Dr. Neufeld thoughts on this issue follow this link http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/work+play/6109961/story.html

References

NIEER http://nieer.org/

United Way. (October, 2011). Are there neighborhoods where very young children are identified with developmental vulnerabilities? Children’s Optimal Health, Young Children Volume II - United Way Capital Area Success by 6 Partnership. Retrieved from  http://childrensoptimalhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/UWay-Map-Report-10-13-11-Small1.pdf

Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood Education: The United States and Kenya

I have been communicating with Godfrey, an Early Childhood Education & Development Specialist from Kenya. When I inquired about how his country was addressing equity and excellence in education I saw many similarities to the challenges we are also facing here in the United States.

Godfrey shared that the government is addressing the issue of equity because there are a large number of children who do not benefit from early childhood services due to inaccessibility and poverty. Kindergarten is also not mandatory but is available. Currently there is policy being considered by Parliament that will make early childhood education part of the education system and therefore mandatory. He is hopeful that this policy will pass.

Godfrey believes once there is access for all children then excellence can be addressed. Currently privately owned early childhood programs and kindergartens have excellent standards and practices for their students.

He shared his concerns about the children having an opportunity for outdoor play at urban schools due to space restraints.  This has many in his field concerned about overall development of the children.

I see many similarities in the US with lack of access to quality early education for children living in poverty. Children living in poverty are more likely to attend schools with limited resources (Moore, Redd, Burkhauser, Mbwana, & Collins, 2009). The US is also investing in early childhood education as a way to end poverty and continue economic growth for our nation (Lombardi, 2009). As the US invests in early childhood, consideration for improving the quality and insuring the needs of all children are being met should be the primary focus (Lombardi, 2009). Common standards and continuity from 0-8 years of age is a key component to ensure at-risk children receive the same early education as their not at-risk peers (Lombardi, 2009). As the US continues to consider universal pre-K I am hopeful that the governments of both our countries will see the benefits of providing access to excellent early childhood programs has for all citizens in the long run.

References 

Lombardi, J. (2009). The dawn of a new era. Exchange, (188), 8–9

Moore, K. A., Redd, Z., Burkhauser, M., Mbwana, K., & Collins, A. (2009). Children in poverty: Trends, consequences, and policy options (Research Brief Publication No. 2009-11). Retrieved from Child Trends website: http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2009_04_07_RB_ChildreninPoverty.pdf 

Economist Influence of Early Education

Did the people at NIEER get a copy of the course syllabus for this class? This blog posting on Preschool Matters Today for this week was right on topic. Megan Carolan, Policy Research Coordinator for  NIEER reported on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) holding its high level roundtable “Starting Strong: Implementing Policies for High Quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)” in Oslo, Norway this week. The round table was held January 24^th and 25 ^th.

 I learned that the OECD has 34 member nations that collaborate as a way to allow governments to share best practices and address common problems in many areas. The OECD has made early childhood and early care (EDEC) a special initiative since 1996, recognizing the impact of high-quality early learning on all of society.

The blog provided a link to video footage of the roundtable. Steve Barnett director of NIEER was the keynote speaker. Norway Minister of Education Kristen Halvorsen shared the progress Norway has made in improving access to quality EDEC. As a country Norway chose to address the issue of division of class and look at it root cause, access to education and especially early education was seen as a major cause. In 2003 Norway chose to look at how EDEC was funded and through 2010 has increased funding. They now have equal treatment of grants to public and private institutions and fund EDEC programs for all children, not just programs for children in poverty. The goal was to create equal access for all.

One of Norway's Outdoor Preschools

Minister Halvorsen argument, as former Minister of Finance, was that human capital was 70-80% of Norway’s wealth. Halvorsen stated the key to the countries future success was to have children that had a happy childhood, because a happy childhood last a lifetime. Therefore, the EDEC programs use a holistic approach rooted in play where curiosity, exploration and innovation are the focus. She also focused on the importance of having the ability to form and maintain human relationships.

Norway’s current goal is to increase staff competence, especially those working with very young children, but also throughout the EDEC field. Currently with an average 1-4 ratio only about 1/3 of the staff are qualified preschool teachers.

I was pleased to hear of Norway progress in EDEC and that their approach had allowed children to keep their childhoods. The fact that their former Minister of Finance, who is now the Minister of Education sees the value of early education but also the value in retaining childhood was encouraging to me. I hope that the US can learn from their progress and their approach!

Resources

 Preschool Matters Today retrieved from http://preschoolmatters.org/2012/01/27/early-education-on-the-international-scene/

 OECD Round Table. Norwegian Ministry of Education retrieved from http://media01.smartcom.no/Microsite/dss_01.aspx?eventid=6688

Childhood Poverty- International Contact

I have been communicating with Godfrey an Early Childhood Education Specialist from Kenya, Africa. (My second contact did not respond to any of my follow up emails.) In his current position Godfrey is working to train and educate teachers in early childhood development.

After sharing with Godfrey that the poverty level in the United States is growing and now at 14.3 percent as a nation and in New Jersey, where I live, it is 29 percent for children he replied that in Kenya the poverty rate is 56 percent. More than have the population is living in poverty and on less than a dollar a day.

Poverty affects the schools in a similar way to those in low-income areas of the US. There is limited or non-existent resources and low quality. There is a lack of materials and equipment necessary for effective learning to take place. We also discussed how play was important for learning and that many  early learning centers that are established in the slums or marginalized communities have very little land and therefore no place for the children to play. The educational outcome for students attending these centers is lower than students that attend schools in established communities where there are more resources.

Recently non-governmental organizations have become involve to help support the government’s efforts which he believes are insufficient in providing an equitable and quality education for all students even though they adopted the Education for All initiative. The Education for All initiative (EFA) is an international initiative of a coalition of national governments, civil society groups, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in affiliation with the World Bank to bring education to “every citizen in every society”. You can learn more about EFA by following the link below.

Since EFA was established in Kenya in 2003 basic education is now free but early childhood education was left out, resulting in very little governmental support. The most that is offered are a few grants to selected centers making quality early education unaffordable to most families in Kenya. Resulting in what we often see in the US, children of families that can afford to pay for early education enter primary school better prepared than those children that had no early education.

The same issue affects the quality and training of the teachers. Due to cost, very few teachers are trained in early childhood education, which results in the children being taught by unqualified personnel.  Godfrey also shared that the teacher salaries are very low in the poor neighborhoods leading to low morale and low quality of services provided.

Godfrey believes that positive change may be coming in Kenya as they passed a new constitution last year and now county governments will be responsible for early childhood education. He believes local communities will be better at effective change. He sees the biggest challenge will be the wide gap between the rich and the poor. He fears this will continue to influence the upward economic mobility of the poor.  

Another related issue is health care. Health care facilities are not easily accessible for most of the population in Kenya. Many families must travel a considerable distance to get to health care facilities or clinics. This results in many illnesses not being treated or vaccinated against. Many children become very sick or die from diseases which are easily treatable or preventable through vaccination. 

I now have a clearer picture of how so much of any nation’s economy and stability is tied to the education of it poorest citizens. I also now understand how parental education, access to health care and access to basic transportation are intertwined in their effect on children, their education and future earning potential. The mission of the EFA is an important one, as every citizen deserves a quality education for the good of all citizens.

Education for All http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION/0,,contentMDK:20374062~menuPK:540090~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:282386,00.html

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I chose to follow is NIEER, National Institute for Early Education Research.

The link to their website is http://nieer.org/ 

 Additionally you can follow NIEER of Facebook, Twitter or an RSS feed. I have chosen to follow on Facebook and to subscribe to their newsletter.

NIEER is affiliated with the Rutgers Graduate School of Education which is located in my home state of New Jersey.

When you arrive at the NIEER home page there are six distinct areas of information for you to choose from. The first is The State of Preschool Yearbook 2010, which provides an overview of preschool programs in each state. Effectiveness, enrollment numbers and state spending is reviewed.

The second is the most recent news about anything related to early childhood from across the country with links provide to the original article. Third is a listing to upcoming events and conferences related to early education around the world. Fourth is links to latest research in the field. Fifth is a featured NIEER publication.

Lastly is the link to the NIERR blog, Preschool Matters Today. The January 11, 2012 posting by Steve Barnett, Director of NIERR discusses the lack of economic mobility currently in the United States and how that adds urgency to the current debate over universal public pre-k. This issue is one that caught my attention.  Barnett states that recent research by the Brookings Institute found that 42% of children born into the lowest income will stay there as adults.  Barnett also reports that the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Economic Mobility Project finds the strongest link to children’s economic, educational and social-emotional outcomes is related to their parent’s education level in the United States.

The great debate over publicly funded pre-k is happening throughout this country especially during these tough economic times. Barnett and other members of the early childhood community are arguing for publicly funded pre-k for all students regardless of income. The benefit of reaching a larger percentage of low-income children is what struck me as strongest argument for universal pre-k.

As we discuss the effects of poverty on developmental outcomes for young children and research has shown that in order to break the cycle we need to raise educational levels of parents, shouldn't we start by giving each child the foundation they need in preschool for later school success changing the outcome for future generations? This week we learned that the fasted growing population in the US is Hispanic but they are also the population struggling the most educationally, with the lowest college graduation rate (Gándara, 2010). If we as a nation chose to offer universal pre-k, therefore reaching a larger percentage of low- income students but  also providing school- readiness benefits to all students we can have economic benefits for the entire nation (Barnett, 2012). Hispanic students, regardless of economic status would receive a quality pre-k education giving them they foundation they need for later success. With greater educational success for the largest growing population in the US we can have a positive impact of future economic mobility in this country.

References

Barnett, S., (2012, January 11). Lack of economic mobility add urgency to pre-k debates. Retrieved from National Institute for Early Education Research website http://preschoolmatters.org/2012/01/11/lack-of-economic-mobility-adds-urgency-to-the-pre-k-debates/

Gándara, P. (2010). The latino education crisis. Educational Leadership, 67(5), 24–30.